STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As children the world over grab hold of and master their parents’ mobile devices, Toca Boca, a play studio creating fun, stimulating digital toys for children, and the National Parenting Publication Awards (NAPPA), today announced that Toca Hair Salon was named the 2011 NAPPA Gold Winner in the Children’s Media / Virtual category.
Toca Hair Salon lets children run their own creative hair salon from an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Kids can cut, color, comb and blow-dry life-like hair on four different characters, use their fingers to create an endless array of hair styles, and laugh along as the characters make funny faces and sounds while their hair is styled. Created a masterpiece? Children can easily take a snapshot to save and share their favorite hair creations.
Toca Boca’s digital toys directly address the social, emotional and developmental needs of children by creating stimulating, age-appropriate toys that do not involve winning and losing. Parents and siblings can play along together, or children can play on their own.
“Parents have given us an overwhelmingly positive response to Toca Hair Salon, telling us how their children embrace this toy for its ability to capture their creativity, imagination and a sense of responsibility. So we know this is an app that children love,” said Björn Jeffrey, CEO, Toca Boca. “However, it is also enormously gratifying to be recognized by a leading advocacy group like NAPPA, as a toy they feel captures the essence of what should be in the hands of children today.”
According to a recent survey conducted by Parenting magazine and BlogHer, one in four moms reported their children started playing with and using mobile phones by the age of two. As children embrace and master these devices, parents need a trusted source to verify the apps their children are using are engaging, educational and safe.
For over 20 years, NAPPA has been the “go-to” source for parents and professionals seeking the best children’s products (toys, games, books, music, DVDs, software, video games, websites) and parenting resources (books, DVDs, maternity and baby gear, accessories and more). NAPPA’s team of independent expert judges and family testers (parents and kids) select the most entertaining, appealing, safe, educational, age-appropriate and enduring products as NAPPA Gold and Honors winners.
“As a busy working parent, I can attest that NAPPA’s annual Children’s Products results are a valuable resource for consumers,” said Julie Kertes, NAPPA general manager. “Because our judges are experts in their fields and evaluate each product with great scrutiny, parents can be assured that a winning NAPPA product is a quality product.”
In addition to Toca Hair Salon, Toca Boca currently has a variety of digital toys available in the Apple App Store, all of which help enhance children's eye-hand coordination, social interaction, cooperation, problem-solving, creativity and abstract thinking:
- Helicopter Taxi – Let your kids fly around the house while getting calls from Señor Fox and his friends that need help to get home. Helicopter Taxi uses the camera on the iPhone to create augmented reality so that it looks like it’s really flying next to you! Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, $1.99
- Toca Tea Party – Invite your friends to a tea party around your iPad! Set the table, choose your favorite cookies and cakes, serve the tea and you’re good to go! Available for iPad, $2.99
- Toca Doctor – Play doctor by examining patients, solving puzzles and playing mini-games that take place in the human body, complete with beautiful artwork and fun sounds. Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, $.99. Toca Doctor HD is available for the iPad at $1.99
- Toca Robot Lab - With Toca Robot Lab, kids can build their own robot from pieces of scrap and see it fly straight away! Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, $.99
- Paint My Wings – A mirroring effect helps children create pretty patterns as they paint beautiful butterflies, and then take pictures of their favorite creations to share. Just make sure they don’t tickle the butterflies too much! Available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, $.99
- Toca Store – Parents can turn their iPhone or iPad into a Store Play Set – without any cleaning up afterwards! It’s the perfect toy for kids to play together with you, their siblings or friends. Available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, $2.99
- Parenting's Birthday Party Playtime – The app’s finger controls allow children to serve their “guests” classic party refreshments like birthday cake and juice, while incorporating essential items like tablecloths, candles, gifts, and party favors. Available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, $1.99
Toca Hair Salon is available for $1.99 from the Apple App Store or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
Toca Boca toys are created for and tested by children, from inception through production. Further, there are no in-app purchases nor banner / external advertising.
About Toca Boca
Toca Boca was founded in September 2010 and released its first products in March 2011; it was born out of the Bonnier Media Group, a 200-year-old family-run media business that has been creating and publishing family-friendly books, magazines, toys and programs since 1804. Led by CEO Bjorn Jeffery and, the Toca Boca team consists of experienced play designers, art directors, developers, or “playsmiths” , interaction designers and marketers with a deep passion for creating digital toys that help stimulate children’s imaginations. Learn more about Toca Boca at http://tocaboca.com/.
About NAPPA
For more than 20 years, the National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) has been the go-to resource for the best products for families. NAPPA’s team of independent expert judges, along with family and child testers, select the most innovative and enduring products to be NAPPA Gold and Honors winners in two annual competitions—Children’s Products and Parenting Resources. Far more than a seal of approval, a NAPPA award signifies that a product has been rigorously evaluated against stringent criteria and stands out among hundreds of other products from around the world. For more information, visit www.NAPPAawards.com.