About Children's Play Ovens

Significance

• By the time children reach elementary age, much of their formal education involves reading and lecture. Prior to that time children learn by playing, specifically by role playing. The most frequently imitated adults are, of course, parents. Many authorities on the subject believe this type of role playing helps children develop their abstract thinking skills, improves their language and communications abilities, and teaches problem solving. Children who play with toy kitchens and ovens even develop essential life skills such as cooking, cleaning and learning to read and follow instructions.

History

• Play ovens are not a new development. Children have been applying their imagination to any object that remotely resembles an oven for centuries. A cardboard box can be a play oven to an imaginative 4-year-old. However, one of the first modern, working play ovens to gain widespread popularity was Kenner's Easy-Bake Oven, which hit the toy market in 1963. The Easy-Bake Oven cooked food with an ordinary light bulb, retailed for $15.95 and sold more than a half-million units its first year.

Types

• Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but toy manufacturers know a cash cow when they see one. As play ovens grew in popularity (by 1997 Hasbro had sold more than 16 million Easy-Bake Ovens) more toy manufactures began developing their own lines of kitchen role-play toys. Some are working models, others are completely pretend. Step 2's Lifestyle Dream Kitchen is a complete, modern play kitchen with a play microwave oven, storage compartments, a framed window, a faux-granite countertop and a pretend sink. Accessories include pots and pans that make sizzling and boiling sounds when placed on the cooktop burner.

Benefits

• In the 1960s, play ovens were marketed exclusively to little girls. As gender roles have become less rigid, the design of play ovens has evolved to become more gender neutral. Early childhood development experts encourage parents to play with both little girls and little boys in the kitchen environment as a means to help them associate everyday tasks not as chores to be dreaded but as life-skill-developing activities that are fun and rewarding.

Warning

• In 2007, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Easy-Bake, a division of Hasbro Inc., announced a voluntary recall of the Easy-Bake Oven Model number 65805. It was determined that young children could insert their hands into the oven's front opening, and get their hands or fingers caught, posing entrapment and burn hazards. The manufacturer encouraged consumers to stop using the product immediately. The manufacturer further noted that the Easy-Bake Oven is an electric toy and is not recommended for children under 8 years of age. Customers should visit the firm's website at www.easybake.com for additional instructions.