Author: Guest Contributor

The deadline is approaching for the toy community to submit their nominations for the 2025 Toy Industry Hall of Fame, the highest honor bestowed upon individuals in the industry. Nominations may be submitted online through Friday, June 7. Consideration for the Hall of Fame is open to living individuals who have made outstanding contributions and/or provided impactful service to the toy industry and The Toy Association throughout their careers. Candidates may be nominated by any stakeholder in the toy industry (Toy Association membership is not required); however, voting to select the 2025 inductees is restricted to members only. Detailed nomination criteria and information about the selection process is available here.

The Toy Association’s Erin Raden, senior director of state government affairs, met with legislators and other stakeholders in Sacramento in support of the Association’s advocacy and regulatory work on several priorities, including extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs and emerging packaging policies. The meetings were part of Ameripen’s Legislative Fly-In, which took place May 13 to 15.

A coalition group organized by the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber), of which The Toy Association is a member, submitted comments to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) regarding California’s SB 54, the largest comprehensive packaging EPR (extended producer responsibility) program in the country. As part of the coalition, the Association is providing the toy industry’s perspective throughout the rulemaking process for the proposal.

Ahead of the inaugural International Day of Play on June 11, The Toy Association is sharing resources biweekly from its Genius of Play initiative for play professionals to share with their networks. These resources are free to use and help to promote the importance of play in child development and offer guidance on fostering play-based learning experiences.

Children and youth are facing mental and behavioral health conditions at staggering rates (1), and play is a powerful tool clinically proven to help manage and improve children’s mental and behavioral health. Studies (2) have shown play therapy in a hospital setting reduces anxiety and negative emotions, as well as well as helps children express and communicate their feelings and emotions through toys. In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, The Toy Foundation (TTF) facilitated an interview between VTech Electronics, a partner of TTF’s Children’s Hospital Play Grants program, and MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach (Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital), a 2024 play grants recipient, to discuss how play is a vital tool for medical teams to provide pediatric patients with developmentally-appropriate mental and behavioral health support while undergoing treatment.