The benefits of train sets for kids

The magic of Christmas is instantly elevated when your little one opens a gift they love, which is why getting it right can feel so important. A train set has universal appeal to all children, no matter how old they are, and it turns out, they’re quite beneficial for healthy development too.

Of course, model railway train sets are bright, colourful and a lot of fun, but while they’re pushing tracks together and getting their trains moving, your children are learning and growing too.

If you have been thinking about getting your child a train set for Christmas, here are some reasons why that’s an excellent idea.

Train sets are good for their problem-solving skills

Children need to work out how to get trains moving and what to do when the tracks come apart. This builds critical thinking skills that help them to solve problems when they come across them in real life.

Train sets are good for their fine motor skills

Connecting locomotives and carriages and placing the full train on the tracks helps to build fine motor skills in young children. These are the skills linked with dexterity and hand-to-eye coordination, helping them to complete everyday tasks.

Train sets help teach spatial reasoning

When building tracks and playing with trains, children can learn the concepts of over, under, straight and curved, helping them to create spatial awareness of the world around them.

Imaginative play is good for helping children to understand the world

When making up stories and playing with their trains, children are using their train sets to make sense of the world around them. Their imaginative play is helping them to process the things they have experienced so they have a better understanding of life.

Creative play also helps with communication skills

The more your child talks during play, the easier they will find it to communicate as they grow older. As a parent, you can encourage this with younger children by pointing out colours and shapes and describing what the trains are doing on the tracks.

Train sets encourage mindfulness

When children get into the zone of playing with their train set, they are learning mindfulness. This helps them to feel calm and to be in the moment as they concentrate on moving their trains. This can be especially good for emotional regulation.

They encourage social interaction

While train sets are great for mindfulness when playing alone, they can also be a good tool for building social skills when children play together. A train set can keep a small group of children happily occupied, taking turns and sharing stories as their trains whizz around the track.

A large-scale review by researchers at King's College London found that children playing with toy trains don't just have fun they talk differently too. Their play becomes more focused on shared goals, collaboration and problem-solving compared to playing with more open-ended toys.

Children learn cause and effect through trains

There are lots of reasons why a train might derail on a child’s train set and understanding why this happens is a great lesson in cause and effect. For example, if they’ve stepped on the track and broken the connection, the train won’t be able to run onto the next piece of track. This helps them to be aware of how their actions can affect the track.

Train sets teach basic engineering and geometry

STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills are central to the allure of train sets for children. The Kings College report also found that building and arranging train tracks supports children’s spatial thinking and visual memory, skills strongly linked to later performance in STEM subjects.

This makes a lot of sense. When building their train set, they are learning basic geometry skills like which curves work together or where to put in a straight piece. They are also learning simple engineering when slotting track pieces together and getting their trains to move.

As well as all of these useful benefits, you could potentially be setting your child up for a hobby that will bring them joy throughout their life. As they grow older, their model railway skills can progress, and they can build more complicated and interesting layouts.

If you’re wondering what to get your child for Christmas, a train set might be the best thing you’ve ever bought them!

Explore our Playtrains range and give your child the gift of imagination, discovery, and endless adventure this Christmas.