Toys and Gender Bias Survey

TOY SURVEY BY EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH PODAR INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION.

SURVEY CONDUCTED BY EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION AND PODAR INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION- COPYRIGHT @ SWATIPOPATVATS

THIS REPORT IS COPYRIGHT AND REGISTERED PROPERTY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION, ANYONE WISHING TO QUOTE, USE, OR REFER TO IT SHOULD DO SO ONLY AFTER SEEKING PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM MS SWATI POPAT VATS (PRESIDENT) ON ecaorg@yahoo.com or swatipopat@podar.net

1.    How many toys do you buy for your child in a month?

Sr. No.	1-5	More than 5	More than 10	Even more
	63%	20%	12%	5%	4700

2.    How many toys does your child receive as gifts every month from friends and relatives?

Sr. No.	1-5	More than 5	More than 10	Even more
	15%	65%	15%	5%	4700

3.    Which of these toys does your child have?

Sr. No.	Blocks	Pretend play	Action figures, barbies, guns and battery operated toys	Soft toys and other dolls	Outdoor toys
	9 %	12 %	60%	10 %	9%

4.    Which toys does your child have more of?

Sr. No.	Barbie Dolls and action figures	Stackers and blocks	Pretend and outdoor toys	Battery operated toys	Books and puzzles
	40%	5%	10%	40 %	5%

5.    Does your child have any hand me down toys from other siblings?  

Sr. No.	Yes	No
	65%	35%			4700

6.    When you buy toys what do you look for?

Sr. No.	Price /discount	Safety	Age appropriateness /benefit to child	Brand/advertising	Because other kids have them
	23%	10%	10%	23%	34%

7.    Are you aware of lead poisoning in toys?   Do you look for details of the same on the toy?

Sr. No.	Yes	No	Do you look for it? Yes	Do you look for it? No	I ask shop salesman
	78 %	22%	36%	42 %	22%

8.    Till what age should kids play with role play toys?

Sr. No.	Age 2	Age 5	Age 8	Age 12
	65 %	35%	0 %	0%	4700

9.    Boys should play with which of these toys?

Sr. No.	Pretend play toys	Blocks and puzzles	Guns and battery operated toys/screen toys	Outdoor toys	Action figures and cars
	12%	21%	27%	20%	20%

10. Girls should play with which of these toys?

Sr. No.	Dolls and soft toys	Guns and action figures	Outdoor toys	Pretend play	puzzles , books
	26%	12%	15 %	27%	25%

11. Which toys do you think are better ?

Sr. No.	Indian	Imported	Name some Indian toy companies
	75%	25%	55%- fisher price, ok toys

SOME PERCENTAGES-

·         76% of parents first toy for a girl was a doll

·         73% of parents first toy for a boy was a car

And we talk about tackling  gender bias.

·         69% of parents said they would not like their boys to play with kitchen set

·         73% of grandmothers did not like boys playing with kitchen set

·         68% of girls opted to be nurses while playing with doctor set

·         71% of parents said that their first choice toy for girls would be kitchen set and not doctor set

·         57% of housewives depended on friends, neighbours and advertisements for choosing toys

·         33% of working moms preferred online help for selection of toys

·         34% of boys chose to play with kitchen set when offered kitchen set and doctor set, because they have seen their dads cooking in the kitchen.

·         51% of parents do not buy blocks for their children as they find that the other toys are more worth the money and ‘look nice’.

·         92% of all early childhood experts recommend blocks as the prime toys for development of fine motor skills, colour and shape recognition, creative skills enhancement, language, social and cognitive development.

·         70% of the kids preferred toys that did not match those that were preferred by their parents, so if parents preferred cars or puzzles the child preferred pretend play and puzzles.

·         90% of kids had dolls, action figures and battery operated toys

·         Only 30% of kids had pretend play toys and played with them.

·         In outdoor play toys the common ones 80% had balls, bats and cycles.

·         43% of kids did not use the balls, bats outside but played with them at home due to lack of play space or due to too much sun.

·         Maximum time spent by 87% kids on ‘playing with toys’ is 30 minutes a day.

·         Time spent watching TV 1hour to one and half hour

·         Attending structured programs like dance class, music class etc 2 to 3 hours a day

The above shows that young kids are missing out on time used for creative play, most of their time is spent on structured activities which can later result in aggression, frustration and depression.

·         Most of the toys owned by 76% of the kids were gifted to them, and so were not selected by either the parent or the child.

·         65% of kids are playing with hand me down toys.

·         75% of parents rated Indian made toys to be better than foreign toys but 55% of parents thought Fisher Price is an Indian toy company.

·         70% of parents were aware of the benefits of blocks but yet did not prefer the child to play with blocks at home, according to them blocks are a school toy.