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The Toy Man® News & Views
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Product Reviews / Evaluation Report Summaries (ERS) |
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Induction Certificate Number:
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74020090911-363
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Induction Date:
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September 11, 2009
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| Certificate License
Status: |  Active |
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Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball
by:
Rev. James G.W. Fisher | The Toy Man® - Product Evaluation Specialist
Evaluation Report Summary (ERS) Date:
09/11/2009
Based on the Amazing Baby book series, this 6-inch sphere is so enchanting. Baby can see himself or herself in the reflective mirror while giggling with the pullout peek-a-boo bear, tugging on the ribbon tags and discovering a chime, a crinkle, flaps and rings.
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Product Type
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Release Year
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Primary Usage
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Target Age / Max. Weight
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Target Gender
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Infant Toys & Accessories |
2009 |
Consumer/Education |
0-2 years |
Female/Male
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Evaluation Report Summary (ERS)
Category Rating Scores |
Category rating scores are based on scale from 1 to 5. Rating score must be 3 or higher to pass in each evaluation category.
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Cost Benefit |
Durability |
Hybrid-Use™ |
Marketability |
Skill Improvement |
Overall Visual Appeal |
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5 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Final product / service rating is averaged from the sum total of ALL applicable evaluation category scores. Only scores of "3" or higher are published.
There are a total of 357 evaluation categories which are used in our evaluation process.
(NOTE: Not all categories are applicable to any one product or online service.)
Only 6 of the evaluation category rating scores for this New Inductee's evaluation are featured for public view.
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 Trade Industry Sales Types
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Industry Memberships
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 Safety / Quality Classifications
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CE Marked | UL Approved | JPMA Certified |  | (Not Applicable) | (Not Applicable) | | | ASTM Compliant | eco-Friendly | eco-Conscious | |  | |
| UPC Code / ISBN# | Manufacturer SKU | Age Grading | | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Manufactured In | Safety Hazard/Warnings | | China | None |
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Introducing The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball
* SUMMARY CODES: GN - Generals Needs | SN - Special Needs | PDD - Pervasive Developmental Disorder
Kids Preferred has always been in the forefront when
it comes to the creation of award winning children's
products. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is yet another
new infant toy to validate that statement.
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is an activity ball which is 6" in diameter with more goodies for an infant or toddler to experience than you can shake a stick at! Let's get real here...less formal. If I were to identify and describe each individual feature of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball, well...the best way is to see for yourself from the imagery provided within this product evaluation summary, or just go out an buy one!
Everything and The Some!
Infants have a voracious appetite for new knowledge and experience to assimilate. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball couldn't possibly have a better fit to fulfill that need. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is a well designed toy which will dazzle infants with an extensive variety of sound, fabric textures and so much more as you can see from the list of items below;
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Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball
PRODUCT FEATURES:
- A pop-up bear
- A mirror
- Ribbons hanging from the ball
- A toy fish
- "Crinkle" flaps
- A chime
- Colorful plastic rings
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is not just a toy, it is in fact the culmination of careful study, design, and creation. Each of the product features listed above require the use of specific skills that are being targeted. By an infant making use of these skills to complete the task they are seeking to perform, they encourage further development of these very same skills.
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The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is an absolute delight for an infant! To get a greater grasp of what an infant experiences when playing with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball, grant me a few moments of your time. As you are reading the text to follow, picture the actions being being performed in your own mind as though you are the infant performing these actions;
- Pulling the fish out of the colorful
pocket, just to discover the cord attached to it keeps the fish from being pulled out any further. - Result: Infant experiences discovering limits.
- The big favorite with the infants in our consumer
hands-on evaluation, the crinkle flaps. - Result: The infant is stimulating sensory development and hand-eye coordination.
- And of course there is that little blue thing on top of the ball, that when an infant grasps and pulls on it, a cute, fuzzy little bear pops out like a Jack-In-The Box, but he's shy so he pops back into his space when the infant lets go. - Result: The infant exercises development of motor skills and coordination.
Who would imagine there is even more to discover with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball?
It is the curiosity and hunger for experience that makes the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball such a logical investment which is reasonably priced and just plain fun The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball serves as the solution to fill that hunger of an infant.
 Independent Evaluator Reports
Obtaining An Independent Perspective...
In this section we will cover the "Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball" from
the perspectives of qualified individuals" in the specific
field associated with the product being evaluated. To accomplish that task we
have called upon the assistance of two top level industry professionals who
know their stuff and have the credentials" to prove
it.
Our professional and independent evaluators have formed
their own opinions from extensive analysis and produced detailed,
in-depth product evaluation reports connected
with their study and evaluation of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball. The information
to follow is comprised of excerpts from those same reports which
have been paraphrased in order to encapsulate the primary
points being conveyed in each report. This approach provides completely independent
perspectives in the evaluation of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball.
PLEASE NOTE: The names of our independent evaluators are not disclosed to protect the privacy of these individuals upon their request. Their labors are provided at no charge to assist us in developing a well-balanced and qualified product evaluation summary. Their title is provided to clarify for our readers the specific type of specialist from which the information provided has been included in each product evaluation summary.
Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball
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PRODUCT FUNDAMENTALS:
- Based on the Amazing Baby book series
- Uniquely created and based on accepted research of how babies develop within the first two years of life
- Is designed to keep baby busy with the ball while stimulating/building fine motor skills
- Features Amazing Baby Peek-A-Boo Characters and several fabric design prints (both color and b/w)
- Comes in a clear re-usable vinyl bag
TARGET AGE GROUP: 0-2 Years
MSRP: $21.95 USD
APPLICABLE USE: Recreational Activity
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Behavioral Analyst | Clinical Psychologist, PhD
"When we as adults in today's economical climate look at a toy for infants, we have a tendency to measure its value based upon price weighed against the number of features. For an infant, the value of the toy has no importance. For them, all that matters is the colors, shapes, sounds, and objects associated with it which capture their attention. I can only begin to imagine the thought processes and emotions of an infant from their first glimpse of the Amazing Baby Pop-up Activity Ball during their first active Play experience with it."
"As I have so often stated, again and again, for an infant they do not differentiate and classify objects as we tend to do by our nature. They just experience their time with an object, in this case a toy, developing likes, dislikes, opinions, and feelings. In its own unique way, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is like an endless fountain of stimulation for fundamental skill development which is is so important to an infant. It presents an object of sustained curiosity for them which plays a dual role; recreational Play and stimulation to developmental skills simultaneously."
"The Amazing Baby Pop-up Activity Ball has a very well structured array of components, each of which are designed to target development of a specific skill or group of skills. Tactile touch, visual acuity, auditory function, depth perception, primary and fine motor skills functions, these are all part of skill development which is encouraged through active Play with the Amazing Baby Pop-up Activity Ball."
"One of the best yet not advertised features of the Amazing Baby Pop-up Activity Ball is that it is not a use once or twice and throw away toy. It is designed to be of practical use from infancy to 2 years of age. After that point, the child's thinking processes have developed to a point where the Amazing Baby Pop-up Activity Ball is no longer as beneficial as before. Skill development and self-assessment requires a different set of rules to play by that point."
ECD Specialist / Author
"In looking at the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball from the angle of an ECD specialist, I see a product which looks quite similar to competitor's products, yet at the same time there is something about it that creates an impression of it being unique. With the ball having so many facets to entertain a child while serving as a radical adjuvant for skill development, this product has served to capture my interest with no risk of losing it anytime soon."
"I work with pre-school children who would be referred to as GN infants as well as others who need extra attention and care, quite often referred to as PDD children. In my evaluation process using the product with both groups of infants, I determined that in my personal opinion, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is quite applicable for what you refer to on your evaluation sheets as Hybrid-Use™. To state it more simply, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball can be used in more than one environment effectively and safely. Whether for home, pre-school, or even work with PDD infants, the activity ball appears to be suitable for use in all of these environments."
"An infant's enticement to touch the various fabric textures, and shapes of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is figuratively speaking, irresistible. During an infant's Play time with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball, it serves as a substantial source of stimulation for an infant's primary skill development. In my study with my PPD infants, I established without debate that through repetitive Play with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball, my PDD infants appeared to show a very strong level of improvement in more than a single specified skill."
 Consumer Hands-On Evaluation
Nothing is more powerful than hands-on
experience by a consumer with a product
when it is under evaluation. Based upon that fact we
put a number of products we currently are slated to evaluate at
the mercy of consumers in a hands-on evaluation where
anything goes. Shall we see how the "Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball" was
seen with consumers?
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball created a very good level of response with the parents and their infants participating in our hands-on product evaluation. I don't think I have ever seen anything as beautiful as little infants completely taken up with an object as they were with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball. Each child kept their eyes focused on the ball, even when their mothers were trying to get their attention. It seemed as though nothing else mattered to them.
As we videotaped the hands on experience for each participant with all of the products we had brought, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball was seen as being one of the products which was most popular.
In our reviewing of the consumer hands-on feedback forms which the participants filled out, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball was one of the favorites. This is a sensational new product which the families all enjoyed having their children play with.
Several of the mothers and even a few dads shared how they were so see their infants investigating all the shapes and colors in their Play with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball. One mother who was one of the participants, is the Director of Pre-School Education at a facility in the city where she lives. She shared with us how she was, "...deeply impressed with the vigorous influence the ball has on an infant with such a superior combination of sound, colors, shapes and visual design." What does this all add up to? The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball passed this segment of our evaluation without any hiccups or discomforts from the consumer hands-on feedback forms.
 A Sampling Of Category Ratings
A small sampling of the individual category
titles & rating
scores from the complete product review itself
for this product are featured here. The categories which have been selected to
be featured in this product evaluation summary for
public view, specify some of the primary points of how and why that specific
rating score was reached.
- If a product is inducted, a product evaluation summary of the
complete review is published for public view.
- When a score has been assigned to a category rating, it has been through
a thorough validation process to ensure accuracy and no inflection of bias.
- If a product scores an overall category evaluation
rating average of [2] Two Stars or lower from the complete review results,
it fails the evaluation and is not inducted.
- Information for products which do not pass our evaluation is confidential and is shared only with the company submitting the product.
The Featured Category Ratings for this Product Evaluation
Summary are listed below.
COST BENEFIT: Rating Level - [5] 
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball was a very easy product to evaluate and
determine an accurate rating in this category. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity
Ball is a toy that delivers more than what's promised. An infant's developmental
skills get a turbo-charge which assures a positive return on your cost for your
infant. For infants,
the benefit is all too obvious, for the buyers, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity
Ball is a product which creates a want and fulfills the need. When you combine
price point + results, a buyer is literally guaranteed a serious ROI. The Amazing
Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball pulls a perfect score of [5] Five Stars in this
evaluation category for Cost Benefit.
DURABILITY: Rating Level - [5]
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball was put through an excessive amount of
wear and tear via multiple in-house tests we perform, after it was already used
in our consumer hands-on evaluation. One thing that cannot be disputed, the Amazing
Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball has been made to withstand extended periods of play
and abuse. Easily cleaned and with all seams well secured, the crowning glory
of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball was the textile materials used to create
the product.
The textile materials were of much higher quality than we have seen in many
other similar products which we have evaluated in the past. According to a
textiles
engineer we use for our evaluation of textile materials, buyers are getting
a far better deal than they might imagine. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity
Ball was unquestionably designed to last and is of sufficient level of quality
to be passed on to any new infants to come in the future with a family.
In the final analysis in our evaluation of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity
Ball in this category for Durability, the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball
rolled on through this evaluation category without the slightest effort.. The
Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball closes the book on this category with a
perfect score of [5] Five Stars.
HYBRID-USE™: Rating Level - [3] 
Hybrid-Use™ is a term created and used by our publication to identify if a product
is applicable for use in more than one environment. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball was determined to be quite effective for active Play for infants
in the home, day care centers, and with caretakers. With SN / PDD infants,
the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball passed in all phases of our evaluation
yet needs a more extended study with qualified SN professionals to establish
accurate testing and results for SN infants. Due to inability to validate the
Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball being approved for use in a commercial facility
we could only give the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball and average passing
score of [3] Stars in the category for Hybrid-Use™.
MARKETABILITY: Rating Level - [5]
As always, one of the key points of interest for a buyer is most oftentimes the
Marketability of a product. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball is produced
by a well known and reputable company which has a history of producing award
winning products for infants with functional benefit, quality, ecological benefit,
and excellent visual appeal. Add to that the immediate and positive response
of every infant that played with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball and their
parents as well, there is no challenge in seeing why it received a perfect score
of [5] Five Stars in this category for Marketability.
SKILL IMPROVEMENT: Rating Level - [5]
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball might appear to be a tough one to get
a good reading on skill improvement with an infant but the Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball has been under evaluation with us since the end of July. Determining
accurate scoring in this segment of our evaluation with infants required an extended
period of time working with qualified professionals who can give us their own evaluation
feedback.
One of the strongest arguments established with the help of these Pediatricians
and a infant SN therapist was that there is no debate in regard to whether or
not the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball does in fact encourage and contribute
substantially to an infant's skill development. Although it was felt a more thorough
and extended study of infants with the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball, it
was clear to see the product has a superior level of effectiveness. Infants were
completely enthralled by the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball with many of
the infants demonstrating preferences of one feature of the Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball over another.
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball met the challenge that it had to face
and passed with honors in sense, pulling
an average score of [5] Stars in this category for Skill Development.
VISUAL APPEAL: Rating Level - [5]
Visual Appeal was but another minor challenge to overcome. The Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball soared to the sky in its ratings in this category. Both the clear
re-usable vinyl bag it comes in and the Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball itself share a message to buyers of "Ya gotta have me!" The
design of the clear as well as re-usable vinyl bag is unique, offbeat, and just
plain uncommon with its visual appeal. It allows you to see the Amazing Baby
Pop-Up Activity Ball comfortably resting inside, just waiting for an infant to
play with it.
The Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball itself had its own mystique which caused several of our staff to
take note of how even the parents of the infants were carefully studying every
facet of the ball, with a few parents even playing with some of the interesting
features. To capture the attention of an infant is good, but to go beyond that
and draw the interest of adults as well is quite a feat. This serves as an outstanding
message of what an impact on sales that the Amazing Baby Pop-Up
Activity Ball will have sitting on a store shelf at a brick and mortar store.
After carefully reviewing the video tapes and going over all reports and pertinent
evaluation data, we established a final product evaluation score for this category.
A determination was reached that the Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball pulled
a perfect score of [5] Stars in this category for Visual Appeal.
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Since 1971, "The Toy Man®
Seal of Approval" has served as an emblem and standard for professional recognition
of a product or online service having met the globally recognized evaluation standards of
The Toy Man® Product Guide.
This emblem was first established in 1971 by the International Parenting Institute™. It is modeled
after the "Good
Housekeeping Seal of Approval®",
an emblem of recognition for products which meet the globally recognized high standards set forth by
the Good Housekeeping Institute®.
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THE TOY MAN®
AWARDS
"These are globally recognized awards that are received by a limited few,
yet they provide the well earned recognition well beyond the average that is truly deserved!" |
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"The Toy Man® Award of Excellence" is awarded to inductees that have an overall Evaluation Category Rating Average, ECRA™, of [5] Stars. That is the highest level of rating available on a 1-5 scale evaluation model. The ECRA™ is
based upon the overall average from all applicable
evaluation categories" |
| PLEASE NOTE: There are a
total of 357 evaluation categories with a minimum of
231 being applicable to any one product or online service in our evaluation process with 6 being featured in the Evaluation Report Summary, ERS. |
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The
Toy Man
® Award serves as an emblem of recognition for products & online services that contribute substantially to positive skill growth and/or productivity.
This distinguished award is exclusive as well as unique, with the editor's signature which represents a product being selected as an  |
| PLEASE NOTE: The eChoice™ Award images which were used from 1971-1984, 1984-2007 and 2007-April 2010 have been retrired. Although the versions of the eChoice™ Award have been retired, they still remain valid. |
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