Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 November, 2020 – GummyBox is an Indonesian toy company that has provided engaging, educational, screen-free activities to thousands of children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the pandemic continues, parents have taken on the full-time work of educating and entertaining their children at home. Schools remain shut while playgrounds and playdates remain risky options. For many parents, the challenge of keeping their children productive and entertained, among all else, is tremendous.
“Parents are stressed and tired, but they would still rather keep their children at home than worry about them getting sick,” said Dr. Meida Tanukusumah, a pediatrician and mother in Jakarta. “While the good news is that children are staying healthy, we still have to keep an eye out on their development.”
Dr. Meida highlights four developmental areas to monitor: social development, language development, fine motor skills and gross motor skills. The two most vulnerable areas are social and language development, which are affected when children lack two-way interactions. While screen activities can help children in many ways during this pandemic, they remain mostly one-way interactions and two-dimensional experiences.
“Toys have always been a good way for children to learn important skills,” explained Dr. Meida. “Right now, toys can also help psychologically. Many children actually want to return to school already, but they can forget for a moment when they are immersed in exciting, creative play.”
GummyBox provides many play options for children. Since launching in 2015, the company has designed more than 50 educational toys including craft kits, board games, science experiments and learning puzzles. Popular products for children aged 4-8 years old include a batik-making kit, ocean diorama set and dinosaur board game.
“Parents have options, but we are now seeing more mindful choices for toys that are sensory, educational and screen-free,” said Audrey Irawan, founder of GummyBox. “Since the pandemic started, we have also seen more demand for toys that can be enjoyed by the whole family, like our board games and activity boxes.”
Parents choose GummyBox because of its reputation for delivering educational and creative content, quality materials and much-needed convenience. Every activity box is packed with all the materials needed so that children can instantly begin their creative work. With activities that are safely and appropriately designed for the age group, GummyBox enables many young children to explore independently.
“Shireen stays so focused when she plays with GummyBox,” said Mrs. Meity, a grandmother in Solo who cares for 5-year-old Shireen. “The activities are so interesting, diverse and innovative – not like we normally see.” Young Shireen also adds that she liked making the elephant and rhino in her GummyBox.
“We are huge GummyBox fans!” said Natasha May, a working mom of 7-year old Samudra in Jakarta. “Their activity boxes keep Samudra occupied and using his imagination, but more importantly, they keep him from asking a million questions so I can focus on work too!”
Pandemic or not, as it has done since 2015, the GummyBox team will continue to design new educational products and content. GummyBox’s products are available on gummybox.com and at retail partners including Gramedia, Books & Beyond, Early Learning Centre, Tokopedia and Shopee. Prices range from Rp89,000 to Rp300,000.