Toot-Toot Drivers Press 'n' Go Dumper Truck

Developmental Benefits

Creative Play

Independent Play

Motor Skills

Sensory Development

Developmental Benefits

Toot-Toot Drivers Press 'n' Go Dumper Truck

Use imagination in a variety of ways and contexts to communicate ideas
When children engage in creative play they are showing that they have the ability to produce something new and original. Children benefit from opportunities where they are free to use their imagination and explore. In order for creative play to occur children need to be in an environment that is rich in stimulation. Curiousity will drive children to take part in creative play.
Creative play is different from other forms of play; it enables children to develop confidence in their own abilities as they begin to think and work independently. Games and activities that provide choices and also a number of alternative solutions encourage a certain amount of risk-taking. Games with alternative answers can lead children to think creatively and differently. Children need encouragement to play and think creatively. Opportunities to engage in creative play boost children’s confidence and enable them to come up with better ideas. Children benefit from the knowledge they gain through creative play.

Games and voice prompts allow children to control the pace.
Early play in infants tends to be solitary or takes place alongside other children. Young children learn how to interact with other children through play but they can also explore and learn independently. The initial play experience for infants is when they begin to explore through moving and acting upon the world. Many toys offer infants the opportunity to learn more about their world. Young children will sometimes act out some aspect of their lives e.g. going to the shops and then they involve their toys in these activities. These young children are playing independently but they are also reinforcing their understanding of the social world by acting out scenarios.
Young children can consolidate their existing skills by repeating actions whilst playing a game. Learning to play independently has its benefits, for instance, children using an educational game can control their own pace. Children sometimes choose to work independently in order to build up their confidence. Toys and computer games that facilitate independent activity at the right level for the child enhance problem solving skills and increase hand and eye coordination. Although cooperative play increases during childhood, children still spend the equivalent amount of time in solitary or independent play.

Encourages fine motor skill development.
An infant’s growth and development in the first year of life is rapid. Many movements that young babies make are in preparation for the next stage of their development. When young babies watch a mobile they are constantly moving their head, arms, legs and even their mouths in response to the movement of the toy. Sound and movement attract a baby’s attention; if a toy is placed almost within reach of babies their movements become more animated. Bath toys provide opportunities to develop and use motor skills to great effect. For example, a young baby has greater control over their leg movements than their arms. You will often see young babies in a bath reaching with their legs towards a floating toy and kicking. All these movements strengthen muscles in readiness for the next stage - walking.
As babies develop they become more adept at grasping objects. Young infants learn to grasp an object, for instance a cube. The grasping, at first, is quite clumsy but through repetition, and across time, infants become adept at grasping and develop fine motor skills. Infants first use the ulnar grasp where their fingers close against the palm when trying to hold an object. Within another month they are able to move the object from hand to hand. After the first year, infants adopt the ‘pincer grasp’ where they use their thumb and index finger to grasp even very tiny objects. Shape sorters help infants to fine tune their visual perception and hand coordination. Soon infants are building towers with two cubes; this also requires fine coordination skills. As the child grows computer games have been shown to help with hand and eye coordination. Spatial skills can also be enhanced when playing games that require concentration, quick responses and finely tuned motor skills.

A variety of textures, visuals and sounds stimulate sensory development.
Sensory development is intimately related to motor development. Babies are born into a world that stimulates their senses and to which they react. These reactions are bodily movements which create learning experiences. Sensory development in babies can be facilitated through toys that provide opportunities for them to experience sounds, visuals and textures. Young infants need to be presented with an adequate but not too great amount of sensory stimulation.
From an early age babies use touch to investigate their world; as they learn to reach they begin to run their tongue and lips over toys and then look at them. Tactile stimulation is also combined with other sensory information. Babies can perceive input from different sensory systems in a unified way; for instance, vision and touch are closely coordinated when using a shape sorter. Babies who handle shapes and also fit them through a hole are learning to solve problems through touch and sight. Infants also learn about the links between sights, sounds and feel of toys when these are demonstrated by adults. They begin to associate the sight and sound of a rhythmically shaken rattle or the nursery rhyme played by a particular toy. During the first year of life infants’ visual development is rapid and they begin to identify objects through shape, colour and texture. They also develop the ability to visually track objects. Toys give babies and young children many opportunities to enhance their sensory development.

Best for ages:

1 to 5 Years

Highlights

Press and release to watch him GO! Includes 3 songs, 10 melodies and lots of fun sounds. Encourages motor skills and role-play fun.

Description

Hi, I'm a hard working dumper truck. Off to work I go! Press and release the Toot-Toot Drivers Press ‘n’ Go Dumper Truck by VTech to watch him speed to the job site! Press the light-up face button to trigger fun music, realistic sound effects and songs. Push the dumper truck along for even more fun reactions. Includes 3 sing-along songs and 10 lively melodies. Encourages motor skill development, role-play fun, early language skills and imaginative play. Teaches singing, pretend play and sounds. The dumper truck responds to SmartPoint™ locations with different phrases, sound effects and more on Toot-Toot Drivers play sets (each sold separately)