How do I get a scared child to ride a motorised toy?

Answer 1

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, recently went all out at Christmas time to buy her child the latest and most expensive motorized outdoor riding toy she could find; a John Deere jeeplike toy with a driver's seat and a passenger seat and a space in the back to carry toys or anything else that caught the child's fancy. The parents knew the kid loved John Deere, so they thought he would love his little riding toy. The problem was, after spending all this money on this expensive toy, the kid wouldn't ride it. In fact, he didn't want anything to do with it. What's a parent to do in a case like that?

Not every child will have this problem, of course, but it's a pretty good bet that if it's the first time a child has had a motorized riding toy, it's going to scare him at first. While you and I might not think of a child's riding toy as particularly powerful, think about it from the point of view of the child for a moment. This vehicle is moving forward on some power other than his; it isn't as easy for a young child to connect 'let off on the accelerator' with 'stop' as it is for him to connect 'stop pushing this scooter' with 'stop', for instance. If a child gets into a motorized toy without knowing exactly what it will do, how to make it do it, and how to make it stop doing it, the child is going to feel that the toy is out of control (even if it's only 'out of control' at two miles an hour and you're right there with him), and he's going to be a little frightened.

The best cure, of course, is prevention; take the time to explain to him what it will do, how to make it go, how to make it stop, what kind of noise it will make, how fast it will go, et cetera. You may wish to have the child sit in the passenger seat and use your hand to press the accelerator to begin with, until they can see how pushing down makes it go and letting off makes it stop. If you could somehow drive it the first time and have the child in the passenger seat watching you, that would be best, but unfortunately, that isn't really possible.

If the child has already tried to ride it on their own, though, and been so scared that they won't touch it, it will probably take time to get them used to it so that they feel comfortable enough to try again. Encourage the child to just sit in the toy without moving at all; have them make 'motor sounds' and perhaps turn the steering wheel. Next, have them sit in the toy while you push it. Again, have them make motor noises (and make them with them if you possibly can) and turn the steering wheel. Demonstrate, first with them watching from the sidelines and later with them in the passenger seat, how pushing the accelerator makes it go and letting off makes it stop. And above all, be patient with them. Eventually, in their own good time, the child will feel comfortable enough with the toy to want to try it on his own. And once he does, it's a good bet that he won't stop.

Answer 2

Don't!
If someone else, meaning another child (grown-ups don't count because they are naturally brave in the eyes of a child) rides it and has fun, it may encourage the child to try riding it too, but let the child decide when and IF he or she rides on the toy. After all it is a toy and supposed to be fun, so making it even more scary by forcing or insisting is not a good choice.
It may take time, and it may not be played with right away, but curiosity usually wins out.

Answer 3

Don't push him to ride it. All toys eventually get their due, especially something as cool as a motorized toy. Two ways to go, if you want to speed his/her comfort level up.

A. play with the toy without turning it on- make it look fun. Eventually your child will get his/her comfort level back up and want to enjoy it to. After that, show the toy working with the motor running, let the child choose when to play with it turned on.

B. Have another little kid play on the toy in front of your child. This is the fastest way for little kids to pick up on something.

Good luck.

Answer 4

you don't need to get a scared child to ride a motorized toy if he is scared in the beginning you will make him more scared every time you try to get him to ride it. let him be he'll grow up just fine without riding the toy.

Answer 5

Let them get used to it by just having it around so it becomes familiar. If you or a sibling/friend can ride on it then even better. Then let them ride it without the power on and eventually they'll be familiar enough with it to have a proper go themselves :o) Just don't force it.

Answer 6

Duct Tape

Answer 7

Try and ride it with them, if possible. Or have another child they like to ride with it with them. Try laughing the whole time to make them feel at ease.

Answer 8

to get the scared child to play with motorisied is to either show how fun it is or invite his friend over and let his friend ride the motorisied toy so the scared child would get jealous and want to play too.

Answer 9

well give him some time to look at the toy and once hes ready he'll start sitting or standing on the toyand once he gets the courage he'll start riding it. just don't brive him because if you do that he'll think that he should get it every time he rides it and think he should get whatever you brived him with

Answer 10

You shouldn't try. They will go when they are ready. If you push the child then that is just cruel, if you don't push they may work up the courage to try it out for themselves.