This is one of my favorite pictures from my childhood. That’s me on the right riding my Inchworm which I adored. My brother is on the left in another ride-on toy. I remember having so many toys like this as a child. They were kid powered, no batteries or other sources of energy, except maybe a little gravity going down hills.
Do you remember your kid powered toys? Maybe a Big Wheel, a Green Machine, or even a Sit & Spin which you only went in circles on but nevertheless still kid powered. We wheeled, scooted, pushed, pulled, and glided along on these toys with joy. There were kid powered toys for inside and outside so the weather was never an issue for us. Rain or shine, hot or cold, we always had a place to burn off some energy.
Just like all play, these toys were part of growing and learning. Kid powered toys are great for large motor skills and overall exercise. They also helped us in learning to take turns, cooperating with each other so we would not have a traffic jam, and helping others when someone fell off, got stuck, or needed a push. It seems we all started being mini-engineers back then even trying to somehow use our jump ropes to attach our wagons to the back of what we were riding or making a ramp to ride over. And when we needed a break we all seem to turn those toys over and spin the wheels around and just watch them spin.
There are still new kid powered toys coming out all the time along with some classics. Does your child have a favorite kid powered toy? How about you? Do you remember your favorite as a child?