Over 100 plastic toys from the 1970s and 1980s, both polyvinyl chloride ("vinyl") and nonvinyl, were analyzed in the study described here using a handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to quantify hazardous metal content. A sampling of recent vinyl toys was also tested. The majority of nonvinyl samples were Fisher Price brand toys. The vinyl toys consisted largely of Barbie dolls and other do...

The residual levels and migration behavior of volatile substances were detected using HS-GC/MS for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) toys, thermoplastic elastomer toys, and rubber toys made from 1,3-butadiene and styrene found on the Japanese market. The maximum residual level of these volatile substances was 2600 μg/g of styrene in ABS toys. In particular, the levels of known car...

Play is essential for learning in children. Toys are the tools of play. Which play materials are provided and how they are used are equally important. Adults caring for children can be reminded that toys facilitate but do not substitute for the most important aspect of nurture-warm, loving, dependable relationships. Toys should be safe, affordable, and developmentally appropriate. Children do n...

A variety of electronic sonic toys is available in the market. However, such toys are usually played by pushing buttons which trigger different sampled sounds. In this paper we advocate the possibility of using continuous natural gestures connected with synthesized sounds for the creation of enactive sonic toys. Keywords— sonic toys, Human-Computer Interaction, Multimodal Interaction

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHOSIS To assess noise levels of toys from the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) 2010 Noisy Toys List and evaluate the change in noise of these toys after covering the speakers with tape or glue. STUDY DESIGN One Group Pretest-Posttest Design. METHODS SHA 2010 Toys List (n = 18) toys were tested at distances of 0 and 25 cm from sound source in a soundproof booth using a digit...

Toys in the American marketplace are heavily gender stereotyped, creating a variety of social and economic consequences. Beginning at an early age, children foster different cognitive abilities based on play with toys deemed appropriate for their gender. While boys' toys promote skills in math and science fields, girls' toys promote verbal and linguistic skills. This difference in cognitive abi...

In the popular literature, it is often assumed that a single conceptual framework can be applied to both dog–dog and dog–human interactions, including play. We have, through three studies, tested the hypothesis that dog–dog and dog–human play are motivationally distinct. In an Ž . observational study of dogs being walked by their owners Ns402 , dogs which were walked together, and had opportuni...