It seems like all kids, especially boys, have an intense relationship with toy cars, trucks and all wheeled toys in general. They are fascinated by vehicles that help us move, deliver, break down and build things every day. It appears that kids are delighted in learning the name of every digger, dozer, and excavator and whenever the garbage truck shows up, it's like a holiday. But why is that so?
Some psychologists believe that children group toy trucks and cars in the same category as some of their other favourite living things. They are actually thinking about trucks in a very similar way to how they think about animals or dinosaurs. If you think about toy tracks with big headlights, they do look a bit like eyes. They also move so it looks like they have their own agency. Also, boys especially, feel empowered by the idea of their strength.
So, long before your small ones get their driving license when having toy trucks to play with they can master the excavator or the loader at a local playground. But as it turns out, playing with toys also drives children towards physical and cognitive development. They can help kids develop a whole bunch of fundamental skills and better understand STEM concepts (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
Toy trucks allow for true hands-on learning. Kids love to dump, fill, scoop and move piles of dirt back and forth with the toy because it's fun. But apart from being fun, when rolling wheels, moving different parts and putting people in the truck, kids can also pick up fine motor skills.
Also, they see how quickly or slowly the toys roll and learn about what they can do depending on how much pressure they apply. This is an early lesson in knowing one's own strength. Learning how hard to push the truck translates to recognizing how hard to push their little brother or sister (or maybe not).
Apart from the above mentioned, playing with a wheeled toy introduces kids to the universal law of cause and effect. Developing cause and effect is important as your kids learn that their behaviour and actions result in response - the toy truck will move when an action is taken.
Also, attractive and brightly coloured truck toys can help you small ones distinguish different parts and functions of the truck and cultivate their's observation and attention. Different shapes and colours of trucks help them recognise new things and stimulate their visual development.
