The Sun News:
Like lots of toddlers, 2-year-old Timothy Smith routinely plays with toys that teach him to sing tunes, repeat simple words and count to 10. That’s how he learned that the wet stuff in his bathtub is called agua.
Timothy’s parents want him to grow up speaking English and Spanish and appreciating his Hispanic roots. And they’re relying on bilingual toys to help.
‘I’m Hispanic, and my husband speaks mostly English,’ said Timothy’s mother, Reace Alvarenga-Smith. ‘We try to seek out bilingual toys because the dominant language in our home, unfortunately, is English.’
The Arlington, Texas, family doesn’t have to search very hard these days.
From colorful, counting maracas to huggable, talking bears, bilingual playthings have become increasingly popular as retailers and manufacturers tap the burgeoning Hispanic market.
In fact, Toys ‘R’ Us cited bilingual products among the biggest trends of last Christmas’ toy-buying season…
For the toy business, bilingual products have taken off along with Hispanics’ economic clout. Hispanics account for almost 15% of U.S. residents, according to the Pew Hispanic Center’s most recent data.
And Hispanics’ buying power nationwide is projected to rise from $490 billion in 2000 to almost $1.2 trillion in 2011… Read on…
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