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Play trucks for toddlers


The Best Toy Trucks for Toddlers and Older Kids: Our 2021 Picks

Gear

It's all about big wheeled things that go vroom.

by Donna Freydkin

At around age 2, my toddler went through an obsessive truck phase. It lasted several years, during which he could identify, on cue, any massive vehicle he spotted on the road. A backhoe! A dump truck! A garbage truck! A hauler! It went past a mere interest and became a party trick, something he trotted out with giddy abandon whenever other people were around so he could impress them with his deep knowledge base of all things six- or eight-wheeled. The best toy trucks for kids elicit that same joy, despite the fact that most of them are analog toys that have been around, in various iterations, for decades.

Believe it or not, there are actually myriad developmental benefits of playing with toy trucks. Kids learn to identify and name items, and tell them apart, as they scream out that that yes, that’s a blue bulldozer. They grasp the basics of math when they use the trucks to dig up a certain number of items, load them up, then unload them. They start to classify toys based on size and color. And they engage in cooperative play because what’s better than one lonely truck? A cavalcade of them racing each other, that’s what.

As with most toys, the simpler, the better. A truck is engaging on its own. It doesn’t need honking horns, flashing lights, or remote controls to keep kids occupied. Let them work for it, instead of having it served to them. They’ll end up doing much more interesting things with it — and having more fun.

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The Best Metal Toy Trucks

Big Scoop Dump Truck by John Deere

Oversized with a 21-inch metal dump box, this John Deere toy will hold most of the contents of your raised garden bed. A big handle is easy to lift for young children.

$59.95

Steel Classics Bulldozer FFP Toy Truck by Tonka

Tonka's been around forever, and that's about how long these trucks last. It's got steel backbone, and kids can move dirt, sand, and rocks with the workable blade.

$19.98

Cat Construction Dump Truck by CatToysOfficial

As durable and robust as the company's products, this officially licensed product is made from steel. As such, it's not the best choice for kids who are clumsy, but for those who are downright mean, it's built to last. It also has an articulating bed to drop loads wherever your child chooses.

$34.99

Granite Dump Truck by Mack Truck

This steel dump digger is built to withstand. Robustly made and nearly three pounds, your child will run out of dirt before its bucket wears through.

$24

The Best Wood Toy Trucks

Toy Firetruck by Hape

The first truck your kid will recognize and identify is the mighty firetruck. Kids put the ladder on the back of the truck, and help the firefighter climb it, hose in hand, to put out any flames.

$21.99

Jumper Magnetic Wooden Block Set by Tegu

Kids can use the 25 magnetic wood pieces to build a pickup truck, or any imaginary vehicle they dream up. A perfect blend of STEM and open-ended play, from Tegu, which is known for its quality.

$85.99

Toy Dump Truck by Hape

There's literally nothing more satisfying for little kids than transporting things from place to place. Ours is not to question why.

$24.99

Magnetic Car Loader Toy Truck by Melissa & Doug

Kids use the magnetic arm to place the three cars on the back of this car-carrier trailer; it's a party for those motor skills.

$16.23

The Best Plastic Toy Trucks

Scooper Construction Toy Truck by Green Toys

This truck, made from recycled plastic, gives those motor skills a workout as kids use the moveable front-loader to pick up and dump out stuff.

$12.56

Recycling Toy Truck by Green Toys

Slightly more complex is this garbage truck, which has three chutes for depositing recycling. The whole recycling bed tilts back and back rear door opens, so kids can unload those recyclables.

$20.02

Cement Mixer Toy Truck by Bruder

When it comes to highly-detailed vehicles, you cannot beat Bruder. This truck has a hand wheel that turns the drum and actually moves the contents around and — oh yes — the drum then empties out through the adjustable chute. Water even drains out of the water tank through the hose.

$106.51

CAT Compact Toy Truck by Bruder

This workhorse accelerates with rubber chains that easily handle rough terrain, and the loading arm is height-adjustable and can be raised or lowered or locked into position.

$42.99

Learning Benefits of Playing Toy Trucks

Children of all ages love playing with toy trucks. It is also no secret that playing with toy trucks helps children with their development and learning. For most children, playing with toy trucks gives them the freedom to think and they do not have to think about anything else other than playing. Children learn about themselves and the world around them through play. They also start to imitate and copy the actions of adults when they reach a certain age. This is the reason why many experts encourage parents to allow children to play with toys with developmental value because forcing children to learn something is really not a good idea, it's a lot better when it comes naturally through play.

Most children are familiar with trucks. They have four wheels just like a toy car but they are much bigger. Some children might play with toy trucks in a different way initially. It is not unusual for them to bang toy trucks together or they might be tempted to throw the truck around thinking these toys can fly. You may think this is weird but this is actually a good thing. When children play like this, they are using their imagination and creativity and trying to figure out how things work.

Toy trucks and toy vehicles, in general, are good for early development, that much has been established. But let us take a closer look at the benefits of playing toy trucks.

Fine Motor Skills & Hand-Eye Coordination

Every time a child pushes their toy trucks or toy vehicles back and forth they are using their hands and fingers. Practising and developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination at an early age is important. These skills allow children to do precise movements with their hands and fingers like playing the piano or even as simple as cutting a piece of paper using a pair of scissors. Children improve these skills further into adulthood so it is especially important to start developing these skills at an early age.

Imagination & Creativity

A child’s imagination runs deep and endless. Most children play using their imagination and that is a good thing. Imagination and creativity are two foundations of good problem-solving skills. Children will have to deal with problems and challenges when they grow older. So having good problem-solving skills will minimise their frustrations and will help them deal with these problems easily.

Cognitive Development

Children learn through playing and having fun. Play-based learning allows children to understand how the world around them works. They become curious and explore new ideas. Playing with toy trucks builds their understanding that these toys’ real-life counterparts are used for transporting things. It will also allow them to be in control because they determine the destination of the toy trucks.

Communication & Language Skills

Toy trucks are fun to play alone but they are more fun when played with others. Playing with others is good for developing better social interactions, emotional growth, and improving language and communication skills. Children learn new words and expand their vocabulary as they play and playing with others is a good language exercise. Toy fire engines are also great for social skills and communication.

 

Next Up: Are Toy Trucks Worth It?

Truck Games - Online

Truck Games is a good way to get to know the big vehicles that are designed to carry different types of cargo. As you know, driving a truck is much more difficult than driving cars. Becoming a truck driver takes a lot of study and practice. In truck games, you can have a great time feeling like a real driver of one of the trucks. You can transport heavy cargo from one point to another, park trucks in a parking lot, and even take part in monster truck racing competitions. In some games, you can experience all the features of racing trucks that are capable of performing jumps and various stunts. Want cool graphics? No problem! Play games where you need to drive a truck with a long trailer and transport various equipment. For fans of Russian trucks, there are also games in which you have to drive a KamAZ or a cargo UAZ off-road, where there is a lot of dirt and various obstacles. Play and feel all the difficulties of managing these large machines, and most importantly, learn how to overcome them. Good luck!

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Russian Truck ZIL

Truck Driver: Crazy Road 2

Game Trucks: Russian Kamaz Driver 3D

Trucks: Russian Driver in the Mountains

Truck Driver in Taiga 3D

Monster Truck Competition

Delivery Simulator 3D

Truck Driver Dangerous Road

Game Truck Driver: Easy Road

City Truck Driver

Game Truck: Garbage Truck Simulator 3D

Game Truck Driving: Russian Offroad

Freight Transportation Off-Road 3D

Military Truck

Game Trucks: Extreme Offroad 3

Trucking in the Tropics

Trailer Truck Parking

Real City Truck Simulator

Off-Road Russian Pickup Truck Driver

Indian Truck Driver 3D

Game Trucks: Fuel Truck Simulator

Truck Snow Blower

Truck Driving in City

Truck Parking Industrial Zone 3D

Game Trucks: Mountain Transportation

Cargo Transport Simulator 2

Game Trucks: City Construction Simulator

Game Trucks: Car Transportation

Truck Simulator 3D

Animal Truck

Long Trailer Truck Simulator

Transportation of Marine Animals

18 Wheels: Impossible Tracks

Industrial Transport

Heavy Truck Driving

Truck Driver: Offroad

Game Trucks: Hill Climb

Army Truck Driver 2

Monster Truck Arena 3D

Loading and Delivery Simulator

Transportation of Animals 2020

Truck Driver 3D

Asian Truck Driver

Truck 18 Wheels: Cargo Transport Simulator

Game Trucks: Tow Truck Parking

Game Trucks: Transporting Tank

Truck Driving Finger

Game Trucks: Rise 3D

Game Sport Truck: Time Trial

Space for Trucks

Game Truck Parking Challenge

Delivery Truck

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Game Russian Truck ZIL - Online

Do you want to become a real trucker and driver of a Russian truck ZIL 130? Then this game is for you! This legendary Soviet rear-wheel drive truck will remain for a long time not only in history, but also in the hearts of truck lovers. In the game, you are given the opportunity to test yourself as a ZIL driver and experience all its capabilities and driving characteristics while driving around the city streets, forest areas and off-road. The game has prepared many levels, tasks and tests that not every player can pass. To learn how to drive this truck well, you first need to drive more than one hundred kilometers on it and then fall in love with it.

So, in the game you are waiting for various game modes, including racing competitions with other trucks, parking, off-road and even career. In career mode, you will need to play like a real trucker and complete 12 tasks to open your way to victory. To start the game, you need to choose a difficulty, then come up with a license plate and a region, after which you will find yourself in your personal garage where your truck is parked. Here you can change its appearance, recolor or buy a special, unique style, but this will require a lot of money. Go to the streets of the city and start completing tasks. Follow the green arrow, it will always point you in which direction to move. The game is very realistic, for example, in order to enter the yard, you first need to honk to open the barrier. After each stop, you need to start the engine again, and before entering the service station. service, turn off the engine. While driving, you have access to a map on which all important objects are marked, such as: houses, gas stations, stations, car washes, a stadium and, of course, your transport company.

Turn the steering wheel and enjoy driving your favorite zil. The control of the machine is very realistic, the gearbox of course switches in automatic mode, but it is very natural. All existing systems work properly in your truck. When it rains, you can turn on the wipers, and when driving in the city, you can easily turn on repeat indicators, an emergency gang, or use a horn. To improve the driving characteristics of the ZIL, you need to go to one of the stations in the city and buy several improved parts, such as: engine, chassis, wheels, and so on.

Play, drive your truck, complete tasks and become the richest, most famous and successful ZIL 130 driver. Don't forget about the different game modes available in the game menu. If you are bored with a career, you can have fun driving on mountain slopes, off-road and test your skills of parking a truck in a parking lot. Play and get carried away with this wonderful game, because the driving experience you get will remain with you forever!

Online game located here Russian Truck ZIL , you can play it for free and right now.

Game controls:

  • - control
  • - handbrake
  • - card
  • - change camera view
  • - horn
  • , - direction indicators
  • - emergency gang
  • - incl. dipped beam
  • - incl. high beam
  • - pause/menu

Game information: