BY BARBARA MILLER
Lycoming Co. Correspondent
WILLIAMSPORT - “Stick your
finger in the doll’s eye,” advised
Dr. James Van Horn, a family
sociologist from Penn State
University.
Van Horn, responsible for an
Associated Press column that
reaches 2% million people, ad
vised approximately 60 women on
toy selection at Fall Homemakers
Day on Oct. 29 at the Genetti
Lycoming Hotel in Williamsport.
Van Horn, father of five
children, maintained he wasn’t
being sadistic when he issued the
above advice, but was imitating
what a small child would do with a
doll. If an eyelid falls off, or one
eye remains closed forever, he
said, then it is not a doll you want
to buy. He advocated moving the
Dr. James Van Horn, a family sociologist from Penn State,
advises parents on toy selection for Christmas.
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Family Sociologist Offers Toy Buying Advice
arms and leggs to see if they
remained attached.
“Try to put on the eyes of a child
when you buy a toy,” Van Horn
su§§6stcdf
With 150,000 different kinds of
toys on the market today and with
an additional 3,000 to 4,000 being
introduced each year, choosing
toys is no longer a simple matter,
Van Horn observed. He added that
toys are big business. According to
Van Horn, combined sales at the
retail level is $l2 billion yearly
with most of the money spent from
September to Christmas.
Van Horn stressed the im
portance of play and the necessity
of buying well chosen toys. He said
play is a distraction for most
adults, but for a child, it is serious
business.
“Toys are the tools of a child’s
- ft ft
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business ... You wouldn’t send a
neurosurgeon off to the discount
store to look for the cheapest
tools,” he observed.
When buying toys, you need to
consider the kind of toy, the child’s
age, ability, and what the toy
means to a child. Van Horn said.
Shoppers should also keep in mind
whether the toy is safe, whether it
will teach the child new skills, and
the appearance of the toy.
Toys today are far safer than 15
years ago, Van Horn said, and
added that name brand toys are
usually safer because they have
been subjected to numerous tests.
For children under three he ad
vised making sure there were no
small parts that come off and
checking for sharp edges. Many
imported metal toys are not safe,
he said. Reading the instructions
on the box often helps to determine
if a toy is safe.
Van Horn said he “wasn’t into”
educational toys since he believed
children leam from any toy, but
recommended the housewares
department of a store for sturdy,
low-cost toys. A good quality
wooden spoon, a pie pan (if you can
stand it, he said), and a rubber
spatula for children who are
teething, are excellent toys for
children.
Opening the box the toy comes in
and checking the toy m the store
before you buy it is an acceptable
practice, but Van Horn suggested
asking permission from a sales
person first. If permission is
denied, he advised trying another
store.
“If you’re going to spend $2O for
a toy, you have a right to inspect
it,” he maintained.
When selecting board games,
“stick to names you recognize,”
Van Horn stressed. Board games
based on a current TV series often
don’t hold children’s attention, he
added.
Get input from parents when
buying a toy, Van Horn urged,
noting that parents know the
child’s capabilities and needs
better than anyone else. He ad
vocated sticking to brand names
for toys that would last and
steering away from battery
operated toys. He especially
favored child powered toys for the
younger children because they
encourage use of imagination and
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because when batteries go dead a
child can get frustrated. He told
listeners to imagine how they’d
feel if their car battery went dead
and through no fault of their own
wasn’t replaced for a period of
days or weeks.
Van Horn concluded with a slide
presentation of toys currently on
the market. Toys to hug are big
this year, he said, attributing the
trend in part to more mothers
working outside the home.
Eleanor Yarrison, Lycoming
County Extension home
economist, demonstrated how to
make a colorful fabric Christmas
tree without sewing. The afternoon
session featured a slide presen
tation entitled “Around the World”
by Anna Mae Lehr, retired ex
tension home economist from
Columbia County.
The Fall Homemakers Day was
sponsored by the Penn State
Cooperative Extension Service.
requested.
It is being held in the Farm and
Home Center, Arcadia Road,
Lancaster. This event is open to
the public.
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