VOA健康报道2023--Toymakers Aim More Products at Older People

Toymakers Aim More Products at Older People

Toymakers are developing new games – and changing old ones – to target a different group: people over 65 years old.

Toy producers suggest the products could help older people increase their brain skills as well as reduce loneliness. However, some experts have raised doubts about their claims.

Toymaker Hasbro signed a deal with Ageless Innovation — which designs toys with older people in mind — to come out with new versions of games such as Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Life. The products offer larger letters that are easier to see and bigger game pieces.

The new versions of Life and Trivial Pursuit also have developed their content so that younger and older people alike can play. For example, the answer to a question in Trivial Pursuit about exercise can be Jack¹ LaLanne or Zumba, depending on the player's age.

Jack LaLanne was a famous health and exercise person for a large part of the 20th century. Zumba has become a more popular exercise in recent times.

Educational Insights, which produces educational toys for young children, is including images of older people in its marketing² efforts. The move came after the company noticed last year that its toys like Kanoodle and BrainBolt were popular with older customers in online reviews. Next year, Educational Insights will release a new BrainBolt Boost that has bigger buttons and is more simplified.

Changes in behavior

The new products come as the pandemic has changed toy-buying behaviors in the United States. Long before the pandemic, many adults purchased Legos or collectible items to connect with their inner child.

But the pandemic not only increased the trend, it also increased feelings of loneliness among adults when they were in lockdown. Many toy companies found adults using animals and robotic pets as companions.

Market research company Circana reports that toy sales are increasingly targeted toward adult buyers. About 5 percent of the total U.S. toy sales are for males ages 35 and over, up 13 percent since last year. About 4 percent of total U.S. toy sales are for females ages 35 and over, up 9 percent since last year.

While Circana does not examine sales data for the over -65 group, it estimated grandparents who bought a toy for their grandchild have big spending power. These grandparents made up 19 percent, or $7.8 billion, of total toy sales in the 12 months that ended in September. And grandparents spent on average 7 percent more per toy than the total market during the fourth quarter of 2022, the highest amount spent across all buyer groups.

Can new games help?

Ben Swartz, 92, lives with his 85-year-old wife in a retirement³ community in Des Moines, Iowa. Swartz ran 14 toy stores in the 1970s. He has noticed some of the new offerings from the toy industry, and he approves of the moves.

Swartz plays games five days a week, including bridge and poker⁴ with his friends. He said the games help his mind, otherwise, he said, he would worry that his "mind would start to go a little bit stale."

Still, while some scientists welcome toymakers paying attention to older buyers, they also warn of these products' limitations.

Neil Charness and Walter Boot, both of Florida State University, worked together to test the idea that brain games like crossword⁵ puzzles help preserve mental abilities such as reasoning or thinking, also known as cognitive⁶ function.

They found that people get better in the specific skills of the game if they play over and over again. But the games do not translate to the cognitive skills needed for everyday living activities, such as job performance or maintaining independent living, they said.

The researchers also said that there is limited evidence to date that playing games can greatly reduce loneliness.

Words in This Story

trend – n. a general direction of change

stale – adj. not as strong, effective, or energetic as before

limitation – n. something that controls how much of something is possible or allowed

preserve – v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

5 crossword   

n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

参考例句：

• He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
• Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

6 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。