Bilingual toys taking off

These toys are teaching children another language. DP

BY KEIKO MORRIS, Newsday Staff Writer

Newsday.com: Ian Hede, at 20 months, plays in two languages.

Sometimes he and his mother, Marcela Hede, solve a simple puzzle of shapes - the words for those shapes written in English and Spanish for his mother to read aloud. And sometimes, he finds his amusement in his LeapFrog letter reader, which, with the simple push of a letter, offers Ian the sound of the letter in Spanish and a catchy little tune.

"We made the decision as a couple to raise him bilingual because we thought it would be a great asset," said Marcela Hede, 36, an East Northport resident who is originally from Colombia. Her husband, Neil Hede, is American. "We have this mentality that we are citizens of the world," she said. "We like the fact that we can communicate in different languages and with different people and meet people of different cultures."

As it turns out, the Hedes are not the only ones looking for toys that will help develop dual language skills. Industry experts say that the demand for such playthings has been growing in the past five years and toy companies, in an attempt to cater to a lucrative market, have boosted the number of such toys. Toys "R" Us identified bilingual toys as the second of its top five hottest toy trends for this holiday season.
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