A friend wrote us about her three-year-old son who is fascinated with trucks. "Trucks! That's all my son talks about day and night!" When we're looking at a book, he's interested only if there's a truck on the page, even if it's just a tiny toy on a shelf in the background. At bedtime, he won't go to sleep until he's recited a list of all the trucks he saw that day. It seems like trucks are all he thinks about."

Delighting in Movement

Boys and girls can be fascinated by all sorts of things that move. An attraction to cars, trucks, buses, and trains usually begins at the same time children start crawling or walking. They're so intensely involved in learning how to get around that they can be captivated by anything suggesting movement, or anything they can move smoothly along the floor or table top.

Many vehicles go fast, whether they're on wheels, in the air, or on water -- and they move with such ease! What a delight they are to play with, especially for children who are just learning to walk and run -- or who have recently done a lot of falling and getting back up and trying again!

Feeling Powerful

Powerful vehicles like trains, trucks, and construction vehicles can become fascinating to children as they come to recognize that, instead of being at the center of the universe, they're not in charge of much at all. They don't have control over when to eat, how long they stay at the playground, or when they go to bed -- someone else makes those decisions. Children can find real comfort in being in charge of playthings that are symbols of power -- like trucks, cars, buses, trolleys, trains, planes, bulldozers, and backhoes.

Play is One Way Children Work on Their Feelings

That mother will probably hear a lot of truck talk over the years. At the time when her son is concerned about following rules at school, she may find him building elaborate roads from blocks to keep his trucks in bounds. If his family moves and his world seems disorganized, she may find him parking his trucks in orderly rows. When a friend has disappointed him, he may make one truck crash into another. At a time when he's worried about containing his angry outbursts, he may confine his trucks to garages.

Whether consciously or not, we all seek out interests and pastimes that serve our needs. Whether those interests are trucks or other things, and whether they last days or years, they can serve us as vehicles to help us get from one place in our inner lives to the next.

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