With the holidays approaching we’ve been getting a lot of questions on which riding toy is the best. The short answer: It depends!
As your little one starts putting weight through their legs you may want to go introduce them to a riding toy. Riding toys offer numerous benefits for new walkers and toddlers that contribute to their physical, cognitive and social development.
Here are a few benefits:
1. Motor Skill Development: Riding toys promote development of gross motor skills as little ones learn to coordinate their movements, balance, and navigate their environment.
2. Balance and Coordination: Playing with riding toys helps toddlers hone these vital abilities as they move, change direction, and steer.
3. Strengthening: Little ones who utilize riding toys to push or pedal gain strength in their arms, legs, and core as well as other varied muscle groups.
4. Awareness of Space: Little ones who use riding toys to move past obstacles or navigate varied terrains benefit from an increased understanding of distance, direction, and spatial concepts.
5. Confidence Building: As little ones learn to ride and control their toys their sense of accomplishment and confidence increases. This encourages further exploration and learning.
6. Social Interaction: Playing with riding toys with others promotes collaboration and social connection. Little ones can practice social skills by playing in groups, sharing toys, or taking turns.
7. Cognitive Development: As little ones navigate their environment, riding toys force them to solve puzzles, plan their steps, and make decisions. This promotes cognitive development.
8. Sensory Input: As little ones explore their environment visually, feel various surfaces, and hear noises of movement, riding toys offer tactile feedback that stimulates their senses.
Each riding toy has their own features that work better for one kid over the other. There’s multiple factors at play here so we’ve broken them down to help you choose which may be best for your little one.
Riding toy milestones to keep in mind:
At or around 18 months babies start pushing forward rather than backwards. Riding toys are great for kiddos around 1-3 years old. Little ones typically learn to pedal a tricycle around 3 years old; with bicycle riding following at around 4-5 years old.