Toy designers grasped this important point many years ago, and so have parents. Today it seems that every toy on the market is extolling what it will teach the child - even those designed for new-borns! So what happened to fun? Is this still important? To find out, the Wilkinet survey asked parents what were the most important aspects of buying a toy. 49 per cent said 'offering the baby lots of fun and entertainment was the most important rising to 86per cent when including those who said it was 'very important'.

Mind you, ' Having educational value' was not far behind with 44 per cent saying it was the most important factor and 80 per cent of parents considering it to be the 'most important' or 'very important'. Other aspects of toy buying were less important. Only 65 per cent attached any importance to 'able to chew on while teething and 64 percent for 'keeping the baby interested for longer time periods. Finally only 49 per cent attached any importance to 'suiting a wide age range'.

So it seems that toys are not only for teaching, they are also for fun!