Posted: 4/5/23
The Many Benefits of Remote Control Cars for Kids
Prying your children away from their computers, video games, and cell phones can be a major struggle. You’d prefer they were outside, getting exercise and making friends. But how do you make that happen? It’s not impossible. The solution could be as simple as introducing them to remote control cars for kids.
Among the huge variety of RC cars that are available, you’ll find many that even a young child can learn to drive with a little adult supervision and encouragement. Most kids develop the motor skills needed to operate a radio control car by the time they reach about three years old. As long as you give them an RC vehicle that’s appropriate for their age, young drivers will be safe and successful.
Radio technologies like throttle limiting let you make sure the RC model car can’t go any faster than the child is ready to handle. “Basher” off-road RC cars and trucks are sturdy enough to withstand lots of accidents and abuse. Many RC cars for kids look like miniature versions of the full-size vehicles Mom and Dad drive. They’ll quickly capture kids’ interest and imagination.
Compared to RC airplanes and boats, remote control cars are better suited for kids because they can be driven almost anywhere. A nearby parking lot or your own backyard will do just fine. You don’t have to worry about them playing near water or flying into a tree.
The main goal, of course, is to give your kids an outdoor activity that they’ll love. But in addition to the fun, there are many lasting benefits that come from presenting your child with his or her own remote control car.
Remote control cars bring the family together.
There are many opportunities for family bonding with remote control cars in the house. The kids will be excited to show off every new stunt and take pride in the new skills they learn. Everyone in the family, from the children to the grandparents, will enjoy taking turns to see what tricks they can do with the RC car.
Remote control cars are available ready-to-run (RTR) or in kit form. The “no work, all play” simplicity of RTRs often gives them the edge in preference, but assembling a remote control car kit together can be a fun, rewarding, and educational family project. Either way, the friendly staff at your local hobby shop can point you to RC clubs in your area that would be thrilled to welcome you and your kids as new members. As they grow older, instead of just running their remote control cars in the backyard, your kids might be winning races at organized events while you cheer them on!
RC cars for kids are easy and fun to have with you on family outings and vacations. They’re a blast to take along on hiking trips, where you can drive down the trails and maneuver around rocks, tree roots, and other natural obstacles.
Your family can do much more with the remote control car than race it. How about playing RC bowling or RC soccer? Inventing remote control car games for kids requires nothing more than your RC car, a few ordinary household objects, and a little imagination.
Remote control cars get your kids off the couch.
If you need a hobby that will reduce your children’s screen time, an RC car might be just the ticket. Remote control cars for kids have quite a lot in common with video games. They just move the action out from a computer, mobile device, or TV screen and into the real world.
Child development experts consider this active, rather than passive, play to be one of the greatest benefits of introducing kids to remote control cars. Children today rarely go outside for their entertainment. Their attention is fixed on their electronics and mobile devices. Not only does this interfere with their mental and physical development, but it also exposes them to content that could encourage undesirable behaviors.
Of course, nothing beats the sheer fun of sending an RC car through rough outdoor terrain and seeing what it can and can’t do. In the process, the child learns valuable lessons about understanding limitations, managing expectations, and continuing to try until you succeed.
Remote control cars help your child make friends.
Remote control cars can be an excellent tool for developing your child’s social skills. The RC car hobby naturally brings kids together. Any child driving his or her radio control car outside will be a magnet for other children of the same age who want to see what’s happening and join in the fun. That’s how new friends are made.
Playing outdoors with their remote control cars encourages your children to interact with other kids face-to-face. They learn to cooperate and to take turns. When two kids meet who each have an RC car, at some point they’ll want to race each other. That early taste of friendly competition provides important practice at being good losers and gracious winners.
Most communities with a hobby store also have a local RC car club that hosts weekend gatherings where members interact with fellow RC car enthusiasts. As your child’s interest in the hobby grows, these clubs offer another excellent opportunity to build lifelong friendships.
Remote control cars promote creativity and imagination.
Another good reason to buy remote control cars for kids is that they stimulate children’s creativity. Older RC car hobbyists might prefer rules-driven, structured competitions based on full-scale races, but kids tend to use their imaginations first and make their RC cars the heroes of make-believe stories and situations.
Most remote control cars for kids are factory-assembled and ready-to-run (RTR). RTRs have the undeniable advantage of allowing the child to start playing with them right out of the box. As mentioned earlier, however, RC car kits that require assembly provide other attractive benefits. Besides making terrific family projects, they encourage children to express their individuality and creativity by choosing their own designs and paint colors for the body.
RC cars teach children about responsibility.
Like real cars, remote control cars for kids need a little routine maintenance to keep working properly. And that makes them a very good tool for helping children understand responsibility. It’s their job to take care of their RC car. When they do, it will run better and last longer.
Maintaining their remote control car in good condition teaches children basic mechanical and technical skills that will be useful throughout their lives. In time, they’ll discover that they can make their RC cars go faster and perform better by adding aftermarket parts. This ability to make upgrades keeps your children from losing interest and shows them how applying a little effort pays off in greater fun.
RC cars improve hand-eye coordination and other skills.
To be able to steer their remote control cars from a distance, children must pay very close attention. They need to learn how their controller causes the RC car to move and how to direct it accurately enough to avoid obstacles. Using the remote controller to steer the car gives your child’s physical reaction time and hand-eye coordination a very good workout.
It also exercises and improves spatial and visual perception. These are the skills that enable the child to understand the RC car’s position relative to the space around it and to make accurate decisions about what he or she sees. Quite a lot of split-second activity happens between the eyes, the brain, and the fingers when maneuvering an RC car successfully!
RC cars enhance a child’s STEM education.
STEM subjects have become a top priority in the lesson plans of many American school systems. STEM focuses on four critical disciplines — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These aren’t the most popular subjects with many kids. But remote control cars can help overcome their resistance by demonstrating how STEM applies to an activity that the children enjoy.
RC cars provide exciting demonstrations of gravity, velocity, acceleration, and other concepts. As kids steer and perform stunts with their cars, they learn about trajectory. When they make adjustments to their remote control cars to change how they perform, they’re using the scientific method, achieving a desired outcome through trial and error. By enhancing their STEM education, RC cars help children develop interests that may even lead to successful careers in engineering and other technical fields.
Oh, and did we mention that remote control cars for kids are just great fun? Yes, there’s that, too. And what better way to help your children grow than with a hobby that’s so enjoyable, they’ll never even guess it’s so good for them.
