Determining Age Appropriateness of Children's Products and Toys
Condition: Healthy Volunteers Only
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Background:

      Play during childhood is an important part of healthy development, and children can learn
      many things when they play. Much of the time that children spend playing is with toys.
      However, children at different ages need different types of toys to engage in healthy play.

      Understanding children s play with toys is important to the National Institute of Child
      Health and Human Development (NICHD), and to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
      (CPSC). The CPSC rates toys that are currently available in the United States for children
      for age appropriateness. NICHD will share the findings of this study with CPSC to aid in
      their toy rating process.

      Objective:

      To categorize traditional and contemporary children s products and toys into age appropriate
      groups.

      Eligibility:

      Healthy children 6 months to 12 years old.

      Their parents.

      Design:

      Participants will be screened with a phone call with the parents.

      Participants will complete surveys online or on paper, and by phone. These will ask about
      demographic facts, behavior, thoughts on parenting and toys, and child development.

      Participants will have 1 study visit. The child will play with toys by himself or herself.
      Then they will play with their parent. A researcher will observe. The sessions will be
      videotaped.

      Children will share their thoughts about the toys by pointing at a smiley face scale.

      Parents will fill out a short survey. Then can choose to participate in a 1-hour focus group.
    

Detailed description: 
      The proposed project is the outcome of an interagency agreement (IAG; #CPSC-I-14-0016)
      between the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of the United States and the Child and
      Family Research Section (CFRS) within NICHD DIR. At the CPSC, the Division of Human Factors
      (ESHF) examines products and toys for U.S. children and determines the appropriate age of
      their potential users based on a set of Guidelines last revised in 2002. Due to the outdated
      nature of the 2002 Guidelines, the CFRS is charged with revising this rulebook after
      conducting an empirical research project to inform these amendments. The goal of the current
      study is to categorize traditional and contemporary children s products and toys into age
      appropriate groups and use this information to rewrite the Guidelines for efficient CPSC use.

      Participants will be 360 parent-child dyads from 6 months to 12 years of age. We will recruit
      equal numbers of boys and girls from each of the following six developmentally determined and
      CPSC approved age groups: 6-11 mos, 12-18 mos, 19-35 mos, 36-71 mos (3-5 years), 72-107 mos
      (6-8 years), and 108-144 mos (9-12 years). Participants will be tested at the CFRS once
      parental consent and child assent have been obtained.

      Each child will receive one of three counterbalanced children s products or toys that are
      targeted to their age group from 6 of the 9 following categories: (1) Building or
      Construction (e.g., blocks, interlocking building materials), (2) Exploratory (e.g., clay,
      sand toys), (3) Games & Puzzles, (4) Instructional Toys (e.g., books, science kits), (5)
      Sports, Recreation, & Outdoor, (6) Imaginative Play (e.g., puppets, dolls, dress up
      materials), (7) Small Wheeled Vehicles (e.g., car toys), (8) Arts and Crafts, and (9) Musical
      Toys (e.g., musical instruments). Children will also receive one of three (counterbalanced)
      children s products or toys from each of the categories aimed at the age group below their
      age as well as another from each of the categories aimed at the age group older than their
      age. Each child will first play alone and then play with a parent. Different sets of toys
      will be presented when children switch from playing alone to playing in a dyad.

      Parents will provide information about their socioeconomic status and demographics. They will
      also complete the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (i.e., an instrument assessing the child
      s socialization, motor, communication, and daily living skills) and an age-appropriate
      instrument that assesses the child s temperament. They will provide information about toys
      that are already in their home. Some parents may be invited to take part in a more in-depth
      qualitative focus group interview about children s toys. All play sessions will be video
      recorded and will be scored for relevant behaviors.

      We will examine differences in play with toys from the three age groups that are
      chronologically adjacent (i.e., to determine differences in outcomes for a given age group
      with age-appropriate toys compared to toys of the same category from the next youngest and
      next oldest age groupings). Our outcome measures include the following: (1) Complexity of
      play, (2) Parts and features of toys used by the child, (3) Duration of time spent with each
      toy, (4) Preference for the toys, and (5) Number of times and duration the child solicits the
      parent s involvement during play.

      This observational study of children fits well with the CFRS program of research and the
      mission of the NICHD DIR. We will investigate children s interactions with toys that surround
      children in their natural environment, as well as study how parents moderate child play
      behavior. Observing and quantifying behaviors during play will allow us to have a richer
      understanding of social and cognitive growth during different stages of child development in
      the context of toy play with parents and will form an empirical basis for revising the 2002
      CPSC Guidelines in light of changes in the last decade and a half in the toy industry.

      The cost impact for this project is minimal. All necessary testing facilities are already
      available at the CFRS. Funding for additional staff needed to work with participants, subject
      reimbursement, and supplies to carry out the project is allocated through the IAG.
    

Intervention name(s): Type of Toy; Play Partner
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Children will be presented with one of three (counterbalanced) toys targeted for their age group. When presented, each target toy will be paired with two additional toys from the same toy category;; Each child will first play alone then play with parent.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: Childhood Growth and Development; Development