The National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) is one of the longest running and most respected awards programs in the country. With 25 years of experience in the industry, we have been continuously celebrated as the "go-to" source for parents and professionals seeking the best products for their children and families.

NAPPA enlists a team of independent expert judges and family testers to review each submission thoroughly. Together, they select the most entertaining, appealing, safe, educational, age-appropriate and enduring products as NAPPA Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. A NAPPA recognition is more than just a seal of approval. It signifies that a product has been rigorously evaluated against stringent criteria and that it stands out among hundreds of similar products from around the world. Products that receive the prestigious NAPPA award are quality products that parents and professionals can trust.

We strive to bring the best, quality products to the attention of the parents we serve so that they can make smart consumer decisions for their families. It brings us great joy to share our findings with you.

Dr. Toy’s Best Children’s Products Awards were developed by noted child development authority, Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. – Dr. Toy – as a service to consumers who want to purchase safe, affordable, educationally oriented, and stimulating toys and products for children. Dr Toy assists consumers to identify the most appropriate, engaging learning and developmental products.

Products are carefully selected from among many hundreds Dr. Auerbach reviews at toy fairs, catalogs and through many sources, and by using extensive criteria developed over many years (including safety, age-appropriateness, design, durability, play value, cultural and ethnic diversity, transition from home to school, educational value, learning skills, creativity, understanding community and world, good value for price, and, naturally, fun).

The winning products include innovative toys, games, books, videos, audiotapes, software/CD’s, DVD’s, crafts, socially responsible, high tech, and other innovative children’s products.

Dr. Toy selected an excellent array of tech products that offer interactive learning, skill building, and encourage activity. The balance of time spent learning, play and tech is essential for children’s maximum development.

According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study, American children spend an average of “almost 40 hours a week (equivalent to a full- time job) consuming media outside of school – including television, computers, radio, phones, and electronic games.” Most children have TVs, computers, phones, and game consoles readily available. They are exposed to advertising as they browse the Internet, play online games, and watch TV. Parents’ responsibilities are more challenging than ever.

Adults must find the right balance in children’s activities, and help them to not spend all day being sedentary playing on an app, video game, or other electronic products. We want, for many important health and social reasons, to encourage more active and open ended play for children. Children need a balance of reading books, building with construction toys, playing with board games, puzzles and being out of doors playing with friends, creative activities and following hobbies and interests.

Play is essential for everyone from the one-year-old baby to the one- hundred-year-old senior. How are you creating more varied playtime in your life, with your family?

The selected tech products offer many good choices for tech interaction, learning and great benefits if used wisely.

Children’s Technology Review was created following research at the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. This study resulted in a systematic evaluation system for children’s software. There was a need to better understand the expanding number of products (at that time, there were 40 new titles — per year!) As of 2011, the database contained 13,000 products; with over 10,000 assigned ratings. Newer software and games are tested and archived at the non-profit Mediatech Foundation in Flemington New Jersey. Older titles have been archived at the Strong Museum of Play.

Do you give Awards & Seals?
Yes, but not for money. Creators of products that score well on our instrument (in general 80% or better) . No money changes hands related to seals, quotes or ratings. In addition, we cooperate with the annual Consumer Electronic’s Show (CES) and Living in Digital Times to manage the KAPi (Kids at Play Interactive) award program. We are not involved in booth sales or “pay to speak” arrangements that are common at such events.

The National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval program is an independent testing procedure conducted to judge a variety of products introduced and marketed to the parent/child consumer market.

The testing involves a multi-step process conducted over an eight week period. Staffed by volunteers, the testing facility of The National Parenting Center gives parents, children, and educators the opportunity to examine a variety of submitted products. The testers are encouraged to play with, build, read about, and judge by the reactions of the children, each product's quality.

Participants fill out questionnaires for each product they test. Evaluated are each product's level of desirability, sturdiness, interactive stimulation and other ingredients essential in the make-up of a quality product. Test results are based on both statistical averaging and comments received from the parent/testers.

The Seal of Approval program is designed to continue the efforts of The National Parenting Center, which was chartered in 1989 to help create better informed parents as they tackle the challenges and enjoy the many rewards of parenting.

The Mom’s Choice Awards^® (MCA) evaluates products and services created for children and families. The program is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. The organization is based in the United States and has reviewed thousands of entries from more than 40 countries.

A Mark Of Distinction / A Trusted Resource
Around the world, parents, educators, retailers and members of the media look for the MCA mother-and-child Honoring Excellence seal of approval when selecting quality products and services for children and families.

Our Esteemed Panel Of Judges
An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others.

The Evaluation Process
The MCA judges are bound by a strict code of ethics which ensures expert and objective analysis free from any manufacturer association. The evaluation process uses a proprietary methodology in which entries are scored on a number of elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost. Each entry is judged on its own merit. Judges are especially interested in products that help families grow emotionally, physically and spiritually; are morally sound and promote good will; and are inspirational and uplifting.

Philanthropic Spirit
Once the evaluations are complete, all products submitted for consideration are donated to schools, libraries, hospitals and charities.

The Family Choice Awards recognizes the best products, services and resources for all members of a family including our cherished pets. This awards program, now in its 20th year, is one of the most coveted, family friendly consumer awards program in the nation.

There is something about this app that makes learning a delicious experience for kids. It's not just that a good deal of thought and care clearly went into every aspect of its design. What sets Reader Bee and the Story Tree apart is how well those pieces come together to form a highly effective learning tool. Kids find the games hugely enjoyable, a fact that keeps them happily coming back for more. Reading skills are built by introducing letter sounds and shapes in a carefully orchestrated manner. Each game is organized around something called a daisy - six letters/sounds arranged around a central one. Children learn to think in sounds so that they can blend those sounds into words. Pictures are used to help kids make choices that connect the sounds they hear with the names of familiar objects. After a game is completed, entertaining stories are displayed and narrated onscreen in which words from the game appear extensively. The games, which include Open the Daisy, Trace & Chase, Type & Swipe, Hear & Tap, and Daisy Type, are easy to navigate and contain playfully engaging audio/visual effects that enhance both the fun factor and learning content.

Reader Bee's First Story Maker gives children the ability to communicate in writing even if they are just beginning to learn letters and words. It inspires them to explore and enjoy expressing themselves through written stories while building word skills. The app's special Honeycomb Keyboard has pictures on the keys next to the letters (like an apple on the 'a' key) to help kids locate the letter they want by connecting the sound to the letter. These keyboard pictures can be turned on or off. There is also a menu of pictures across the top of the screen, and tapping or dragging any of them causes the picture to appear in your onscreen text. Here's the really cool part: double-tapping a picture you've placed in your text transforms it into the written word. For even more excitement, type the word for any of the images from that list (there are 100 of them) and, after appearing onscreen, the word changes into the picture. You'll see kids learning knew words and typing elaborate stories in no time. The Honeycomb Keyboard can be accessed from anywhere on your iPad and, in addition to letters and pictures, provides numbers and math symbols.

You can count on classic toys. These are the long lasting toys that "keep on playing" long after the batteries and latest fads are gone. They are also updated, improved and continue to please young players and older ones too. Where do you turn for a selection that provides a timeless, fun experience that will hold your child’s interest and engage the entire family?

We are always searching for those lasting favorites of all children who have played with them. We have also found some excellent new updates of classic toys. Parents need to balance their children's play experiences between traditional and high tech play. They need to be reminded that classic, highly beneficial toys are available. Parents and grandparents will quickly recall the fun they had with classic toys.

Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D., known as Dr. Toy®, has been tracking trends in the toy business for more than 30 years. In the just released Dr. Toy's Best Classic Toys for 2015, the search extended across the entire toy industry to find classic toys that fit the criteria for fun, skill building, and high play value. The Dr. Toy Team with Jennie Ito, Ph.D., carefully evaluates to select the best products.

Drs. Auerbach and Ito agree that "Classic toys are enduring and have many important benefits. They encourage the child’s interaction, involvement and are truly child-powered." A wide-variety of selections are included among this year's winners. The list reflects toys that these experts say "are perfect for all ages, abilities, and interests from baby to older children, teens, and adults, from low to high tech, and from nature to nurture."

Many parents and grandparents want to introduce a special favorite, a Yo-Yo, Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, Tinker Toys, Etch-A-Sketch, teddy bear, Raggedy Ann doll, Monopoly, or Lionel electric trains. Classics are the '‘basics' that never go out of style. You can quickly recall favorite playthings including Jacks and Ball, paper dolls, pickup sticks, Slinky, Play-doh, and a long-time favorite, marbles. Certainly, anyone who has ever tried a hula-hoop still finds it fun to swirl the colorful plastic hoop for exercise, stress reduction, and amusement; or toss a Frisbee, or use a jump rope.

"Classic toys," Dr. Toy says, reflecting back to her own youth, "are toys you return to from your own childhood like the shiny, durable Radio Flyer red wagon, scooter, or tricycle. The traditional toys endure and continue to stimulate play."

Drs. Toy and Ito carefully survey the toy marketplace year-round to select a wide-range of great classic toys and other categories. They keep abreast of new products, on the endearing, lasting qualities of the toys of yesteryear, and on innovative products based on the past, updated to create something new.

Winners of the annual classic toy search are included in Dr. Toy's Best Classic Toys for 2015, available on the first, free, popular, accessible website that has long presented the best award selections to advise parents, teachers, and others. Dr.Toy's Guide, www.drtoy.com, provides pertinent information, including photos, product descriptions, links to company sites, and other consumer information.

If you are at a loss for an appropriate toy for the child in your life, the suggestions found in the Dr. Toy's Best Classic Toys for 2015 will help you to easily locate valuable products. These toys have met the "test of time." They have endured, entertained, and satisfied young and old for many years, and will continue to do so for a long time.

Find out what all the excitement is about. Then, make some of your own by selecting the products that most appeal to you and your child. You can easily share the fun of a special classic toy or game with your child. You may recall the fun you had when you were little. If that's the case, carry on a family tradition that spans several generations. Find your favorite classic toy. Many adults collect toys as a fun hobby. Adults need more time to play for social, emotional, and physical benefits. "More playtime for all!" is "Dr. Toy's Rx" for children and adults.