Chicago – This spring, VTech (www.vtechkids.com), a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for children, has exciting introductions that build upon its legacy as a learning authority. New spring products were added to its award-winning infant and preschool, Switch & Go Dinos^® and Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® lines as well as new Learning Cartridges for its popular kid-friendly InnoTab^®Learning Tablets, offering engaging, innovative introductions that make learning fun.

“Toys that incorporate fun into learning are an important part of child development,” says Dr. Lise Eliot, Early Childhood Development Expert and VTech Toy Development Consultant. “Fun experiences feed a child’s curiosity and encourage learning and exploration, allowing them to absorb new skills and expand their knowledge.”

VTech works closely with a panel of children’s learning specialists on the development of its infant and preschool learning products. Each one of the Expert Panel members specializes in developmental or educational fields for children from birth through 9 years of age. VTech and the Expert Panel collaborate to ensure their products and content deliver the best learning experience possible for each child at every stage of development.

Each child grows at a different pace mentally, emotionally and physically, and has different needs as they grow through various life stages. Insight from these developmental and education experts allows VTech to provide parents with guidelines and recommendations to help them make informed choices. VTech delivers an expansive selection of toys that are appropriate for their child’s particular age and stage and to accompany them as they continue to grow and reach new developmental milestones. These recommendations have been compiled into a Milestones guide, which can be found at www.vtechkids.com/milestones.

VTech’s spring 2014 introductions include:

InnoTab^® Learning Cartridges: Parents can extend the play value of their VTech toys by purchasing new Learning Cartridges for InnoTab Learning Tablets. A range of educational cartridges are available, offering age-appropriate games, e-Books and more that allow children to progressively learn key subjects such as math, reading and science in steady stages. Interactive e-Books teach reading and vocabulary, while creative activities and camera fun inspire children’s imaginations. New titles include Learn to Write with Cody & Cora and Go! Go! Smart Wheels^®Busy Day in Alphabet Town, letting kids explore exciting content and open up new worlds of learning. Ages 3-9, MSRP: US$24.99 each.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Car Wash Playset: Drive in, clean up and get learning with the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Car Wash Playset! Kids can develop fine motor skills by using the slider to send the included vehicle through the wash. Turn the brush and dryer curtain to “clean” and “dry” the car and finish up at the service station with a quick tune-up. This playset is compatible with other Go! Go! Smart Wheels playsets (sold separately) to encourage creativity and imaginative play. The included SmartPoint^™ vehicle responds to the playset’s SmartPoint with fun phrases and sound effects. Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$16.99.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Tractor & Trailer: Perfectly sized for little hands, the light-up driver button activates playful music and sounds on the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Tractor & Trailer. Kids can pretend to take care of the chores with this farm equipment toy while learning about the letter “T” and more! Haul the hay and hear the toy tractor respond to various SmartPoint locations with different phrases and sound effects. The Tractor & Trailer is a barn full of fun! Works with Go! Go! Smart Wheels playsets (each sold separately). Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$10.99.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Vehicles: Children can cruise into the learning zone with new Go! Go! Smart Wheels vehicles. These electronic play vehicles are perfectly sized for little hands and entertain children with a light-up button that activates music and sounds. Little ones will also learn about different letters and vehicle names through pretend play. Each vehicle is also equipped with SmartPoint^™ technology. When placed over SmartPoint locations on playsets, the vehicles respond with fun phrases, songs and sounds. A new ATV, convertible and bulldozer join a line-up that includes a car, van, truck, ambulance, fire truck, police car, tow truck, helicopter, cement mixer, tractor and two race cars. Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$7.99 each.

Switch & Go Dinos^® Turbo Dinosaurs: Sleek, speedy race cars transform into fierce dinos, including a lightning-fast Triceratops, swift T-Rex, spiky Stegosaurus and armored Ankylosaurus in the new Switch & Go Dinos Turbo product line. Kids can rev up the action with the built in flywheel that let the dinos race and roar across the floor. Each dino also emits realistic vehicle and dinosaur sounds and phrases that teach fun facts about each dino. The range features six new dinos, including Dart the Triceratops, Zipp the T-Rex, Spur the Stegosaurus, Fray the Ankylosaurus, Cruz the Spinosaurus and Spinner the Stygimoloch. Ages 3-8 years, MSRP: US$9.99 each.

Switch & Go Dinos^® Turbo T-Rex Launcher: Rip and roar with the Switch & Go Dinos Turbo T-Rex Launcher. The T-Rex Launcher includes one electronic Switch & Go Dinos Turbo T-Rex that easily transforms from a dino to race car in a few easy steps. Use the launcher to turbo charge the dino or race car, then blast it from the mouth of the T-Rex. The faster kids charge, the farther it goes! At top speeds, the T-Rex races more than 20 feet. The launcher works with other Switch & Go Dinos Turbo dinosaurs (each sold separately). Ages 3-8 years, MSRP: US$14.99.

Write & Learn Touch Tablet^™: This electronic drawing tablet offers a progressive approach to early writing skills as your child traces lines, shapes, objects, letters and numbers on the drawing screen. Playful sounds and animations bring letters to life while children practice early writing skills through six learning activities and 19 animated stories that build language skills and encourage them to draw. Kids can play a fun hide and seek game to explore letters and numbers with a variety of animals or be creative with Free Draw and draw anything they wish like a true artist! Ages 3-6 years, MSRP: US$19.99.

Sort & Go Helicopter^™: Fly into learning fun with the Sort & Go Helicopter. Little ones will discover shapes and animals as they play with the shape sorter pieces and hear sounds that encourage play. Press the up/down and stop/go buttons to learn about opposites. Push or pull the helicopter to hear playful phrases and melodies. Watch their imaginations take off with the fun toy helicopter design and two spinning propellers. The sky’s the limit! Ages 12-36 months, MSRP: US$14.99.

Monkey Band Music Center^™: Children will jam and learn with the Monkey Band Music Center as they press light-up piano keys and tap the drum to hear an array of instruments. Animal friends on piano keys introduce themselves, sing songs and teach instrument names on this fun music toy. The adorable monkey encourages interaction with two sing-along songs and 10 playful melodies that keep the learning beat going. Ages 6–36 months, MSRP: US$13.99.

Light & Move Learning Ball^™: Get little ones moving with the Light & Move Learning Ball. Equipped with a sensor, the ball wobbles and rolls on its own to encourage crawling and develop gross motor skills. The educational ball also helps develop fine motor skills as baby presses, twists and spins the animal keys to discover shapes, numbers, animals and animal sounds. The spinning bird and flashing light attract attention while two sing–along songs and 15 melodies provide auditory stimulation. Ages 6–36 months, MSRP: US$12.99.

For more information about VTech’s new products, please visit www.VTechKids.com.

About VTech

VTech is a world leader in age–appropriate and developmental stage–based electronic learning products for children. As a pioneer in the learning toy category, VTech develops high–quality, innovative educational products that enrich children’s development and make learning fun. With a rich, almost 35 year history, VTech has not only established itself as a learning authority but also consistently remains at the forefront of innovation with award–winning products such as the InnoTab^® 3S Wi–Fi Learning Tablet, one of the first children’s learning–based tablets with Wi–Fi, MobiGo^®, V.Reader^® and V.Smile^®. The Learning Lodge^™, VTech’s comprehensive app store, features a robust library of more than 650 educational and entertaining games, e–Books, music and videos with engaging age–appropriate content across the widest variety of curricula, with content expanding to offer even more titles. The company also has a broad range of award–winning infant and preschool products available in 24 different languages worldwide, with more than 100 new products introduced every year. In order to further strengthen VTech’s position as a learning authority, the company’s Expert Panel, with esteemed experts in reading, language arts, science, math, and child development, consult on new product introductions and Learning Lodge content.

VTech Electronics North America, LLC is based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. VTech Electronics Limited is headquartered in Hong Kong with distribution globally. VTech is the largest supplier of ELPs from infancy to preschool in the US and Western Europe.

For more information on VTech’s additional product lines, visit www.VTechKids.com, www.facebook.com/VTechtoys on Facebook or follow @VTechToys on Twitter.

About Dr. Lise Eliot

Dr. Lise Eliot is a neuroscientist and author of What’s Going On In There: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life. The mother of two sons and a daughter, she also recently published the book Pink Brain, Blue Brain, which examines sex differences and similarities in children’s mental and emotional development – and what parents can do to help minimize gender gaps in school achievement. Dr. Eliot lectures widely about brain and gender development to parents, teachers and other early childhood professionals. See more from Dr Eliot at www.vtechkids.com/milestones and read her other VTech articles at www.vtechkids.com/parenting.