The Toy Association staff traveled from coast-to-coast throughout the month of March to engage in constructive conversations with medical professionals, play scholars, and education workers about the toy industry’s long-standing leadership in toy safety and the many skill-building benefits of play.
As a sponsor of the annual Advanced Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Assembly held in Anaheim, California, The Toy Association provided information to physicians, nurses, and child life specialists about the toy industry’s history and record of safety work and enlisted the pediatric medical community’s assistance in disseminating toy and play safety information to patients and caregivers.
“We also called upon them for help in identifying emergent hazard patterns and encouraged their participation in the toy safety standards development process. It was a great success and allowed us to expand our network of partners who can help impact safety,” says Joan Lawrence, senior vice president of standards and regulatory affairs at The Toy Association.
Back on the east coast, The Toy Association’s Anna Yudina and Janis Zegman attended the 45th Annual Conference for The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the National AfterSchool Association’s (NAA) national convention in New York, acting as representatives of The Genius of Play, the toy industry’s leading resource on the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of play that serve children throughout their lives.
Yudina presented a keynote speech to an audience of play scholars, advocates, and practitioners attending TASP, speaking to the rise of intensive parenting and how The Genius of Play is working to ensure that play remains a priority among parents. At the NAA convention, Zegman co-hosted a play workshop that reviewed research on the impact of play on child learning and shared hands-on activity suggestions for applying those ideas within after-school programming.
“The Genius of Play’s mission is to raise awareness and educate the public about the critical skills children learn through play. We were honored to be invited to present at two key events related to the field of play and look forward to future opportunities to connect with more play and education professionals,” says Ken Seiter, executive vice president of marketing communications at The Toy Association.
Help us spread the word about toy safety and the benefits of play! Share www.PlaySafe.org and www.TheGeniusOfPlay.org with parents and caregivers.
