Parents today want toys that are both fun and educational for their children. Toy manufacturers want toys that are big hits with both kids and parents. Enter in the Toy Awards. There are several awards given each year for Best of Breed toys, but they all judge toys on different criteria. Some may judge from a kids point of view, while others may be from an educators point of view, while others judge toys based on an adults view of what a kid would like. We have listed some of the best known toy awards and how those awards judge toys.

Family Fun Toy Award

This toy award is given out by the Family Fun magazine, which is a magazine for parents with children. The Family Fun Toy Award is broken into categories for both age and style of toy, plus a Top Ten list which includes all the toys together. Family Fun Toy Award only judges toys that have been introduced by toy makers for the upcoming year.

Family Fun Toy Award is judged solely by children and goes through two rounds of voting. The first round is with a group of 100 - 200 children conducted at a research firm. The toys that are voted as the children's favorites then go onto round two. Round two consists of a group of 1000-1500 children at day-care centers trying and voting for their favorite toys.

All the votes are then tabulated and the results are published in the Family Fun magazine and on the Family Fun website.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards is also referred to as the Oppenheim Awards. This award is given out by the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio which is an independent consumer review company run by a mother and daughter team with a background in child development. The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio not only gives out the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards but also releases their reviews of all the toys they have judged. The award is broken down into developmental stages as well as categories. The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards only judge toys that have been introduced by toy makers for the upcoming year.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards is judged by both adults and children. There are two rounds that determine the winners. The first round is done by a panel of Oppenheim experts who look at the quality and safety of a toy as well as the developmental appropriateness of a toy. If the toy passes the first round, it is then sent to the second round, which is tester families who then try the toy for several weeks. The toy is then rated by both the parents and the children.