Abstract
This chapter draws on three research studies that have important findings for the design of connected toys. Combined, the findings show how children’s involvement in the design of digital toys/ play needs to be more highly prioritised in both research and commercial processes. Doing so would help to balance the dominant amount of commercial and academic research that considers children merely as end-users of digital products. The insights shared include highlighting how children have knowledge different to that of adult-makers and designers. Second, that young children have a range of expertise related to their own digital play, as well as skills for critiquing digital play that could be utilised as part of the design process. Finally, the third study shows how including children in the design process might aid their understanding of how such products work and as a result allow them to be critical of the technologies and content they are consuming.
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Yamada-Rice, D. (2019). Including Children in the Design of the Internet of Toys. In: Mascheroni, G., Holloway, D. (eds) The Internet of Toys. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10898-4_10
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