What Ride On Toy Is Best For Babies?
“Is there a best ride on toy for specific ages? And how do we know it’s okay to use one?”
ANSWER- There really is no BEST one that will work for every child, BUT two of the big things I look for are the height and the width of the seat.
Ideally, when seated on it, a child’s legs and hips will be at 90 degrees so they can more easily propel with good alignment of their legs. For seat width, I try to find narrower ones that easily allow a child to straddle it and again, maintain that leg alignment mentioned above.
For introducing them, there really is no right or wrong time! Most children will begin to explore getting on/off it around the time that they begin independently walking. By 18ish months, most children will begin to start pushing forward rather than backwards (though pushing backwards is a totally common and “normal” starting point!). Hope that helps!
Want more?
For developmental questions, tips and guidance related to milestones about tummy time, rolling & sitting, crawling and walking, check out KC’s developmental Masterclasses linked here.
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KC is a pediatric doctor of physical therapy, wife and mom of three! She has spent her career working with children and young adults of all ability levels, and currently specializes in birth to three years.
