Venturing into the realm of toddler mobility and curious about the advantages of push along toys? You’re on a beneficial track. Push along toys are more than just amusing companions; they play a vital role in a child’s physical and cognitive development during those early walking stages.
These toys are designed to support toddlers as they explore their world on two feet, offering a host of developmental advantages.
Drawing from my expertise in child development and play-based learning, I’ve rolled out a comprehensive guide that highlights the numerous benefits of push along toys for your growing explorer.
Let’s stride through this exploration together, unveiling how push along toys foster motor skills, balance, spatial awareness, and much more, propelling your toddler towards a pathway of confident mobility and learning.
Benefits of Push Along Toys
Push along toys are simple yet effective tools for promoting various areas of a child’s development. They are often designed for toddlers who are at the stage of exploring walking or have recently begun to walk independently.
| Benefit | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Motor Skill Development | Push along toys encourage toddlers to stand, walk, and maneuver around, which helps in developing gross motor skills like balance and coordination. |
| Enhanced Muscle Strength | The act of pushing helps in strengthening the leg and arm muscles. It also promotes better hand-eye coordination. |
| Spatial Awareness | As children navigate around obstacles, they develop spatial awareness, understanding distances, and learning to negotiate space. |
| Independence and Confidence | Gaining the ability to move around independently can significantly boost a child’s self-confidence and sense of independence. |
| Cognitive Development | Some push along toys come with additional features like shape sorters, spinners, or musical elements that promote cognitive skills like problem-solving, color and shape recognition. |
| Creativity and Imagination | Push along toys can spark imaginative play. For example, a push along toy that resembles a lawn mower or a shopping cart can encourage pretend play. |
| Improved Balance and Stability | The support provided by push along toys can help improve a child’s balance and stability, which is crucial during the early walking stage. |
| Safety | They offer a safer way for toddlers to explore walking as they provide some support which can prevent falls. |
| Social Interaction | Push along toys can also encourage social interaction, especially if used in a group setting where children can engage in parallel play or even interact with each other. |
| Auditory and Visual Stimulation | Toys with colorful designs or musical elements provide visual and auditory stimulation, aiding sensory development. |
Why should your child be playing with push toys?
There’s a reason why toy prams, push carts and toy lawn mowers are still some of the best sellers today. Even small toys like small cars and toy buses are popular among little kids. Children love push along toys.
They are so much fun to play and can keep your little one occupied, entertained, interested and challenged for hours.
Push along toys are also great early developmental toys, and most push along walkers are safe for babies. Children can benefit from playing with them because these toys help them develop a wide range of essential and foundational skills as well as learn new things.
The Benefits of Push Along Toys for Physical Development
Push toys are great toys for physical development because these toys encourage movement in one form or another. For instance, you can let your baby play with a small push toy during his tummy time.
Your little one will learn how to shift his weight as he reaches out for his toy and use both lower and upper extremities to push the toy. This is just one example of how you can use push toys for early development.
Push toys come in different sizes and forms and each push toy has its own advantages. Small push toys like toy cars are great for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while big push toys like activity walkers are recommended for developing gross motor skills, balance and physical strength.
Children need to develop these skills to perform tasks and actions when they grow up. For example, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills are a set of skills needed to perform actions like using a pair of scissors to cut a piece of paper or use a pencil to write or use a spoon and fork for eating and many more.
Cognitive & Emotional Development
The benefits of push along toys extend beyond motor skills. Role-playing is important during the early developmental stages. Some push toys resemble real-life items like a push cart or a lawn mower are great for role-playing. Playing with these toys allow your children to engage in imaginative and creative play.
They can act out scenarios that they have experienced and explore new ideas. They can also experience a wide range of emotions and see things in different perspectives. It would be lovely when your child pushes his lawn mower next to you when you mow your lawn.
Children love magnet toys because they’re fascinating and simple to play. Push toys like the Tegu Magnetic Race cars are great toys to introduce science to your child.
These toys come in removable pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a new car. Your child can also experiment with balance and magnetism with these small push toys. Your kid might also like pirate playset.
Other push toys like activity walkers have other toys built right in. Tender Leaf Toys Baby Block Walker and Bigjigs Marine Activity Walker come with building blocks and sorting toys. These toys are wonderful for developing problem-solving, critical and analytical thinking.
FAQS on Push Along Toys Benefits
What are the benefits of push and pull toys?
Push and pull toys are much more than just entertainment for little ones. They are classic toys that provide a whole range of benefits. First, they help with physical growth by strengthening muscles in the arms and legs and promoting whole body coordination. The task of pushing or a pull toy trains different muscles and enhances the strength in a child’s arms.
They support the development of fine motor strength, especially in grasping hold of the toy’s cord. The act of maneuvering the toy around obstacles provides endless fun while boosting cognitive development and problem-solving skills.
Are push toys good for babies?
Absolutely! In fact, the range of benefits of push along toys might surprise you. Push toys are beneficial in helping babies start their walking journey. This is more than just a little feat; it’s a significant milestone in their development. Push toys serve a dual purpose – they act as a support for the baby, helping them maintain an upright position and providing just the right tension needed to keep their balance.
At the same time, they promote physical activity and play, which are essential for the baby’s overall development and independent play as well as developing their spatial skills. Push toys can also introduce directional words that boosts language skills, another beneficial feature of these types of toys.
What is the function of a pull-along toy?
A pull-along toy, one of the most classic toys, is designed to be pulled by a string by toddlers. The primary function is to help your child develop coordination and physical strength.
As your toddler pulls the toy, they’re not just walking forward but also manipulating the toy to follow them. This action requires hand and finger movements that promote fine motor skills.
Why do toddlers like push toys?
Toddlers enjoy push toys for many reasons. First, push toys often come in various shapes and make noises, which entertain and engage toddlers. Secondly, push toys can act as a support for toddlers just starting to walk, boosting their confidence as they navigate their surroundings.
The act of pushing a toy helps them to refine their coordination and control their speed and build up their arm muscles. Push toys come in many different formats and do not just mean a baby walker (but see our guide to best baby walkers here).
Are Push Walkers Good for Babies?
Some parents prefer to stick to push toys, and when it comes to walking, letting babies walk in their own time
When used too early, there can be increased risk of falls or of putting strain on little ones’ joints. However, many parents love push walkers and they are a popular first Christmas/birthday gift.
Are Push Walkers for Babies Safe?
Once again, the jury is out on this, however the risks associated with push walkers often relate to user error rather than an issue with the toy itself. Canada, for example, banned baby walkers due to increases in babies admitted to hospital following burns, falls and bumps associated with the use of baby walkers.
The way around this is to always closely supervise infants at play, and to ensure that little ones show signs of developmental readiness to play with walkers before introducing them.
