We rounded up some excellent tractor toys that are sure to satisfy any tiny tractor enthusiast, and help with their development at the same time.
My nephew is four years old and has been obsessed with tractors since he was 18 months old. I thought this was just because his granddad is a farmer, and had probably spent more time on a farm than most during his lifetime. But when I was researching the best toys for 18 months olds and the best toys for three year olds, toy tractors kept cropping up, demonstrating that it's not just a quirk of my nephew. There are so many great tractor toys out there too - perfect for sensory play, imaginative play and fostering problem-solving skills to boot.
And so we've compiled this list of excellent tractor toys, with options suitable from 12 months, using our extensive product knowledge and real life experience, as well as taking into account popularity, product ratings and reviews on various retailer sites.
12 excellent tractor toys that are perfect for toddlers
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: No
Free from any nasties and super durable, this tractor toy is a great option for toddlers working on their fine motor skills. It's covered in a variety of textures that curious fingers will love to explore, and little hands can practice filling the trailer with their favourite finds, and work on their balance and coordination as they push it around. We also love the stylish colourway of this tractor - it'll look good on display when not in use.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: None
This colourful tractor comes with three trailers where little ones can help the farmer harvest fruits and veg. This is a great toy for teaching colour and shape recognition, as well as matching, and for boosting fine motor skills are they stack the bricks in the correct order and position.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: None
Little ones will love getting hands on with this wooden ride-on tractor as they build on their gross and fine motor skills as well as their balance and problem solving as they zoom around. The working horn will be a delight to your tiny human, but if you're not a fan of too much noise, then you'll love the rubber wheels, which keep the hubbub to a minimum.
Suitable from: 3 years | Batteries required: None
If you have a little one who thinks tractor toys need no improvement, then just you wait until you mix tractor fun with Play Doh. A great source of sensory fun, this tractor toy comes with a tractor, a horse trailer mould, a trough and three containers of play dough. Use the mould to create corn and pretend fruits to put in the trough when you're not wheeling round the tractor.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: None
An Amazon number one bestseller - and for good reason - this toy set offers loads of ways to play to boost your little one's creativity. With the tractor, trailer, horse, corn and farmer figures, there's loads of opportunity for role playing, but it also comes with tools so the tractor can be dissembles and reassembled time and time again for a fine motor skill boost.
Suitable from: 12 months | Batteries required: 3 x AA batteries (not included)
With fun sound effects and songs, this tractor and trailer makes for excellent pretend play, while also helping tiny humans to learn animal recognition. It's colourful, with soft, rounded edges, and comes with the farmer and four animal figures too. Each has its own spot in the trailer so it's great for fostering hand-eye coordination.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: 3 x AA batteries
The adorable face on this remote controlled John Deere tractor will help with your little one's emotional development, while the super-simple two-button controller is perfect for their little hands to operate with ease. It's a great lesson in cause and effect too, helping kiddies to understand the impact of their actions as they discover what happens to the tractor when they press the buttons on the control pad.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: None
If wooden toys are more your thing (even if it's just because your tiny human hasn't discovered plastic toys yet), then this wooden toy tractor is an adorable addition to the toybox. We love this version with the cow and the horse, but you can also get a version with milk bottles or hay bales, which is a great nod to different types of farming.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: None
Perfectly sized for little hands to hold, the tractor and digger set is brightly coloured, durable and without any sharp edges or pokey bits. Hold the toy on the floor and push it forwards a few times and then release to see it zoom off to your little one's delight. It works on all types of flooring too, including carpet.
Suitable from: 18 months | Batteries required: 2 x AA batteries(included)
I bought this as a Christmas present for my nephew when he was 18 months old, and to say he loved it would be an understatement. With farmers in the family, the John Deere tractor is really recognisable for him, and he loved having his own and getting to grips with taking it apart and putting it back together again.
Suitable from: 3 years | Batteries required: 2 x AAA batteries (included)
For some exciting singalong time, little ones will love singing along with Old MacDonald Had a Farm and mimicking the animal noises they hear when playing with this Cocomelon musical tractor. When they're not singing along, they can push the tractor round to their heart's content, building up their balance and problem solving skills as they do.
Suitable from: 5 years | Batteries required: None
With 148-pieces, this LEGO set is perfect for little fans of tractors and construction toys. Not only will it help boost their creativity, fine motor skills and problem solving as they follow the instructions, but they'll also build on their self confidence as they complete it.
Why do kids love tractor toys?
Studies show that from the age of about 18 months, many children can develop an 'intense interest' in a certain concept, and that it can have many benefits for their cognitive development. You might notice your child becoming increasingly interested in dinosaur toys, for example. But they could just as easily develop an intense interest in tractors, diggers, trucks and other large vehicles.
GoodtoKnow's sister brand The Week investigated why kids are obsessed with large vehicles of this nature and found that these kinds of toys hold a special kind of appeal during a child's sensorimotor development stage, where they learn about the world through their five senses, and so toys with moving parts, like wheels, that are brightly coloured, and make sounds are all incredibly engaging.
Additionally, they might have seen real-life tractors while outside of their home, or seen them on TV in shows like Tractor Ted, and be fascinated by their huge size, loud noises, or unusual movements - and so being able to have their very own version that they can hold in their own hands can be a useful catalyst for pretend play and creativity.
