Since the late Neolithic age, when the wheel was invented – I take the word of gray-haired archaeologists for it – children have pretended to operate vehicles. Whenever kids , from the late Neolithic age to my generation, engaged in let-us-pretend-to-drive games, it cost their parents precious little.
In my days, a kid could be a loco driver at will. Running on an imaginary serpentine track, one hand held up to the mouth, and letting out chuk, chuk, chuk through puckered cheeks was all it took to drive a train. Riding a bike had only to do with going vrrr, vrrr, vrrrrr, vrrrrrrrrr . There were also sounds and gestures for driving a car. Until I stopped being a kid, parenting was easy. It was also inexpensive. Children ‘bought themselves’ vehicles.
In recent times, the semantics — and unfortunately, the economics too — of let-us-pretend-to-drive games has changed. Dramatically. Pretend games have become more real. Kids can actually pretend to drive marque machines in a realistic fashion. There is an industry out there making this possible for them. Every year, motor-fitted, battery-driven ride-on cars and bikes that assume the shapes of iconic machines keep riding into the market.
These vehicles have taken make-believe into top drive. Interesting examples include ride-on toys based on Ford mustang, Jeep Wrangler and Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Bentley models. Ride-on two-wheelers are also similarly fashioned after popular motorcycles. The bigger players in this market go the extra mile and add features to make it all look more real. Such efforts include cars with doors and hoods that can be opened and closed.
For parents, this is discomforting. Because, these machines cost quite a bit. The best ones, that is. We were toying with the idea of getting one for our son. We were toying with it so long that he grew too big for toy cars. Not every parent gets this lucky. Or, so pleasantly indecisive.
They don’t stand a chance. Because, electric ride-on toys are designed to appeal to kids. A lot of R&D seems to go into them. For example, there are cars in shades of pink aimed specifically at girls.
Clearly, as a parent, you’re losing the battle. As a last-ditch effort, you may try to stall the purchase, citing safety concerns. If you did, the salesperson would patiently tell you these machines come with a remote-control option for the parent to exercise control anytime and that the motors are extremely low-powered. And your kid would turn to you and say, “See, I told you!”
