Toddler Push Along Toys
~How to Choose and What to Buy

Do you want to purchase toddler push along toys ?

If so, please take time to read this guide before you buy one since there are so many types of toddler push toys in the market today and this guide will save you time and prevents you from buying a wrong push along toy. In this article, I will also give you recommendation of the best push toys for each type and where you can buy the toy online if you wish to do so.

There are basically five types of push toys which can be used by your toddler, each of which has its own pros and cons. They are:

1. Push along walker for a baby or toddler who is learning to stand up and does his first step.
   This kind of walker toy is addressed in our other article on choosing and using a baby walker to teach a young toddler or baby to stand and walk.
   
   
2. Toddler push toys is a push toy which usually comes with activity center, blocks, shape sorter, and so forth, for a toddler who has already stood up and walked and need more practice.
   
   
3. Push and ride toys (combo) is a push toy which can be converted into a ride on and is suitable for a toddler who has already stood up and walked and need more practice.
   
   
4. Ride on with a handle bar at the back. It's a ride on toy which can be pushed around by a small toddler using the handle bar at the back of the seat.
   
   
5. Push and pull toy which is a light-weighted toy which can be pushed and dragged and is suitable for a toddler who has already walked. It's not a walker.

Proper toddler push toys are basically wagons with a handle for pushing the toy around. You can get the one which come with building blocks, an activity center , or even a shape-sorter. If your toddler likes music or noise, some push along toys also come with it. In addition, being a wagon, this toy can be used for 'loading/unloading' activities which amuse busy toddlers.

Pros:

• You basically get two toys in one (push toy and something else).
• It's very ideal to use for toddlers who are already walking to practice and perfect the walking.

Cons: this kind of push along toys cannot be used for encouraging very young toddlers to stand up and walk, since most of them are not heavy enough. If you want to buy a sturdy walker to encourage your very young toddlers or older babies to stand up and walk, you need the kind which is heavy enough like these toddler or baby walker.

Recommendation:

There are many types of proper toddler push along toys; some are made of wood, but some are plastic. As a rule of thumb, plastic push toys tend to be light and glide very easily, so they are not for a young toddler who is just start walking. I would say, it's most ideal for toddlers 14 months old onwards.

Wooden push toys are different. They are heavier and tend to be stiffer. The most heavy wagon (and the most expensive, I must say) can be used by babies as early as 10 months as a walker to encourage toddlers or babies to stand up and walk. You can find recommendation for toddler or baby walker here. But if you already have a toddler who has already stood up and walked a bit (around 1 year), then a light-weight (and cheaper) wooden push toy is the best push toys for this age.

Below is what I think is the best push toys in the market for this category because of the quality and play value:

Wooden push along toys.

• Plan Toys Push Toys with Blocks. I recommend this toy because it is of good quality, is suitable to use early and will grow with your child. It's stable, has adjustable wheels (wheels can be made stiff or glide easily), and an adjustable handle bar.
  The manufacturer recommends that it can be used for a 10 month old baby. I think that this toy is not stable enough - even with all the blocks in place - to be used for a baby or toddler walker. It will certainly topple if your baby tries to pull himself up. However, if your child can already stand and walk a bit (say - at 1 year), then this push along toy is perfect. It's available at 10% discount. .
  
  
• Melissa and Doug Push Toys with Activity Center and Noise For a cheaper wooden push toy with activity center and noise which can be used by a toddler as young as one year old, I recommend the one made by Melissa and Doug. It's basically a push toy with a series of alligators at the front, ready to clack and chomp as your toddlers push the toy around. It also has a little activity center where your toddler can manipulate the wooden pieces. Because it's the cheapest wooden push toy around, stable and cute, it's very popular. The biggest complaint on the earliest model (when it first came up) is that some pieces break and fall off easily, so it's not as well made as the Plan Toy one. It also won't grow with your child as far as the Plan Toys Push Toys because the wheel stiffness are not adjustable. It means, while it's suitable for young toddler, you can't adjust the wheels to enable the toy to move faster once your toddlers are older. It's forever on sale, and is currently offered at here at 25% discount.

Plastic push toys.

Plastic push toys are light and glide easily. This makes any plastic push toys not suitable to be used for young toddlers. Actually, I only recommend plastic push toys when toddler are already walking quite steadily, say at 14 months. V-Tech Stand to Walk is a popular push toy with a full blown activity center which is marketed for use as a toy to help your toddler to stand up and then walk. First, it functions as a toy for your toddler to practice to stand up. When used in this setting, the wheels are not installed to provide stability to the toy. When your toddler is more balanced, the toy can then be used as a push toy.

However, since this push toy is a plastic push toy, it has the classic problem of a plastic push toy. It's light and glides too easily to be used for a walker. If you are just going to use it as a push toy for toddlers who are already walking (around 14 months), then it's a good buy since it's pretty cheap (currently offered at here at 20% discount. , making it just under $30) and contains an activity center which will entertain your toddler. Moreover, if you buy it here at 20% discount and put the code "VTECHOO5" you will get additional saving of $5 for $20 you spend.

You can get a push along toy which can be converted into the ride-on kind (two-in-one). This model is also called push and ride toys. In this model, the seat of the ride-on toy (which has a handle at the end of it) can be lifted and it converts automatically into a toddler push along toy.

Pros:

• You basically get two toys in one.
• It often contains activity center for your child to manipulate.

Cons:

• I find that depending on the construction, it may not be convenient for a child to push this toy when the toy is converted into the 'push toy' position, since the the child cannot stand right behind the handle comfortably. And that's because the backwheels of the 'ride-on' toy get in the way. However, your child may be okay with this.
• Push and ride toys are made of plastic and they are light. They also glide easily. Use this for toddlers who are already walking steadily (around 14 months), and do not use this for a young toddler learning to walk or stand. In other words, they are not suitable as a first walker.

Recommendation: The best push and ride toy in the market today is the Fisher Price Stride to Ride Dino.

Remember how I found that when a push and ride toy is converted into a push toy that a child cannot stand comfortably to reach the handle because the backwheels get in the way ? Not so with this newest push and ride on toy from Fisher Price. The two backwheels are so far apart and a child can stand between those two backwheels and therefore can reach the handle of the toy and push it comfortably.

Also, although it's light, it is more stable than most plastic push toys. However, it has no activity center. But it certainly can entertain your toddlers with its song and light.

Once precaution though. This toy is not supposed to be your first toddler walker. Yes, it is stable, but you need something more stable and heavier than this push toy if you want a toddler walker. Second, this toy glides easily. For an older toddler, this can provide a thrill. But it can be dangerous for a novice who is not yet walking stably.

This toy is currently available here for over 30% OFF , making it just over $30.

The first type is toddler ride on toys which has a handle at the back of the seat which can be used for pushing activities.

• Pro: This toy can be used by young toddlers (1 year old and above) who know how to stand up and walk a bit to practice walking. The handle at the back of the seat is usually low enough for toddlers in this age group to reach. In addition, although mostly made of plastic, the toy is also stable, sturdy and usually provides a nice activity center to amuse your toddler.
  
  
• Cons: as the toddler grows older and taller, the handle of the ride on toy may be too low for pushing activities. Nevertheless, this ride on toys can be used later on as a ride on.

Recommendation: For the best value ride on toys with handle bar, I recommend the award winning Little Tikes Push & Ride Racer. This is a good basic ride on toys which can be pushed around. It's made of plastic, is durable, pretty stable, and has a decent gliding capacity. At only $29, this ride on toy is a good buy.

One type of push along toys is push pull toys. These are toys which have a long wooden/plastic handle with the small toy (usually animal or clown) at the end of it. This kind of push along toys are good for both pushing and pulling activity, so it's often called a push pull toy. When pushed or pulled, this toy often makes certain noise which will amuse your toddler.

A push pull toy is usually used for amusement. But it can also somehow be used to perfect your toddler's walking, especially when this toy is used as a pull toy. A famous example of such toy is the Fisher Price Corn Popper Push Pull Toy. One thing is certain though. A push pull toy is not a walker.

Recommendation: Push pull toys come in two types: wooden push toys and the plastic push toys. The popular plastic pull push toys Fisher Price's Corn Popper is available here. If you are after a wooden push pull toys, have a look at animal wooden push pull toy made by Melissa and Doug. These animal push pull toys will produce noise as they are pushed or pulled. Priced between $16-20 apiece, they're not awfully more expensive than the classic Corn Popper which is currently retailed for $15.

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Other push and pull toys articles:

• How to choose the best toddler push toys to help toddler to walk.
• How to choose the best baby push toys or baby walkers.
• Benefit of pull along toys and how to choose the best toddler pull toys

Back to a list of the toys for toddlers.

From toddler push along toys to best child toys.