With the profound changes in population structure, the degree of aging in China is increasingly deepening, and the health and consumption views of the elderly population are undergoing structural adjustments and profound changes. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the population aged 60 and above in China will exceed 310 million in 2024, accounting for 22% of the total population, of which the population aged 65 and above will exceed 220 million. In this context, age appropriate toys have jumped from peripheral categories into the new consumer market. According to data from an e-commerce platform, the search volume for "age appropriate toys" increased by 124% year-on-year in 2024, with a 70% increase in transaction volume. The proportion of consumers aged 55 and above continues to rise. Products such as smart chessboards, wrist balls, and rebound fitness balls continue to sell well, not only due to the gradual improvement of industrial layout driven by policies, but also reflecting the transformation of China's silver haired population's health needs from "elderly care" to "enjoying old age". Age appropriate toys are upgrading from "recreational tools" to "health carriers". The hot market for elderly friendly toys in our country is a diverse concerto composed by top-level policy design, market demand driving, and industrial innovation response, directly benefiting from the systematic planning of the silver haired economy at the national level. From the "National Medium - and Long Term Plan for Actively Responding to Population Aging", to the "14th Five Year Plan for Healthy Aging", and to the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Hair Economy to Enhance the Welfare of the Elderly", emphasis is placed on supporting the development of intelligent interactive and health monitoring products that accurately meet the health needs of the silver hair population's iterative upgrading. The "new elderly group", mainly composed of people born in the 1950s and 1960s, has a stronger economic foundation and consumption ability. They are gradually breaking the outdated perception that "old age is aging" and actively pursuing consumption patterns that promote physical and mental health. The popularity of Yishen Yinao toys is a direct response to this consumer demand, and its core value lies in fully meeting the physical and mental health needs of the elderly. At the physiological level, it can exercise hand eye coordination and muscle strength to prevent falls; At the cognitive level, it can stimulate brain vitality and combat cognitive decline; The deeper value is reflected in psychology and socialization, such as the intelligent chessboard equipped with an online gaming system, which solves the pain points of social deprivation for elderly people living alone, reconstructs social connections in the game, and provides valuable spiritual comfort. According to observations, the elderly purchase age appropriate toys mainly to meet three major needs: from "functional substitution" to "cognitive maintenance", toys with educational functions have become the new favorite; From "passive treatment" to "active prevention", the sales of sports rehabilitation toys have surged; From "individual elderly care" to "social restructuring", the mass fitness and elderly care market is huge. Despite the rapid growth of the market, the development of the age appropriate toy industry still faces many obstacles. Firstly, standard construction lags behind and product innovation is insufficient. The "General Technical Requirements for Smart Elderly Home Products" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology came into effect on July 1st this year. This standard for the first time specifies that age appropriate products must meet mandatory indicators such as "reduced operating steps and multiple dangerous operation prompts", providing technical specifications for the design of elderly toys. However, the current "Toy Safety Standard" GB6675 in China clearly applies to children under the age of 14, resulting in a "standard vacuum" in the elderly friendly toy market, uneven product quality, and numerous safety hazards. The lack of standards has given rise to a large number of "pseudo innovations", with many products simply magnifying or repackaging children's toys and labeling them as "elderly", reflecting the industry's superficial understanding of the concept of "aging friendly". Secondly, the awareness of "caring for the elderly" lags behind, and there is a defect of "emphasizing hardware over services". Many products fail to fully consider the physiological and psychological characteristics of the elderly, resulting in problems such as small parts, complex rules, insufficient color contrast, and excessive childishness. Most products lack rigorous scientific research to support their effectiveness, and may even cause harm due to improper use. How to shift from extensive marketing that claims to be effective to personalized guidance based on scientific evidence is a key bottleneck in the development of the industry. Once again, insufficient offline channels and security concerns constrain market expansion. The elderly population, especially those who are empty nesters or living alone, have a relatively monotonous spiritual life and a particularly strong need for community belonging and spiritual comfort. However, currently, the sales scenarios for age appropriate toys are not widespread, and their application in community activity centers and elderly service institutions is also quite limited. It is even more difficult for the elderly to use toys to build social bonds. Faced with a market potential of billions, the government, industry, research institutions, and social forces need to accumulate energy and make efforts. One is to establish a full lifecycle standard system. Establish a standard for aging friendly toys throughout the entire chain of research and development, production, use, and recycling, and promote the certification of aging friendly products. For example, establishing a "cognitive stimulation intensity grading" system and implementing a "fall risk simulation test" for sports equipment to ensure product safety and effectiveness. The second is to expand the research service functions of relevant universities and research institutions. Based on the existing problems of age appropriate toys, establish a research system for age appropriate toys that integrates "standards, functions, safety, and benefits". And set up volunteer service centers to expand the integration of sports and health majors, leading scientific, personalized, and standardized development with the integration of sports and medicine, forming a joint force to serve the research and development, use, and evaluation of age appropriate toys. The third is to establish a link mechanism for the use of beneficial body and brain toys. Innovate the operational models of "toys+insurance services", "toys+health monitoring", and "toys+social services". Bundling accidental injury insurance with health management services, insured elderly individuals can receive a smart wristband with real-time data access to community health centers; Include certified age appropriate toys in the insurance payment scope, establish a "prevention treatment rehabilitation" graded payment system, and provide a 70% reimbursement ratio for products that delay disability, effectively reducing the burden of family elderly care. The fourth is to create immersive experience scenes for age appropriate toys. Explore the "community experience store+elderly care institution cooperation" model, set up a special area for elderly friendly toys in community health service centers, equip community instructors, and provide physical fitness monitoring, personalized "exercise prescriptions", and professional guidance for the elderly; Collaborate with nursing homes to establish a 'cognitive rehabilitation corner' and include the use of toys in the payment scope of long-term care insurance; Promote the "Time Bank" mutual aid elderly care model, incorporating the use of age appropriate toys into the sports volunteer service points system, which can be used to exchange for fitness guidance and other services. The rotation of the wrist ball and the falling sound of the intelligent chessboard carry the pursuit of quality of life for over 310 million Chinese elderly people. When age appropriate toys move from "marginal entertainment" to "health necessities", we urgently need to break away from the traditional paradigm of elderly care, respond to "elderly enjoyment" with intellectual innovation, and support "elderly fulfillment" with institutional innovation. The "14th Five Year Plan for the Development of National Aging Industry and Elderly Care Service System" emphasizes the need to "build an elderly friendly society", which requires both retaining the traditional service temperature and embracing intelligent precision. Only by focusing on "body", paying attention to "education", anchoring "health", using the smile of the silver haired group as a development standard, and taking benefiting the body and mind as a service orientation, can we light up the star sea of high-quality development in the "sunset red". (New Society)