In the world of children’s toys — specifically, plastic counting toys — bears are the dominant species. How would a dinosaur, a legendary predator in its own right, fare against the forest hunter? That’s what one toy seller wanted to find out in this PickFu poll.
The seller asked 50 parents, the obvious demographic for the toy-buying market, whether they would rather buy a bear- or dinosaur-themed counting set.
The choice of animal isn’t the only difference between the sets; each set contains different items. Option A includes bears, dice, and cups. Option B comes with dinosaurs (six different species!), bowls, and two sets of dino-themed activity cards.
Can you guess which one won?
And the winner is…Option B‘s dinosaurs, with 64% of the vote.
Were respondents true dino fans, or were they more interested in the accessories that came with Option B? Let’s take a look at their responses to find out.
The more variety, the better
The truth is, some respondents voted for Option B because they really do like dinosaurs.
“The bears are cute but dinosaurs are majestic, mystical, and a lot of fun to learn about,” one person wrote.
But most who voted for Option B said they preferred the variety of items — specifically, the counting cards — versus Option A’s all-bear set.
“Those cards come in handy when teaching kids how to see the actual amounts of things on paper,” one respondent wrote. “In school, they are required to be able to count on paper — without the cards it makes doing this more difficult and an additional learning process.”
“Different dinosaurs are more interesting than the same bear in multiple colors,” another said.
Still, Option A got about one-third of the votes. And respondents on both sides were quick to note which option they thought their child would prefer. At the end of the day, it’s not the parents’ tastes that actually matter.
Other highlights
- While respondents age 44 and under preferred Option B, some in the 25-34 age group liked Option A for its vibrant colors.
- More male respondents than female ones favored Option B. This is interesting to note because several female respondents made generalizations about dinosaurs being more suitable for boys while teddy bears appealed more to girls.
What they said
“I prefer the accessories that come with the dinos, and I like how there are different ones, not just different colors.”
“I like bears over dinosaurs. Also, I think both boys and girls like bears, but not all girls like dinosaurs.”
“I prefer the dinosaur version. It is different than what I have seen and I know that my kids would love this version. I like the counting cards and that adds to the reason why this version would work best for my family. We would get a lot of use out of the cards, they are a great learning tool and I will have to order two sets since I have more than one kid.”
“You know, I love this idea of counting dinosaurs. I like that the dinosaurs are different shapes and sizes. This will teach kids flexibility within the rules of counting, I think it could be quite useful. Also, the dinosaurs are much cuter than the bears!”
Key takeaway
Consumers like variety: in the shapes of toys, but also in the assortment of items in a set.
Do kids actually prefer dinosaurs over teddy bears? Is it different for girls versus boys? We can’t say for certain. But the parents in this poll clearly appreciate the value of more unique items in a set.
Want to dive deeper?
Results by commonly used words:
Results by age range:
