Toddlers are young explorers who learn everything by doing. Play is important to every toddler as it gives him or her, an opportunity to develop and learn new things at his or her own pace by following his interest. Ride-on toys for toddlers vary from effortless rocking horses to kid-sized power-driven vehicles.
All these toys offer a lot of benefits to toddlers as they grow.
Matching toddlers to the right type of toy makes it easy for the kid to enjoy playing with the toy as well as preventing injury during play.
The following are tips on how to choose ride on toys for toddlers.
Safety features
The first thing that you should consider when choosing a ride on toy for your child is safety. How safe is your child riding on this toy? It is important to understand that all ride on toys for kids pose some risk of falling, colliding with other obstacles and tipping over.
Therefore, before you choose any type of ride on toy check the safety features of the toy. For example simple toys lack brakes but they are slow enough to allow kids to stop them on their own. If the toy is battery powered the battery should be concealed to prevent the kid from accessing it.
However, it is important to ensure that your child wears protective clothing every time he or she rides on these toys.
Age factor
Not all ride-on toys are appropriate for toddlers. There are some that are applicable and can be used by toddlers while others are not. This depends on the age limit and the skills of the kid.
For example wagons, and sleds can be used by toddlers of all ages including grown kids; rocking toys can be used by toddlers who can push using their own feet especially between the ages of 1 to 2 years.
However, kids should always be supervised by an adult when they are playing just to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Test for balance
For a child to be able to operate a ride on toy, it is essential that he or she balances on the toy without tipping over. Therefore, when buying ride on toys for toddlers it is important to test for stability and balance.
Choose models that have a low center of gravity and whose wheels are spaced wide apart to offer stability and support the kid's weight. Let your kid have a test drive before you purchasing ride on toys just to ensure that he or she is balanced and is comfortable riding the toy.
Size
On top of being balanced and stable, a ride on toy should be sizable. Sizable here means that the toy should be spacious enough for the child to ride it comfortably.
For example ensure that the kid's feet reaches the pedals or the floor comfortably in case of self propelled vehicles and in the case of battery powered toys, ensure that the kid's knees are clear of the steering wheel. Some toys can be adjusted as the kid grows therefore go for toys that allow for growth of the toddler.
Individual interest and needs
Each toddler has something he or she enjoys doing or seeing. Therefore when choosing ride on toys for toddlers, ensure that the toys match up the child's interests as well as needs.
For example, a boy child would enjoy riding in a battery powered car while a girl child would love riding on a horse back (rocking toys). Therefore, understanding what your kids love doing or playing with or their interests are important when selecting the best ride on toys for them.
Go for toys that encourage your toddler to be active
Toddlers are known to engage in different kinds of physical activities and tricks. For you to allow your toddler to grow and develop in a healthy way it is important to purchase a ride on toy that encourage your toddler to learn new skills and develop them.
For example three wheeled scooters, wagons to fill and pull as well as pull-toys are ideal for such purposes.
In summary, ride on toys for toddlers encourage creativity; enhance balance and coordination among toddlers.
However, to ensure that nothing goes wrong with the toddler, it is important to put all the above factors into consideration when choosing the right ride on toy for your toddler.