Posts Tagged ‘kids’

Make learning about history fun in your museum

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
A museum is constantly visited by kids, large groups of children from schools, and field trips from summer camps. If you manage a museum or run museum tours have you ever found it difficult to keep the attention of your younger visitors? We can imagine it is difficult!

A great way to capture and keep the attention of young learners is to offer children’s learning tools and wholesale educational toys to compliment their day at the museum. When you buy children’s toys and educational tools from a wholesale distributer, you can find items that add value to your museum while still keeping things low cost. Your wholesale toy company for children will sell quality items at an excellent value when purchased in bulk. This ensures you always have an ample supply on hand at your museum for every child to enjoy.

Here are some ideas for different subjects your museum may cover.

History Museum
Bring history to life with educational toys for children such as western toys to make learning American history interactive and pirate toys to make discovering new land come alive. Military toys and Army men such as muskets and model aircraft carriers are great children’s toys to buy in bulk from your toy wholesale distributer. This makes educating children about tough subjects like military history and war and fun and safe environment.
Science Museum
There are many ways to make science fun! You can recreate the look and feel of other planets with stickers and slime for the children to keep.  You can have children make dioramas of other environments with animal figures and reptile toys. And, what better way to illustrate transformation than Growing butterfly toys that are low cost in bulk and can be reused? Science sounds fun!

Dinosaur Museum
Children love looking at and learning about dinosaurs. Fossils and reenactments make capturing young minds easy but giving children treats such as dinosaur figures and dinosaur dolls that make sounds will make coming to the museum an extra special treat.  Growing dinosaurs and special hatching dinosaur eggs turn bring your museum to life as the children interact with your educational toys.

Art Museum
One of the best ways to teach children about some of the greatest artists in history is to let them create it for themselves.  Remember, showing a young mid art is an amazing learning tool but teaching them how to create art will enable them to learn for a lifetime. While kids see art, offer paints, crayons and coloring books to spark their creative minds and show them they can be artists as well.  Crayons and stationary are easy toys to buy in bulk and keep on hand at your museum.

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Pediatric Waiting Rooms – Creating a Trusting Rapport With Younger Patients

Monday, August 23rd, 2010
For a child, a visit to the pediatrician or dentist can be a nerve-racking experience. Parents often find themselves with restless, rambunctious or upset kids while they wait to see the doctor. Creating and fostering a trusting and welcome environment in the waiting room of a doctors office is the first step in creating a trust and rapport with young patients.

Waiting room toys, doctors office toys, and reception area toys are designed to keep little ones entertained, comfortable and cheerful. This ensures a happy environment for patients and parents constituting happy costumers that yield a flourishing business and solid reputation.

When selecting waiting room toys and toys for patients, it is important to keep safety in mind. Your wholesale toy distributer should provide adequate safety information and be able to provide the source of each toy. A good wholesale company will hand select the children’s toys and provide proper age ranges to assist in the appropriate selection for the reception area.  It is also best to buy bulk children’s toys to confidently have a good supply on hand for treats the little patients can take home.

Providing a fun and safe environment in your waiting room and giving little patients treats to take home reflects more than just a good bed-side manner. It shows children and especially parents that you care about them and their wellbeing, which in turn creates trust between patient and doctor that is necessary in pediatric health and dental care.

The question is, what toys for toddlers and toys for children should be kept in the waiting room? The following is a good place to start:

Games and Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles and games like dominos are great waiting room toys because they provide interaction and keep those little patients busy.

Coloring books and crayons
Coloring books, markers and crayons are easy toys to buy in bulk from your wholesale toy distributer and provide a fun creative outlet for your patients.

Animal toys
Farm toys and animal toys are always fun for children to play make believe with and enable them to use their imaginations while they wait for their appointments.

Small toys and treats
Small toys, such as stickers, pony figurines, magic wands, princess toys for girls, action figures, and putty are an excellent value when bought in bulk. These low cost toys can be given to younger patients upon completion of their visit. This small gesture is a great incentive for children and solidifies the trust and compassion they will feel from their pediatrician.

The goal of a pediatrician or pediatric dentist is always the health of the patient. However, a child’s health and well-being is easier to attain in a trusting and compassionate environment where both child and parent feel comfortable with their environment and trusting in their doctor. With the use of child toys and toys for toddlers as well as treats the little ones can take home, the relationship between doctors and little patients will be one of trust and care.

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How to predict what toys will become popular

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

It happens all the time.

From Tickle Me Elmo to Animal Rubber Bands, one toy blows up in popularity and eclipses the entire market place. These trends are often unexpected but with a lot of research and using the following tips to spot toy trends that help your research instincts, you can better spot which children’s will become popular to assist the ever changing toy retail business.

Research before you buy

You know what they say, don’t expect to ace the test if you don’t do your homework. Pay attention to the economy, as during economic downturns budget friendly toys and cheap toys online will trend higher than their more expensive counterparts. Read articles from experts in the industry. Ask your wholesale toy company. Find out what competitors are purchasing from their wholesalers and what your wholesaler is stocking up on.

Note trends in other industries

What is popular in every industry will be popular in the child’s toy industry. For example, everywhere you look, from commercials to magazines, companies are advertising natural and organic clothing, food and household items. It is no shock to see that natural is a very big trend because it has crossed into almost every industry. As expected, natural toys have become a very popular wholesale toy item.

Check what is popular in other countries

Pokemon was a big hit in other countries well before it became the new “It” item in America. To better understand toy trends, keep an eye out for what is becoming trendy in countries such as China, where a large amount of toys originate. In fact, the right wholesaler will visit these countries often enough to gain knowledge and perspective in the marketplace.

Follow the seasons

Water guns, toys for the outdoors and inflatable pool toys will always be popular during the summer and similarly, back-to-school learning toys will gain momentum in the fall. Party toys will have a large demand around holiday season and glow toys and toys that light up will trend during Halloween. Your online wholesale distributer will stock items based on seasons as well so check often to see what new season child toys are in stock.

Know the entertainment industry

Pay very close attention to new movies that are coming into theatres with the promise of being a “blockbuster”. For example, if the big movie of the summer is going to be a movie about Pirates, it is safe to assume the pirate theme and pirate toys will increase in popularity. If dinosaurs were the hot ticket of the year, the trend will naturally trickle down to dinosaur toys in the marketplace for bulk toys.
Trying to predict what toys will become popular can seem like a giant puzzle with no solution. However, if you take the time to research the industry and continuously follow up with your wholesale toy distributer you will better know new toy trends and popular toys to carry in your online retail business, classroom and office.

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Going back to the basics – Why simple toys are a better investment.

Monday, August 23rd, 2010
From iPads to smart phones, talking robots to the latest gadgets. It would seem like the best toys to carry in your online toy store, classroom, church or offices are those that offer the latest in technological and scientific advancements. Toys can now walk, talk, light up and surf the Web like never before. However as with many things in life and business, going back to the basics may be better for you and better for children.  Studies have shown that simple toys, and retro child toys are better for children. These include rubber balls, simple building blocks, cheap plush toys and animal toys.

In an article by Science Daily, Temple University psychologist, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, noted this conclusion was based on the principle that children are creative problem solvers and like to discover new ways of doing things. Simple novelty toys, such as yo-yos and harmonicas provide this chance at discovery, while more technological toys and complex toys for children provide no opportunity for this priceless phase of childhood learning.  In short, the more advanced toys do everything for the child and therefore provide no chance to learn or imagine new ideas for amusement and creativity.

Though psychology of childhood learning plays an important role in determining a good toy versus a bad toy, it should also be noted that the phenomenon and universal love of classic toys, retro toys and simplistic novelty toys are due to the very definition that these toys transcend trends and withstand the test of time, giving testament to their purpose and power. The ancient Greeks had yo-yos, the Babylonians played board games, and kites were flown over 3,000 years ago. These low cost toys have had no need to evolve past their basic structure and function because of the need they fulfill at a basic level. This need is fulfilled regardless of age and background making these small toys a better investment for everyone.

Children’s toys, first and foremost, should be platforms for a child to play, not the primary centerpiece. They should be props and supporting actors used as a catalyst for a child’s imagination and creativity. Advanced toys are fun to look at and watch, but they hinder this imagination because a child will have no need for it.  A good toy will spark imagination, enable brain growth, have countless ways for use, and encourage social interaction.

When making the decision about what children’s toys to buy from your wholesale toy distributer, consider what type of provider of children’s toys you would like to be or become.  Do you want to carry the latest in technology or use your toy store, church and classroom as a place to foster learning and growth? While it is always important to keep up-to-date on the latest and greatest trends, your business will thrive on the backs of these classic toys that will never go out of style.

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