PreschoolNews.net catches up with some key players to find out why the category is so important for the under 5s.
“Puzzles have always been seen as a key development toy for preschool children,” begins Mike Hartshorn, head of sales at Orange Tree Toys, “as they really help encourage the development of fine motor skills, hand/eye coordination, problem solving and so on in a fun way, so children are learning and developing as they play.
“By adding an additional aspect such as letters or numbers, we are adding more value to the learning aspect and that has huge appeal for parents.”
Orange Tree Toys is just one of the companies currently enjoying success in the booming games and puzzles category. Its Crocodile Alphabet Puzzle has consistently been the company’s number one bestselling product every year since it was launched in 2012. Over the past year, it has added to its puzzle offering with more alphabet and number puzzles, plus new mini-puzzle sets.
Further launches are planned for this year including Disney licences, while August will see the arrival of Orange Tree Toys’ Moon & Me collection which includes number puzzles among other lines. “I think if you have the right licence then it can be hugely important, but having a licence that works for your product and target consumer is critical,” says Mike. “This is why we are so excited to be involved with something as special as Moon & Me from its inception.”
To read the full feature in the latest edition of Progressive Preschool, simply click on this link.
