THE toy industry has set out its predictions for toy trends in 2017 and they show parents are trying to coax their children away from screens and back to traditional play.

As the country’s toy manufacturers gear up for the UK’s biggest toy fair this week from Tuesday to Thursday, the British Toy and Hobby Association said that educational toys, board games and baking toys have become increasingly popular.

The predictions come in the wake of research carried out for the Make Time 2 Play campaign, which revealed that a third of children value technology entertainment over traditional play, and seven in 10 parents admit they give their child a screen based activity.

Child health education specialist Dr Arik Sigman’s report shows that traditional forms of play, both indoors and outdoors, have enormous hidden benefits, including improved behaviour, increased abilities to concentrate and better school grades.

“It is clear that small screens have been accompanied by a drop in traditional play. The survey of parents shows perceptions of playtime are shifting to include entertainment screen time to the detriment of real world play.”

Experts in child development looked at the four big toy trends that look set to dominate the average £307 parents spend a year on 38 toys per child up the age of 11 and gave their verdicts.

Science toys

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) toys have become increasingly popular in recent years as parents seek to inspire a greater interest in these subjects in their children.

Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology and author of Paranoid Parenting, said: “There seems to be trend to introduce worthy toys - with toys being sold because of their development attributes to improve dexterity, numeracy and literacy. But play should just be play and parents shouldn’t be so concerned about it having an educational outcome.

“There is nothing wrong with getting your kids a chemistry set but it might be a waste of time. Leave the education to schools and let them have toys that are toys.”

Dr Sigman said: “Children need hands on play experiences in the real world not just the virtual world. Something as simple as blocks and puzzles help with spatial awareness, maths, problem-solving performance and science.”

Board Games

Interactive Board games will be big in 2017, with many of the old classics returning and taking on new twists.

Professor Furedi said: “Parents should make a bit more of an effort to get their children out of doors rather than always being immersed in the digital world. There’s no need to make board games interactive as that has the effect of deskilling you. Pick-Up-Sticks, Scrabble and cards are all simple games that show children games-rituals and brings the family together."

Clinical child psychologist Dr John Richer said: “I’m not surprised educated parents are desperate to get their kids away from screens as they are asocial and bad for health. Board games mean you have to be more sociable and interact with other people.”

Michael Duke, educational psychologist, is also a fan of board games as a healthy alternative to the dominance of the PlayStation and Xbox.

“If children play on electronic devices even an hour before bedtime it disrupts their sleep, and recent research shows that teenagers who use them for an hour a day see their GCSE results go down by two grades because they are spending so much time gaming or online – up to six hours a day in some cases – and don’t want to do their homework or revision. It’s time for parents to show some tough love and limit screen time. You are the parent, you have to make the decision.”

Action Heroes

This year is set to be a major year for movie licensed toy products with Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Lego Batman, Power Rangers, The Smurfs, Despicable Me 3 and Cars 3 all airing in 2017.

Child psychologist Dr Rachel Andrew said: “Children love to collect and they love to role play, so that’s why they are so drawn to these toys. And if there’s a craze at school then they will feel as if they belong and have a shared dialogue.

“While there is a place for technology and electronic gadgets, toys like Lego are great for concentration. Even if you think your child has grown out of it, children change and will come back to a toy in a different way.”

Baking

Following the success of programmes like the Great British Bake Off and the popularity of celebrity chefs, more and more cooking and baking toy products have come onto the market.

Professor Furedi said: “This is an example of the toy industry cashing in on a TV show’s popularity. It’s unnecessary to buy special baking toys other than maybe a nice apron.”

Dr Richer said: “If children can get into making food it helps them understand where food comes from.”

Dr Andrew said: “Any activity such as baking or gardening, where you are playing alongside your child, is great as it allows you to share and talk and do something enjoyable together.

“Baking or doing arts and crafts is a great way for children to spend their time, particularly if it gets them away from their screens. It’s worth persevering and offering them alternatives because sometimes they don’t realise how much fun they could have doing other activities until they start doing them.”

The experts agreed that it was important to limit screen time and introduce a range of different types of play – and not to worry about children being entertained around the clock.

“There is value in being bored as that’s when creative play happens,” said Dr Richer. “And there’s no point getting really complicated toys that do lots of things: a great toy doesn’t do a lot, a great toy is one that a child can do a lot with.

“Most toys are discarded but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been useful. The main function of toys is for adults to show how much they love their kids, not about what benefits they bring.”