Demand rising for educational toys

Values and priorities

Experts also said that big drivers of the trend are the values and priorities that young parents emphasize.

The educational aspects of the toys are what young parents especially love, they said.

"Young parents want what is best for their kids and understand the balance between educational toys, tech toys and classic play," Breyer said. "They want their kids to have advantages in the classroom while also maintaining their sense of creativity and wonder."

Toy producers are taking on comprehensive, cross-platform approaches while designing educational toys.

"Kids are really attracted to iPads and the sensorily rich media that comes with animation, sounds, graphics, all of those things," said Dinesh Advani, co-founder of Play Shifu.

The company focuses on products that combine augmented reality technology with tablets, bringing offline elements to tablet-based games.

Breyer agreed about the popularity of high-tech products with children, saying youngsters tend to follow their older siblings and parents, who are frequently seen using such products.

"At the same time, we don't want them to be away from the physical," Advani said.

Breyer said toy manufacturers will continue to offer an array of play patterns to satisfy the various ways children play and how their parents want them to grow and develop their minds.

"It's important for kids to have a well-balanced toy box. Kids are drawn to technology, YouTube, and app-based video games, and toy manufacturers are incorporating these features into toys to engage kids how and where they want to play," she said.

The presence of advanced technologies in toy designs will rise as those features become more affordable for toy manufacturers, she added.

Breyer said that while having tech-based skills is important for children as they grow up surrounded by technology, they also need time to play.

"When kids play with classic toys, they are learning important life skills, such as how to take turns, how to win (or lose) a game graciously, determination to build with construction toys, and how to use their sense of imagination and creativity to come up with new ideas and think in a more abstract way," she added.

Some experts say that for very young children, combining cutting-edge technology with toys might not be the best thing to do.

"You want them to understand how the world works before you present them with alternatives," said Golinkoff. "Play is best when it's active as opposed to passive, when it's engaging and not distracting, when it's meaningful and they can link what they're doing to their lives, and when it's socially interactive."

She said those are the four principles of learning that toymakers should be using to create successful products for children.