Any parent or teacher knows that children like toys to be as realistic as possible – things that really work. That's why mother-of-three and former sales rep Christine Lawson started the educational toy company Eduk8 (eduk8worldwide.com) with her partner, Roger, a product designer.
Lawson says: "Most toys are not good quality. You buy it, it breaks. Because we're educational suppliers, our quality has to be higher – and my ethos has always been to make learning fun. We don't use cartoon characters, our toys are the real thing."
Lawson and her partner set out to design and exclusively distribute toys for children that are as high quality, scientific and functional as any adult gadget.
The company's innovative Multifunction Living Microscope for Kids is a case in point. When Lawson discovered the battery-powered product in Hong Kong, she was struck by the opportunity to bring British children a quality microscope at a reasonable price. She explains: "If you look in most toy catalogues and try to buy a microscope for under £40, it's not going to be any good, but this one really is fantastic."
Unusually, even for an adult microscope, the Living Microscope includes an incubation chamber, where children can grow organisms from mould, or transform fly eggs in to a chrysalis.
Heavy, solid and made of metal, not plastic, this is a proper working microscope and, Lawson says, kids can't get enough of it. "Children will immediately look down the microscope. Things are constantly changing within the incubation chamber and you can monitor the changes. For a curious child, there's nothing they love more than seeing that happen."
Budding biologists can even detach the microscope and take it out "into the field" (or back garden) to examine anything from grass to insects close up.
Having started with 10 products, Eduk8 now sells about 250 fun and educational toys. Products such as the company's butterfly garden, where children learn to attract butterflies and watch them feed using a magnification device, often offer a journey of discovery for parents too.
Another innovation from Eduk8, the battery-powered Chatter Tracker, has been a hit in schools. A traffic light system flashes from green to amber to red as the noise level in a room rises; children enjoy trying to keep the decibel level down.
According to Lawson, children today demand true innovation when they play: "Children are like sponges, and they're curious. They always zoom straight into the science stuff."
Eduk8 toys are available at eduk8worldwide.com
The shape of play
The three biggest innovations in kids' toys, according to Christine Lawson:
Battery operated toys – they can be taken anywhere.
Software – anything that replicates real life.
The traditional 3D physical toy – children of today may have their tablets, but something that's tangible, that they can hold and feel, rather than just look at on a screen, still fascinates them.
Power your toys
"It's no good using cheap batteries in toys," Christine Lawson stresses. "They don't last and children get frustrated and lose interest while you replace them. I'd recommend Duracell."
With unrivalled performance, Duracell Ultra Power last 12 times as long as leading zinc batteries*.
*Based on Duracell Ultra Power AA vs. Kodak ZnCl AA, Panasonic ZnC & ZnCL AA and Sony ZnCl AA batteries as tested in digital cameras. Results may vary by device
