fall inside a hole
Child Guidance Toys
Originally started in the Bronx, New York in 1953 as the toy division of New York Archer Plastics, by 1956 all of Archer's plastic was being used for toy production through their Child Guidance Toys brand. The company developed Child Guidance Railroad, Highway, Guidancetown U.S.A., and a variety of other childhood development-focused toys in the 1960s. Archer Plastics and Child Guidance were founded by inventor Robert Genin who continued to design and invent new toys for the company until retiring in 1970. In 1967 Child Guidance was sold to Dunhill-Questor who continued to sell new toys that Genin designed. After his departure, the brand was used on many Sesame Street toys in the 70s before Questor and the brand were bought by CBS toys in 1978. CBS sold some other Child Guidance products such as Child Guidance Railroad under the Gabriel name before the Child Guidance name was phased out in the later 1980s when Hasbro bought CBS Toys.
1950s: early products
Child Guidance's 1950s toys were usually fairly simple plastic toys like shaped letters or numbers or "links" which could be fit together. Some toys were copies or evolutions of British Kiddiecraft toys, as discussed here, such as the "Add-A-Count Scale" based on the Kiddiecraft Kiddiescale. While the Kiddiecraft version uses discs of increasing size with the number they represent molded in, the Child Guidance version used numbers molded in their own shape that increased in size and thus also weight with their value, with either toy allowing a child to experiment with hanging different numbers from each side of a plastic scale until the two sides weigh/add up to be equal (or not). Two circa 1953 Child Guidance catalogues can be seen here.
1960s: expansion, importing, and compatibility
In the 1960s Child Guidance expanded their range with toys like the popular although seldom remembered by name Child Guidance Railroad developing out of the earlier "Tot Railroad" toys, appearing by late 1961 with plastic trains, track, and accessories. In 1963 the compatible Child Guidance Highway System and Guidancetown U.S.A. buildings appeared. Child Guidance began working with Tomy of Japan to produce more complex electro-mechanical toys, releasing motorized parking garages, car assembly lines, and other motorized train toys in the later 1960s and early 1970s. Many of these toys appeared in Sears and other major catalogues. Irwin Toys of Canada imported several Child Guidance toys to Canada including Child Guidance Railroad which was also adapted and sold in Australia, Europe, and Japan. It is during this era that most of the Child Guidance toys that I am particularly interested in were released.
Child Guidance Railroad
Child Guidance Railroad was an evolution on the earlier Tot Railroads that had been sold in the United States throughout the 1950s by Keystone and Playskool. Child Guidance Railroad used a new but related rail system that was more robust with more pieces and types available. Most sets used plastic push-trains with some having battery-powered trains manufactured by Tomy in Japan, who also manufactured some other toys for Child Guidance. The Child Guidance Railroad standard was popular in America and was also used by Mettoy-Playcraft in the U.K., Toltoy in Australia, HEROS in Germany, and even in Japan where Plarail had also evolved out of the Tot Railroad system.
| Year | Set name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 350 Child Guidance Railroad | Small set with loop of silver-grey track, bridge, and four-piece push train |
 |
| mid 1960s | 4030 Double-O-Eight Runaway Train | Early Child Guidance Railroad set with an exported early Plarail 0 series Shinkansen made by Tomy |
 |
| 1967 | 8000 Child Guidance Kiddie Land | Amusement park set seemingly made in collaboration with Tomy released in the US and UK |
 |
| 1967 | 8010 Joy Ride | Individual release of the four-piece amusement park train used in Child Guidance Kiddie Land |
 |
| 1968 | 9520 Double-O-Eight Runaway Loco | U.K. set distributed by Mettoy Playcraft with double-o-eight turnaround and amusement park locomotive |
 |
| 1968 | Coast to Coast Motorized Railroad | Giant Sears-exclusive set featuring over 30 feet of track, motorized amusement park train, and lots of buildings and accessories |
 |
| More Child Guidance Railroad sets | More information about other Child Guidance sets, the rail standard, and other features of the system |
Child Guidance Highway System
In 1963 a companion highway system to Child Guidance Railroad was released that used soft black plastic road and a variety of soft plastic vehicles, signs, and other accessories. The "rail" standard was the same as Child Guidance Railroad and the two types of track can be connected, although the dividers in the road are a lot thinner than the rail and will probably not work as well with the powered trains.
| Year | Set name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 603 Child Guidance Highway System 3 | Large 85 piece set with 23 feet of road, service center, and variety of cars, trucks, and signs |
 |
| More about Child Guidance Highway | More information about the road standard and Child Guidance Highway in other countries |
Constructive Thinking/Guidancetown U.S.A.
Also around 1963 Child Guidance Toys released a series of snap-together plastic building pieces meant to be made into all sorts of building structures. Buildings use a few different lengths and designs of brick walls, some with windows, doors, or other molded-in features, to construct large, wide, or small buildings with different colored roofs. Constructive Thinking sets included more building-specific pieces while Guidancetown U.S.A. sets also include playboards, cars, and small accessories like trees, signs, and streetlights. Guidancetown buildings work well alongside Child Guidance Railway and Highway (as well as any other similarly-sized toys), and a few sets that included more than one of the compatible systems were released.
Other 1960s-early 70s Child Guidance Toys
Founder Robert Genin remained as a designer for Child Guidance until 1970 and designed a few more very cool products sold by the brand including the very elaborate Motorized Shuttle Train.
| Year | Set name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-1970s | Musical Railroad | Large battery-powered locomotive that strikes metal notes to produce a tune like a xylophone when running |
 |
| 1969 | Motorized Shuttle Train | Advanced shuttle train type toy with operating turntable and whistling locomotive that can select from multiple cars to load and unload |
 |
| 1970 | Mini-Car Factory | Motorized car factory that can assemble small plastic cars from three colors of chassis, body, and roof. Manufactured by Tomy and sold under the Questor name |
 |
1970s: Sesame Street and CBS
In 1973 Questor began producing licensed Sesame Street toys under their Child Horizons division who used the Child Guidance name. These toys included puppets, puzzles, and even a "The Count" version of the classic Child Guidance (or, indeed, Kiddiecraft) number scale toy. In 1978 CBS Toys bought Questor and continued to make some of their Sesame Street toys (including a new Cookie Monster-themed weighted number scale toy in 1982).
1980s: Gabriel, Hasbro, and the end
In the early 80s the brand continued to be used for early childhood and licensed toys, sometimes under the Gabriel name which CBS also owned or alongside the Wonder brand, but the name was phased out in the later 1980s when CBS Toys was sold to Hasbro. Late toys to be marketed under the Child Guidance name included early American Hello Kitty import toys.
| Year | Name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Child Guidance Talk 'n Play | Book on tape-type toy with interactive stories that can also play regular tapes |
 |