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| Toys that captivate, teach, encourage and delight. Babygear that meets baby’s needs as well as a new mom’s. That’s what Fisher-Price is all about. But how do we match the developmental features of a toy with the ages and abilities of children? How do we make sure a toy will be fun to play with, encouraging imagination while helping develop new skills? How do we ensure a babygear item is as convenient as it needs to be in the real world? |
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We go to the experts. From the start, we’ve studied how children play. In the early days,
employees and neighbors would bring their children in to test toys. Over the years, the pr |
ocess became more |
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| formal and Fisher-Price was the first toy manufacturer to establish an on-site play center in 1961. |
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| At the PlayLab, groups of children meet for regular play dates over the course of several months. It’s “equipped” with hundreds of toys from manufacturers all over the world, and children are free to explore whatever captures their interest. The PlayLab staff are certified early childhood teachers with many years of experience in child development. They’ve created a comfortable atmosphere where they encourage the children to play naturally. As the children play, our teachers observe how they interact with the toys and look for ways the toys may need to be enhanced for age-appropriateness, play value and quality. (Of course, our product-testing lab puts all Fisher-Price products through a formal review process against the industry’s highest safety and quality standards.) |
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| Children who visit the PlayLab become an integral part of our product development process. Toy designers, engineers, marketers and other team members have the opportunity to observe the children’s play experiences and gain immediate feedback. “Our designers have exceptional skills and a great sense of playfulness, but it really helps us make better toys when they can watch how children play,” says Kathleen Alfano, Ph.D., Director of Child Research at Fisher-Price. Team members can observe through a one-way mirror, or join in and play with the children. “By observing children at play, alone and with each other, we’re able to learn more about how they think, what they like and don’t like, and what’s important to them,” says Kathleen. |
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| Parents also play a significant role in product development. “They tell us what their children do in the real world,” says Kathleen. “We translate that into ways of making better products.” We talk to parents through online surveys, in focus groups all over the world, at visits to our PlayLab, and even in their homes so we can see first-hand how their day really goes and what needs they have. Every single Fisher-Price product is tested in a real home situation before we put it on store shelves. Then we use parents’ input to help us tweak the toy or babygear item and refine our concepts. |
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| “Our goal is to add quality not just to products, but to playtime and everyday life,” Kathleen sums up. “To add quality to children’s lives.” |
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| For another interesting account of our PlayLab, read this article. |
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