Or: Everything I am teaching you, I teach you through cars
There was a magazine advertisement a few years ago that pictured a father reading a bedtime story to his son. Nothing unusual in that, except that the book in hand was not “Cat in the Hat” or any familiar fairy tale; the “book” was a car instruction manual. I thought at that time that it was an amusing ad, but the situation itself highly unlikely. Little did I know that I would become that father and I would be doing something similar with my two-year old son. That’s because my son is enamored with all things automotive.
It is not surprising why toddlers like cars. Who wouldn’t be attracted to shiny, gloriously sculpted bits of metal that go fast? Cars are designed to be attractive to adults (except anything with a Ssangyong badge), and as a consequence they have great appeal to children as well. Taking that natural attraction as my cue, I set out to maximize my son’s learning opportunities, teaching him skills and concepts through the world of cars:
Motor skills:
Before he turned one, my son was able to wobble along on his own, letting go briefly before grasping for support. But when he got behind the wheel, he needed little guidance. Sitting upright in his twister car, a low, three-wheeled vehicle that is propelled by repeatedly turning the steering wheel, he was able to maneuver the car from one end of the house to the other, dodging chairs, doors, posts, people, and a dog. Climbing onto and from the car helped develop his sense of balance.
One year later, he is able to use his legs to propel his bright red 1:10 scale Ferrari Enzo at nerve-wracking (at least for me) speeds. He ends each run with a flourish, braking and spinning the car around like a miniature Russ Swift. Before I go thinking that I have the next Sebastian Vettel on my hands, I had better make sure that he doesn’t propel himself into the fishpond. But first—where did I put that video camera?
No less fascinating is his manipulation of matchbox-sized models, gripping them with tiny fingers as he makes zooming noises. Model cars with doors that open to reveal interiors and engines teach pulling and grasping. This is good for teaching him the pincer grip but bad for my larger models—my 1:18 Ford GT has already lost a wheel and its rear bumper. It’s no use handing him Lego cars; he really prefers the bright, shiny metal ones. Time to rummage in Toys R Us’ bargain bin then.
Cognitive/intellectual development
There is no better way to teach concepts like names and colors than through cars. It’s easy to learn the names of cars (by sight), because each has a prominently-placed, distinctive logo. And it didn’t take long for my son to catch on that aside from the primary name, say Ford, each car has another name, like Explorer. And what other object comes in an endless variety of easy-to-distinguish colors?
Speaking of car logos, that is how my son learned his alphabet. Using a conventional picture book, by the time we would reach “H is for hyena”, he would be saying “the end” and would push the book away. Stymied, I put together a Car Alphabet flashcard set, with a car logo for each letter. Loaded onto an iPod touch, this had him willingly looking at each letter and corresponding logo, with complete attention. So now, “A is for Audi,” “B is for Bentley,” “C is for Chevrolet,” all the way to “Z is for Zebra” (an electric car maker from California).
Socio-emotional development
This is one aspect that needs a bit of patience, especially during the “terrible twos.” Prone to fits of anger, he can throw his cars to show his displeasure. So much for the pristine paint on that hard-to-find Lightning McQueen variant. This is a good chance to teach him that actions have consequences. Don’t take care of your cars and they will be in bad shape. Right now, he doesn’t seem to be that sad that the spoiler of his Mitsubishi Evo has broken off, but at least he is aware of it.
Teaching him that dad’s 1:18 AutoArt McLaren F1 cannot be brought out of bedroom (or dropped on the floor) is an achievement. Convincing him (eventually) to share his precious cars with his sister or other kids will be a very proud parental moment.
Language
After learning what car logos look like, comes pronouncing them with understandable diction. It was quite fulfilling to hear my son’s progress from “To…ta” to “Toyota” and “bishi” to the full “Mitsubishi.” Four- and five-syllable words are common in the complicated world of the automobile (that’s another one), and it’s easier to teach words like “convertible” and “cabriolet” when you can point out what each of them means. Sentences, too, come more easily, when you can clearly see that “A Ford GT is faster than a Subaru Impreza,” even at 1:55 scale.
As for vocabulary, can he name all the visible parts on a car? From turbo scoop to exhaust pipes, there is a wealth of language to be learned. And that’s before opening the hood. Sitting with the little one on my lap behind the steering wheel (in a stationary car), he learns the names of the various switches, and when to use them.
Does this dovetailing of education and motoring end when he starts kindergarten? I believe not, as there are miles to go, and each new journey allows new discoveries. There are mathematics (counting wheels and cylinders), physics (acceleration and power/mass ratio), even history (Henry Ford and Karl Benz) and art appreciation (Ferrari GTO and Bugatti Type 57). The possibilities are limitless. My fervent hope is that we will have time for all of these, just as we will always have that first shared reading of “Car Emblems and Logos.”
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Note to parents: We have posted the Car Alphabet in the article gallery. Feel free to use it to educate your young ‘uns the automotive way. Scroll down, click on View gallery, click on a letter, right-click Save Image As. Name each file for its letter: A, B, C, and so on. You can save it to a folder then sync to your device. The alphabet is optimized for iPod touch / iPhone.
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