Nursery

Professor Regan investigates the lucrative world of children's products. From snack foods to educational toys, she discovers if the huge range of goods available for today's kids means they are destined to grow up healthier and smarter than the rest of us. Nearly every children's food product and toy now exploits the ultimate sales tool - parental guilt. What mother or father could resist forking out for goods that will make their child healthier or give them an advantage at school? Professor Regan gets to the truth behind claims cereals can improve children's performance at school, investigates the research behind the famous Omega-3 fish oils, and investigates the formula behind formula milk to see how it compares with breastfeeding. Professor Regan sets a challenge for some of the world's biggest toy manufacturers: to compete for the title of the ultimate educational toy. Will any of them meet the standards her team of developmental psychologists require for educational products? Along the way she learns why a cardboard box can be an ideal learning tool, and reveals why educational children's laptops are not always as good as they seem.