Trains help kids think while encouraging them to play. They are one of those beloved toys that grow with children, teaching them things along the way. Each new lesson is added to the track of their life, growing and helping them develop both independently and cooperatively. The best part is, like most things for kids, they might not even realize that the toy is good for them. For some reason, there has been a long standing fascination between children and toy train sets. Even in the modern era, where technology and television is taking over the toy scape, wooden and model trains remain popular with kids of all ages.
Essentially, train sets are certainly the ideal toy for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look and go over some of the main reasons how train sets enable young minds to grow and develop.
Cooperative Play
Watch a group of kids in Barnes and Noble, swarming around the Thomas the Train tables that are standard in most children’s sections and you will see that there is an innate draw. Kids come around and sit, playing with each other cooperatively. The play helps with communication and cooperation, both wins especially for younger children under the age of 5.
Engaging and encouraging to problem solve
Kids don’t come with the ability to just make the right decision. There is a lot of learning in this process. Developing the thought process of how things connect and work together and causal reactions are both excellent ways to teach children to make wise choices in life. Who would think that by simply plotting a route over a bridge or making a figure-8 track would help to develop the same part of the brain that controls decision making?
Creative Play
Putting a track together requires thought. Where do you want the train to go? Do you want to go over the mountain or do you want to make tunnels that go under each other? Do you want to go in a circle or a long straight line. From these questions, stories begin. Children can be taken away to another world of fantasy and imagination, both of which are great for growing minds.
Aids in motor skills mastery
Have you ever tried to run a train across a wooden track? Sometimes the tracks can stick or don’t match together well. You have to figure out which is the right direction and put them together carefully. Putting together the tracks of a train set can be hard work for little hands, but with practice comes reward. All interactions with a train set, from putting things together, to moving the train on the tracks and yes, even in taking down the tracks and storing them, encourages children to work on those fine motor skills and manual dexterity.
So, what are you waiting for?
There is a train set out there that is going to be right for the kid in your life. You can rest assured knowing that you are introducing them to healthy fun that has loads of benefits.
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