Many toddlers have a strong attachment to toy automobiles and wheeled toys in overall. Is it due to the way their brains are strange, or is another at work? Dr Caroline Moul is a professor of psychology at Sydney University and the co-director of the Sydney SEEDling Lab, which studies the cognition ability of children between the ages 3 to 12. Caroline has some theories regarding the reason why some toddlers find wheeled toys so fascinating.
Sexual Identity
You’d be correct if you assumed that boys were more likely to be obsessed with cars and trucks. “When you take a gander at kids to play and give them a variety of toys, basically, boys tend to play with objects like trucks, automobiles, stuff that move, things that engage with each other in a physical manner,” Caroline discusses. “Girls inclined, again on typical, to play with baby dolls, communicating with each other more,” she proceeds, mentioning that “kids engage varies at various age range, but you do seem to to notice that trend across the world.”
Nature or nurture?
So, are the toys that kids enjoy with influenced by deeply embedded prejudices? Caroline states, “Not always.” “When they’re playing alone, it’s more likely to be their own personal taste and it comes from just what they find attractive.”
However, as kids get older, other aspects enter the picture. “It’s intuitive that you’ll start to get that kind of peer pressure as they get bigger and enjoy with each other – so at age of 4 or 5,” Caroline proceeds. “So, if a girl truly desires to play with a lorry but all her mates are playing with baby dolls or something, and she would like to have someone to interact with, it’s normal she’ll go fun with their dolls.”
Gender is Not The Only Factor.
While gender influences children’s toy decisions, there are many other factors at play regarding such ardent enthusiasm. “It’s not just lorries and dolls,” she clarifies. “At this time of life, children can become fascinated with insects and beetles.” They are sometimes fascinated with vacuum cleaners. We don’t know the reason why they are fascinated with so much stuff.”
“We don’t understand what personal differences cause one kid to focus over a turtle and another kid to obsess over a fire engine.” This situation is referred to by scientists as ‘extremely intense preferences.’ Extremely intense preferences (or EIPs) are observed in approximately one-third of pre-kindergarten toddlers and begin to emerge around the age of 18 months.
Miniature Toy Hackers
Caroline claims that toddlers have distinctive ways to engage and that they “hack” toys to accommodate their own way of playing, circumventing many adult presumptions regarding toys. “I’ve seen small boys choose cars, cover them in duvets, and rock them time to time.” “I’ve also seen baby girls utilise baby dolls as lorries,” she said that. That’s all there is to it. If your child enjoys ‘wheely’ fancy gadgets, here are some fun toy vehicle and rail – based exercises for pre-schoolers: https://www.littlepomelo.com/shop/toddler-toys/cars-trucks-trains/