Guide to Choose Rocking Toys
Including the Famous Toy Rocking Horse

Kids age 1-6 years usually love this toy. They love riding it from time to time and have fun with it. It also supports your child's pretend play (talking about a princess and a knight here). Therefore, this rocking toy is definitely a great addition to your child's room. But, the benefit of these rocker toys do not stop here. Toy rocking horse is a great toy to help perfecting your kid's balance and coordination too.

Nowadays, this toy comes in a lot of variety. So, the question is how to choose the perfect rocking toys for your little one.

Choosing the perfect kid rocking horse

Toddler (1-2 years old).

The best rocking toy for your toddler should have these following features:

• It has to be low enough for easy mounting and dismounting, and for minimizing the effect of falling. Your toddler's feet should be touching the floor when she rides on the toy. Please beware that a lot of toy rocking horses are actually made for preschoolers. Therefore, not all of them will be low enough for your toddler. For this age group, look for the one which has the height around 10 inches from the floor to the seat.
• It should preferably has a rocking arc to further prevent falling, especially for the young toddler ( 12-18 months)

Nowadays you can either have a rocking toy made from plastic, wood or fabric. The one made from fabric is called a plush rocking toy.

Little Tikes has a basic plastic rocking toy which is low and has a rocking arc. I recommend this item for your young toddler, but this toy may not fit your preschooler. It also does not come with bells and whistles. So, expect a very basic rocking toy if you want to purchase this one.

Plush rocking toy usually resembles animal. These plush rocking animals will definitely appeal this age group. An older one year old and a two-year-old will appreciate a plush rocking animal which usually comes with all sorts of "bells and whistles" including the sound effect while rocking or when ears are pulled. If you are looking for an an animal plush rocking toy, Charm makes a lot of those. You will find a variety of these items easily.

Preschoolers (3-6 years old)

Although most rocking toy horse are made for this age group, please make sure that you are are buying the right size of this toy before you make a purchase. Make sure that you are not buying the one intended for a toddler, especially if you plan to buy it online. I find that although the manufacturers state that their toy rocking horses are made for a 1-4 years age group, those rocking toys are often too small for a 3-4 years old.

Therefore, you have to look at the dimension of the toy rather than the age group stated by the manufacturer because only you know the size of your child. In addition, look at the picture of the item. Usually you can guess the dimension of the item by looking at the picture. What I mean by guessing here is that you can have a sense of the tallness of the item by looking at the picture. The toy rocking horse intended for toddlers is usually low and wide, whereas the one for preschoolers is usually tall and does not look wide.

What kind of toy rocking horses appeal to a preschooler ?

Your preschooler is more sophisticated than your toddler and old infant when it comes to playing. They love pretend play and like the 'mini' version of the real thing. Therefore, the closer a toy resembles the real thing, the more appealing it is to your preschooler. In addition, they love to have a bunch of extra activities embedded in a toy. Anything which give sounds when pushed, poked, turned, rocked or pulled will get their attention.

Therefore, your preschooler will love:

• Animal plush rocking toys with all sort of bells and whistles attached to it including plush toy rocking horse.
• Vehicle rocking toys such as rocking cars, rocking tractors, or rocking planes .
• Wooden rocking horse or other wooden rocker toys which resembles the real thing.