By Amanda Pearson
Pretty much all kids have a Dinosaur stage. They want to discover every little fact about them. The bizarre names, how they lived, the fossils and the actuality that they are no longer here. And this plays out by them playing with Dinosaur toys as it is far more direct and engaging way to learn about their latest friends. Thus the first question worth posing could be to consider what makes Dinosaurs so entrancing to kids in the first place.
Why Are Dinosaurs So Special ?
I think children are captivated by Dinosaurs since they are kind of scary in the same way that people like scary movies. Creatures like the Tyrannosaurus Rex make an instant impression on a young child's mind. For instance, they see the razor sharp teeth, swishing tail and hear the blaring roar of the T-Rex in the Jurassic park movie and can't fail to be in veneration. They have such a primal and visceral look to them that kids just have to know all about them. And as the youngster almost immediately understands that the creatures are now extinct, any genuine fear of the animals can be supplanted by real curiosity.
And if the monster slant doesn't work (toddlers won't connect to a scarey monster so much), there are so many Dinosaur characters in books, TV, cartoons, computer games and much more. A case in point in the singing superstar Barney or even Buddy out of the Dinosaur Train series. The Flintstones cartoons and later movies is another friendly and human way to introduce dinosaurs.
For most of these characters and series, the Dinosaurs are being anthropomorphised to make the creatures more appealing or relatable to. They act like humans and do the kind of things that humans would do. And typically these issues are the kind of things young kids would be dealing with in their every day lives. In the instance of the Dinosaur Train family, the main character has minor fights with his siblings and has strong mother and father role models. So kids can put themselves in the dinosaur characters shoes in most cases. But they still look cool since they are weird and wonderful Dinosaurs.
So it could be argued that kids are hypnotized by dinosaurs as they are inherently fascinating or even that we, as adults, foster this fascination by putting dinosaurs in popular culture. So you could say that adults are just as fascinated by these creatures as kids but we are too grown up to admit it !
So Where Do Dinosaur Toys Fit In ?
Dinosaur toys bring kids closer to these fascinating creatures. They let them literally walk with dinosaurs and use their imagination and learning to make the animals live again.
The Dinosaur Train series is a good example - they learn about dinosaurs - the types, when they lived, what they did and what happened to them. When a child can take the toys from the show - the individual characters and the train act out their own adventures and learn more about their favorite creatures. It lets the child become part of the action or at least direct the action.
Moving the creatures legs, placing them in train compartments and having them interact with each other is a more engaging way to learn than passively absorbing the information from the TV.
Remote controlled "dino" pets are also a much loved toy for kids These toys engender they same sort of feeling that having a live pet might bring about - they have to care after it and it's their own responsibility. This can be a new feeling for kids and give them a little control, in a domain that, to that point, is completely controlled by their parents or older siblings.
About the Author:
For great deals on all dinosaur toys click http://www.