My mom is determined to get DD (2 years 3 months) a powered ride on toy. She's not big into Christmas so it's not even a Christmas gift--just something she wants to get her. Probably a two-seater since I'm due with DD2 in February. I am against this (way too much $, dangerous, generally too extravagant) but not quite sure if I really want to put my foot down since my mom wants to do this so badly. Have you ever had/used one of these? What features were important? How old do you think kids actually need to be to use them? She's very verbal and using a lot of 3 and up toys currently. Something like this:
http://www.toysrus.com/buy/2-riders/power-wheels-porsche-911-gt3-cdd15-59130216
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My 4 year old son just got this one about a week ago as a gift from his baby sister when she got home from the hospital (http://www.hayneedle.com/product/fisherpricepowerwheelsjeepwranglerbatterypoweredridingtoy.cfm?ltype=child&tid=FPC349-1). This seemed to have great reviews, was a two seater, and was able to switch to a slow speed (2.5 mph). He of course loves to drive at the fast speed but the slow speed is really slow so it doesn't seem terribly dangerous. It's rather large so just keep storage in mind when considering two seaters. If you do opt for a one seater, I remember seeing some good deals last Black Friday.
ETA: My son has been riding these at neighbor's / friend's houses since being newly 3 yo.
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My in laws were adamant about getting us one too. I put my foot down at age two. I used the excuse that I wanted her to learn how to pedal a bike first because otherwise she'd loose the desire. Also at age two they have no coordination to drive and steer. When I've seen two year olds on them (like when at a friends or with an older sibling) they really can't press the gas AND steer at the same time.
I gave in by age 3 and she loves it and is coordinated enough to drive.
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We bought one for DS at age 3 and I think that is the very earliest he would've been able to use it safely. My DD is 2 y 1 mo and she can't even reach the pedal yet, let alone steer it properly.
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We purchased one for our son when he was turning 5. My son specifically expressed interest in it though, we wouldn't have purchased it just "because."
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My nephew who just turned 3,got a big 2-seater power wheels for his birthday and he can't really control it well yet. And he's really coordinated! If they're super insistent on getting one, I'd get the 1-seater small ones (minnie mouse or Mater theme). My dd at 2.5 loved riding on her friend's one and he just had just gotten it on his 2 year birthday party. It goes slow, but she can sort of control it. She can at least turn it around manually to go back and forth in a straight line.
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I was against it for the reasons you outlined. My MIL got one for my son last Christmas (he was 3.5 then though). He didn't like it at first but loved it when he turned 4. His brother is 2 and tries to ride it all the time; he's super coordinated and can do it fine, but it makes me nervous.
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We have the Minnie Jeep for DD1. We gave it to her at just under 2.5 and she got the hang of it within a few uses. She loves it and can't wait for DD2 to be big enough to ride with her.
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We had one handed down to us. It's pretty old, so it's super slow, which is great at this age. We're pretty sure we just need a new battery to speed it up, so when we're old enough to need it, I'll probably get one. It doesn't get a ton of use (our driveway is really steep, so the space is limited.) I probably wouldn't have bought one, but I wasn't going to turn down a free one! He started driving it at about 3.25, and it made me nervous. Now at almost 4 he's pretty good at it
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DS is about to turn 3 and even just a couple months ago could not manage steering, like at all. And personally, my kid is way too energetic to get one of these. If he's outside playing, I don't want him driving around in a battery powered vehicle. I prefer stuff that takes more effort from him.
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We've had some since LO1 was 22 months or so (handed down from a neighbor). We have a 2-seater jeep and a "4-wheeler" style. Neither go very fast and I've never felt it was dangerous. LO1 just turned three and still isn't great at steering the jeep, but she is pretty good at the 4-wheeler. DH usually has to walk beside her in the jeep and remind her to steer.
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DS got one when he was 3 years and 3 months for Christmas. He was a little uncoordinated with it at first, but it was also winter, and he had a lot of clothes on. He didn't really start getting into it until March-ish when he was 3.5 exactly. He LOVES this thing now and rides it all over the back yard with the neighbors.
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DH's grandparents got DS a 4-wheeler one for his first birthday.... Obviously way ahead of when he could use it. We broke it out this past summer when he showed interest and while he'll sit on it and use foot power, he still won't push the button to drive it. He's 23 months. I don't anticipate him actually being able to use it till at least late next summer.
We obviously haven't really used it, but personally, I'd look for ease and speed of charging (maybe even a swappable battery) because once they're driving, they're not going to want to stop because of a dead battery
Also, ours doesn't have the traction to really go on grass (or maybe DS doesn't weigh enough haha) so check the tire traction if you want it going in the backyard.
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