Editing Toy (section)

===Age compression===
Age compression is the modern trend of children moving through play stages faster than was the case in the past. Children have a desire to progress to more complex toys at a faster pace, girls in particular. Barbie dolls, for example, were once marketed to girls around 8 years old but have been found to be more popular in recent years with girls around 3 years old,<ref name="Pressler">{{cite news|last=Pressler|first=Margaret Webb|title=Bored with her toys|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/01/AR2006040100186.html|access-date=2 April 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=29 October 2011}}</ref> with most girls outgrowing the brand by about age 7.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hains |first1=Rebecca |title=A Barbie with curves is still all about looks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/01/a-barbie-with-curves-is-still-all-about-looks/ |access-date=10 April 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1 February 2016}}</ref> The packaging for the dolls labels them appropriate for ages 3 and up. Boys, in contrast, apparently enjoy toys and games over a longer timespan, gravitating towards toys that meet their interest in assembling and disassembling mechanical toys, and toys that "move fast and things that fight". An industry executive points out that girls have entered the "[[Preadolescence|tween]]" phase by the time they are 8 years old and want non-traditional toys, whereas boys have been maintaining an interest in traditional toys until they are 12 years old, meaning the traditional toy industry holds onto their boy customers for 50% longer than their girl customers.<ref name="Pressler"/>

Girls gravitate towards "music, clothes, make-up, television talent shows and celebrities". As young children are more exposed to and drawn to music intended for older children and teens, companies are having to rethink how they develop and market their products.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xMEAAAAMBAJ&q=KID+RHINO+ADDRESSES+AGE+COMPRESSION+BY+TWEAKING+PRODUCTS,+STRATEGIES&pg=PA69|title=Kid Rhino Addresses Age Compression By Tweaking Products, Strategies|date=10 March 2001|magazine=Billboard|via=Google Books|language=en-US|access-date=15 February 2018}}</ref> Girls also demonstrate a longer loyalty to characters in toys and games marketed towards them.<ref name="Tansel">{{cite web|last=Tansel|first=Utku|title=Effects of age compression on traditional toys and games|url=http://blog.euromonitor.com/2010/10/effects-of-age-compression-on-traditional-toys-and-games.html|publisher=Euromonitor International|access-date=29 October 2011|date=19 October 2010|archive-date=5 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405114828/http://blog.euromonitor.com/2010/10/effects-of-age-compression-on-traditional-toys-and-games.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A variety of global toy companies have marketed themselves to this aspect of girls' development, for example, the [[Hello Kitty]] brand and the [[Disney Princess]] franchise.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hains |first1=Rebecca |title=The Princess Problem |date=2014 |publisher=Sourcebooks |isbn=978-1402294037}}</ref> Boys have shown an interest in computer games at an ever-younger age in recent years.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}