For any parent or grandparent, seeing your child or grandchild stand up and start walking for the first time is one of the most magical moments in their lives. It’s one of those moments when you feel like you’re on top of the world — but that’s only the beginning of the kid’s journey. Once they master standing upright and begin walking, they’re ready for their first set of ride-on toys with wheels and rocking horses!
It’s an exciting time for any kid, and it’s a great opportunity to give them an awesome new toy — especially one that they can use to traverse the terrain around them and develop their gross motor skills in the process of having fun. Getting the right toy here is essential because it will shape how they interact with their surroundings for the foreseeable future.
Rocking horses are one of the most timeless toys out there — and for good reason. Not only are they great for developing a toddler’s gross motor skills by helping them learn to activate their larger muscle groups to keep themselves upright on the toy; they’ll also start developing fine motors skills by putting their arms and legs at appropriate places and coordinating between them while using the handlebars.
And let’s face it — in a string of rainy fall days, your kid will need something to keep them occupied inside; preferably something that’s not a computer, TV, or phone screen. That’s why ride-on toys are equally great for your kids once they’ve mastered the rocking horse, allowing them to develop their hand-eye coordination to its fullest potential. And after all, ride-on toys are the closest a kid will get to driving an actual vehicle — providing maximum fun but under your careful gaze.
Still, there are tons of options at Aosom, and buying the best possible toy for your kid can be a more complex choice than you previously thought. That’s why we’re going to give you a couple of helpful tips on rocking horses, ride-on toys, and similar kids’ hobbies!
Different kinds of kids’ toys and hobbies
As you probably know already, the market for kids’ toys is bigger than ever — today’s children have more options when it comes to having fun with all kinds of different props than any generation before. However, while fun is the word of the day here, there are other considerations to make when choosing which toys to buy. You want to make sure that kids are developing properly and honing important skills while they’re playing.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the different types of toys that kids can benefit from the most.
Ride-On Cars
For most kids, this is pretty much the ultimate toy you can buy them — giving them the amazing thrill of riding around the yard or the neighborhood in a cool electric car that’s fitting for their size. Naturally, pretty much all of these cars also have seatbelts for safety and remote control features for parents, so that they can quickly react if a kid is about to crash into something or go somewhere they’re not supposed to.
Depending on the model you choose, you’ll find other awesome details like working horns, lights, and even official licensing from real-life car manufacturers for extra realism.
Scooters
Once your kid has proven themselves ready for something a bit more challenging than a ride-on electric car, you can get them a youth scooter — these are the perfect next step in helping young kids master the art of balance, as well as riding and steering. If you get one of these for them early on, they’ll have a much easier time learning how to ride a bike afterward. Also, if you want something safer but with more physical exercise, pedal-powered go-karts are a neat option as well — they won’t need to maintain any balance themselves, but they won’t have the effortlessness of an electric ride-on car either.
Rocking Horses
We’ve already mentioned how important rocking horses are, particularly for the youngest toddlers. Also, they’re a charming aesthetic addition to any playroom or nursery. Plus, these days, this type of toy isn’t necessarily limited to horses — if your kid likes other characters and animals more, you can find anything from unicorns and dinosaurs that are only rocking “horses” in name.
Hobbies
Developing your kids’ motor skills with ride-on toys and rocking horses is great — but you need to make sure their free time is spent honing other important skillsets as well. For instance, there are a ton of fun games and hobbies you can play with them and help them reach higher levels of logical thinking and mental concentration.
Tiny card tables for kids can help you teach them their first card games — and miniature pianos may be where they first discover an amazing talent! Plus, small basketball and foosball platforms are just what they need to start mastering the games they’ll enjoy as they become older.
How to choose the most adequate ride-on toys and rocking horses
Considering all of the different options you’ve got when it comes to rocking horses or ride-on toys, the question is — how can you be sure that you’re buying the right one?
The first thing you need to consider is whether the dimensions and the controls of a ride-on toy are adequate for your kid — this depends on their height, weight, and age. The same goes for rocking horses, though there aren’t any “controls” to speak of with those except the handlebars for them to hold onto.
Also, you need to make sure that the ride-on cars have seatbelts — even though you’ll be supervising the kid and likely remote-controlling the cars, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Finally, check to see if the build quality is adequate — for rocking horses, this means high-quality wood, while ride-on cars are more complex because of their functions. However, licensed models from real car manufacturers are usually trustworthy.
Don’t forget to
- Ensure the ride-on cars have the necessary safety features
- See if the rocking horses or electric cars are a good fit for your kid’s size
- Check the build quality and the reputation of the manufacturer