Assessment of Children’s Toys Suitability Index Instrument (Toy Index)

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to produce a Toys Suitability Index Instrument (Toy Index) based on the assessment of the suitability level of children’s toys aged three to five years old. This study employs the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and Analytical Hierarchical Processing (AHP) which are the 'Expert Polling' methods based on the integration analysis of the expert panels. The experts are from various backgrounds in terms of skills, experiences, and roles in the society. As a result, the findings have produced an instrument for the suitability of children’s toys that consists of four (4) main indicators and 22 sub-indicators. Based on the findings, the ‘Safety of Toys’ indicator is the most important aspect that influenced the assessment of the Children’s Toys Suitability with the value of LW=4.32/10 or 0.432/1. This is followed by the ‘Values of Education’ indicator with a reasonable value of LW=3.74/10 (0.374/1) and the ‘Suitability of Playing’ indicator with a value of LW=1.14/10(0.114/1). Meanwhile, the least important aspect is the Suitability of Information with the lowest value compared to the other aspects of children’s toy suitability level with a value of LW= 0.75/10 (0.075/1). The Toy Index acts as a benchmark tool for designers or children’s toy industries in producing quality and suitable products in Malaysia. This instrument may help Early Childhood educators in identifying appropriate toys for children’s development.