Feedback on an activity table design to support children's development

[productdesignactivities]

Hi everyone,
I’m currently studying Product Design at A-Level and I’m working on a project designing an interactive activity table for children.
The idea is to create one product that supports children’s development through a range of engaging activities while also helping parents save money by not needing to constantly buy new toys and activities. I want it to encourage skills such as creativity, problem solving, motor skills, and independent play, all in one adaptable design. I would like to focus on improving dexterity and motor-skills.
I’d really appreciate feedback from parents to help me improve the idea. I’m open to any opinions, suggestions, or criticism - whether it’s about features you’d want, problems with current toys/products, things children enjoy most, or anything you think would make a product like this genuinely useful for families.
Thank you so much!

Try posting a design. Your message only suggests a vague idea so there's nothing to critique.

Presumably you need to do a thorough review of the existing market offering as part of your project.

I was looking for any ideas for the activity table that user would want, and any issues at the moment that want to be solved. I don't have a proper design yet as I am at the currently at the start of generating ideas, talking with clients and stakeholders and researching existing products.

It sounds impossible. I can’t think of anything that’s fixed that a child can play with for a long time without getting sick of it. That’s why is EYFS settings they use tuff spots as tables and change what is on them all of the time. A toy such as a train set is something that grows with a child. They can build different and more complex tracks as they get older and develop different ideas or imaginative scenarios but that would not work as an activity table.

You’ve posted about this previously haven’t you?

Having done a design A level many years ago, and now working in a job where I pitch ideas, that's not how it works

YOU survey the market, find what YOU think is a gap, make a design, then ask for ideas. No one's going to give you their ideas for free. If you've got a neighbour with little kids or little cousins, ask if you can play with them/babysit for a few hours so you get an idea of how they play.

Honestly, there is a multiage massively successful solution to this. It's called an ipad

Yes, I posted it twice accidentally.

Thank you for your response. I have surveyed the target market myself, by coming on here I am just looking for any further elements of play which worked for people and what didn't. And unfortunately I don't own an iPad.

Thank you for your feedback. That is an idea that has crossed my mind about adding swappable activities and adjustable legs to grow with the child.

I mean some time ago.

There is no one table that you can fix activities on to that will engage children day after day and will solve the problem of having to have lots of toys. In fact, a table is restrictive to play really.

Yes, I did also post a while ago and then I was unable to log on again, so I shared a new post.

Kindly, you haven’t really got an idea for people to give you feedback on. Just a table format. If it is for an A Levrl project, I can’t believe the actual idea matters that much- I imagine your marks will come from the writing up- research documentation, how you identified a gap in the market, how your product addresses it, consumer research on your specific design, design stages, design adjustments, and improvements and evaluation afterwards. If you link all that to the criteria spec, theories, marketing whatever else - you’ll do fine. It’s A Level, they won’t expect you to create something amazing.

I’d probably split the table into quarters. One quarter would be for art, so perhaps a wipe board with a pot holder for erasable pens and a board rubber, you can get washable pens for when they are young and later it could be used for practicing handwriting and phonics. Second quarter a fixed Lego board, you could start with duplo then eventually it could be used for technic Lego. An area for playdoh, as they get older it could be used for modelling clay. The final quarter could be a mixed area with zips, press studs, shoe laces for them to practice and a clock face to help them learn to tell the time and maybe something interactive to help learn basic fractions.

Forgot to add, I’d make it so it had a ‘lid’ on so it could then be used as a table.

At the moment, as I'm at the early stage, I have a vague idea that I would like to build upon and was asking for any elements that would be useful to include with the product. You are very much right, the writing and the coursework of the product is what counts for the marks. This is why I have come on here to gather any ideas.

Actually, that’s a good idea. I’d do this but think rather than have it split into quarter, could you have different sheet layers that stored underneath the table and would slide in. With a storage tray underneath for lego or whatever?

Good luck for your project!

Thank you so much, this is a great idea! This is and will be very helpful for my project😊

Thank you😊!