I feel like this list says a lot more about what the author wants her kids to be interested in than a real survey of the whole toy market. There are a few stuffed animals that get tons of love, and the magnet blocks were a hit for a couple months but then they got old. This is going to trigger a deluge of unsolicited admonition, but the television and the Nintendo switch have by far the highest entertainment value per dollar spent.
I'm the author, and my husband immediately had the same feedback: iPad should be at the top of the list. I responded that iPad wasn't a toy, and he strongly disagreed.
From research on a comment in another area, the European Union at least says "no" on the toy claim. Things in the EU "not considered as toys". [Directive 2009/48/EC, Annex 1] 14. "Electronic equipment, such as personal computers and game consoles, used to access interactive software"
Imo, there would be no value in writing something where an iPad would satisfy the requirements, and I appreciated the list, and we're thinking about the large magnatile things now.
Do you have an easel whiteboard paper roll thing? I think it fits this list.
I tried the easel and whiteboard paper roll when my kids were younger and it was not a great experience. But I think those things change with time. Cool to hear it fits the list for you.
My brother bought a hand-held console. You can have thousands of games (NES, SNES, Gameboy, even Amiga and ScummVM), and there is just no need for a replay value. It can be new every day.
It's not for young kids, but starting with age 6 or 7, I would day it lasts several years. Using the same metric it scores at least 12 or 13.
