The Best Kept Secret for a Toddler’s Push Toy

We got our daughter a riding push toy for Christmas. This one here. She was just learning to stand and take a few steps along furniture. We quickly found out, though, that she couldn’t keep up with the speed of the car when she tried to push it. But my husband discovered the best kept secret for her new push toy.

Things we tried

Her physical therapist suggested putting rubber bands around each wheel. Kind of like chains you would put on tires for the snow. That didn’t slow it down enough. We also tried putting heavy items inside of the push toy. That didn’t work either. We thought buying the push toy might have been a waste.

A brilliant idea

Then my husband had a brilliant idea. He grabbed the exercise bands that we owned. They were very similar to these. He took the two heaviest bands and put one around the front and back axels on one side of the car. He did the same with the other band on the other side of the car. It worked! It rolled but at a pace our little girl could keep up with. She loved being able to move it around!

Below is a video I created demonstrating the best kept secret trick.

Additional options

The heaviest bands will be the tightest, therefore, they make it roll the slowest. If you want it faster you can put lighter bands on it. If you want it even slower than the heaviest bands provide you can always add weights inside of the car as well.

I hope this trick helps you and your kiddo! There is nothing better than knowing how to help your little one succeed. If you try this best kept secret for a push toy please let me know in the comments how you like it!