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Home › Articles › Play Time › On the Fast Track

On the Fast Track

The Appeal of Wooden Train Play

By John W. Lee

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Stop by any local specialty retail store, and watch the kids gathered around the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway play table. They are mesmerized. Lost in the world they are creating in their minds and in the treasured Thomas the Tank Engine stories they are recreating using the wooden track and vehicles with familiar faces. We've had moms tell us their kids will play literally for hours – and these are young kids, kids whose attention spans are known for being about as long as the inseams on their 2T trousers!

The sheer fact that a toddler can and will play with a single toy for hours on end is reason enough for Mom to get on board with a toy. However, wooden train play appeals to parents and kids from so many other perspectives that it's no wonder it's been a part of our American heritage for more than a century.

Developing Skills
Child development experts recognize that wooden train play helps children develop physical, social and cognitive skills, as well as a sense of pride and accomplishment. These developmental benefits are not lost on parents today who are seeking toys that not only provide great play value, but offer developmental value as well. In addition, wooden trains have an heirloom look and feel, and they tap into the power of trains in a young boy's world – the fascination with motion, power, control, action, movement and how things work.

A Boy Thing
We have learned through extensive research, and through our own experiences, that while girls do play with wooden trains, young boys are the most avid wooden train play enthusiasts. This will come as no surprise to those of you who have young boys. You know they crave action and motion. Train play is one of the only miniature worlds that enables these little engineers to experience and control the motion and action they crave, and, in a wholesome, non-violent way.


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