An AIJU study reveals that the pandemic and quarantine affect the mental health of up to 45% of children

The presentation ceremony of this 2022-2023 edition, which took place within the framework of the Juguetes Pre-Show that brought together all the players in the national toy industry, received the support of the Minister of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Trade and Trade. Work, Rafa Climent, managing director of the Spanish Toy Manufacturers Association (AEFJ), José Antonio Pastor, and Manuel Aragonés, director of AIJU.

The study, conducted with 600 families with sons and daughters aged 3 to 12, shows that the pandemic has caused an increase in anxiety, boredom and pessimism among minors. 50% sadder and more angry. Regarding social skills, for 70% of children it meant shortening the time spent with friends, but technology has become an ally in this regard, as its use has increased by 47%, allowing for virtual relationships.

Likewise, the epidemic it also had negative consequences on children’s nutrition and sleep. Because 20 to 25% of them are more uncomfortable than that. Finally, it should be noted that more than 40% of families surveyed believe that the pandemic will affect their children’s future, particularly their ability to interact with friends, their emotional health, and their quality of life.

In this sense, toys and playing with friends can help reverse these situations by improving social skills, healthy enjoyment of free time, and overall physical and emotional well-being.

During the event, another report was presented which concluded: 32% of families say they consider sustainability when buying toys. and 44 percent think the current supply of sustainable toys is low or very low.

As Pablo Busó, coordinator of Children’s Studies at AIJU stated in his presentation, although sustainability is one of the top 10 factors, quality-price (62%), educational value (56%), children’s demand (46%) remain the main purchasing criteria. continues.

The perception of sustainability in the toy world of consumers in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Italy was analyzed in the research conducted with 2,800 families with boys and girls aged 0-12. 79% of the families surveyed, A sustainable toy is about being easily recyclable., then made from recycled materials and/or made from natural materials. In addition, 75% associate the sustainable toy with wood and cardboard materials, stating that it is durable.

In this sense, the environmental problems that most concern consumers are mainly the optimization of energy use (66%) and climate change (57%). Consumers think that measures to be encouraged to tackle these problems include educating children on responsible consumption (56%), promoting the recycling and reuse of products (53%), and reducing plastic consumption (51%).

Regarding the guideline, it is a project funded by the Ministry of Sustainable Economy through IVACE (Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness) with a nominal grant of 216,000 euros. It should be noted that currently, only recommended products remain the only available guidance in a national context approved by consumer institutions. Passed pedagogical and usability studies with over 100 hours of free games. In this issue, 29 companies and producer groups participated and contributed with a total of 109 products, of which 103 were selected for inclusion in this guide.

Sustainable Economy Minister Rafa Climent noted that “more and more companies are moving from seeing sustainability as an expense to seeing it as an investment.” In this sense, “management foresight and Let’s help companies with the budgets and tools to integrate sustainability into their strategy”. The person responsible for the economy referred to the special and pioneering line launched by IVACE in 2019 to support the research of technology centers in the circular economy.

Likewise, according to Manuel Aragonés, director of AIJU, “this guide aims to be a tool to assist the consumer who analyzes information from the evolutionary point of view of the expert, family and child. All products recommended in this guide have undergone extensive research to demonstrate their suitability for use and their psycho-pedagogical and recreational value”.

José Antonio Pastor, Managing Director of AEFJ, said: “Already a classic in the industry’s Christmas campaign, this guide is not only a benchmark for consumers when choosing their cravings for Magi, but also representative of the main claims and trends in innovation in the toy industry: values ​​education, sustainability and inclusion. Fun guaranteed.”

Finally, Pablo Busó, coordinator of AIJU’s Child User Research and Pedagogy Department, pointed out that this is one of AIJU’s most important projects, as this allows it to act as a flagship project. advocate and monitor the importance of play in childhood. It has a great impact on families and society in general and, given the large involvement of companies, allows direct advice on R&D in the development of new products”.

Play, toys and awareness

Games and toys are learning tools that can contribute to the development of social and civic values ​​in a simple and fun way from childhood. Thus, AIJU has developed Childtizens II Projectwhose aim is to raise children’s awareness of social values ​​related to sustainability through play (IVACE funded project, through FEDER funds).

created for this A system of symbols that enable visual and easy identification of games and toys that contribute to raising awareness of positive values To achieve childhood Icons, games and toys go through a rigorous analysis process in which their characteristics and the role they can play in the development of childhood social values ​​are evaluated.

It should be noted that the identifier symbol system implementation is already used in this Guide.