Why kids are obsessed with cars, trucks, and other vehicles

Vroom, vroom

A child.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

Every kid has their own obsessions. Dolls, plushies, dinosaurs, remote controls, cell phones — they might have a toy box with a wide range of playthings to keep them entertained, but there's a firm favorite they always reach for first.

Researchers call this phenomenon "extremely intense interests" (EIIs), and have found that they start to emerge at around 18 months of age and are evident in around a third of preschool-aged children. For lots of children, maybe even your own, this obsession revolves around cars. And although the sex divide in the toy world remains, it's not only little boys who are drawn to all things with wheels. My 20-month-old daughter and her treasured red bus is testament to this.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Claire Gillespie

Claire Gillespie is a freelance writer with bylines on Health, SELF, Refinery29, Glamour, The Washington Post, and many more. She likes to write about parenting, health, and culture. She lives in Scotland with her husband and six kids, where she uses every (rare) spare moment to work on her novel.