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UK
Character Toys -
Educational
Character Toys in the UK |
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Kids and Characters:
Growing Together
 If
you were asked to think back to your favourite
cartoon characters as a child, there would
undoubtedly be a few that would immediately come
to mind. Cartoon characters are as much a part
of childhood as skinned knees and birthday
parties, and memories are built around them all.
Your kids are the same in regards to the
characters that are near and dear to their
hearts. The difference is that today's media
allows children a much wider variety of venues
to discover these characters, in the form of
television programs, movies and video games.
With such a variety of make-believe creatures
for your kids to identify with today, it is no
wonder that character toys top the charts every
year for most sought after items.
The Disney Magic
Surely Disney is one of the master marketers of
all time, with character toy tie-ins to
everything this company produces. If you check
the toy stores this year, you will probably find
toys from many of the popular Disney programs
and movies. Of course, the Disney Princesses
never go out of style, and Snow White still tops
the charts with plenty of play sets for this
well-read story. Other popular character toys
come from numerous Nickelodeon programs like
"Dora the Explorer", "Go, Diego, Go!" and "SpongeBob
SquarePants."
About ten years ago, the Japanese toy company
Medicom introduced figures that were similar to
those of Playmobil, but resembled well-known
television characters. Other toy manufacturers
have jumped on the bandwagon, and now companies
like Lego and Megablocks are following suit with
sets from popular movies like Harry Potter,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars. Both
of these companies continue to bring the movies
home, and have added many popular television
series to their sets as well.
Why Character Toys?
Children love to play with character toys for a
very simple reason: they are familiar with the
characters and enjoy playing out the scenes from
their favourite programs. For some children, a
play set of their favourite program or book will
bring hours of entertainment. For others, the
idea of dressing up like their pet characters
and acting out the scenes themselves is a more
enticing prospect. This is why you can find role
play clothing and accessories for many of the
popular characters as well.
It may not seem as though children are
exercising much creativity in simply acting out
stories that they have already seen and heard,
although this process certainly helps with
memory and comprehension skills. And once the
tried and true is played out, kids will usually
begin to create their own scenes and stories
with the same characters that they have grown to
love. It is indeed great imaginations at work.
Whether it is a Disney Princess or Doctor Who,
you will find character toys that will allow you
to enjoy those folks long after the television
goes off. |
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