The Timeless Appeal of Dinosaurs
Please pardon the pun in the title, but it's true, dinosaurs have a "timeless" appeal.
As far back as the 19th Century, kids have been literally obsessing over the great beasts of the past.
Kids have always loved dinosaurs, but it may be doubly true ever since Jurassic Park came out.
And with more Jurassic Park movies on the way, it looks like Dinomania isn't going to be over any time soon.
The appeal, for most kids, usually comes down to one of a couple of things.
Many kids are just in awe when they think about the fact that the world is actually millions of years old, that great lizards ruled the planet for thousands of those years.
Dinosaurs are the closest thing we've ever had to dragons, and it really is cool that they really, actually used to exist.
That's probably the most common reason for kids who love dinosaurs.
But let's be honest, some kids just want to ride on the back of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, ordering their pet to stomp the school to the ground.
Whichever of these describes your kid, there are plenty of dinosaur themed toys available for all ages...
Mega Bloks Plasma Dinosaurs Mega Bloks, the company known for their Legos like brick building sets, have also released a line of dinosaur toys which are actually customizable.
These are perfect for slightly older kids, allowing kids to piece together arms and legs and armour and other accessories to their liking, creating all new prehistoric creations (yes, that's an oxymoron, but you get the idea).
Bestever Stuffed Dinosaurs For babies and toddlers, Bestever has a line of stuffed animal dinosaurs available.
These plush dolls are soft to the touch, with surprisingly intricate detail.
For example, the Stegosaur actually has about a dozen separate scales on his back.
ImagiNext Dinosaurs More action-oriented toys, ImagiNext combines dinosaurs with medieval fantasy elements.
Many of the dinosaurs come with miniature human (or almost-human) warriors to ride on the back of the dinosaurs and do battle...
Yeah, that's kind of ridiculous, but remember when we mentioned the kids who fantasize about having a pet dinosaur to stomp on the school? Where there ya go! Teddy and Friends Dinosaurs These ones are perfect for the youngest children.
Completely soft and plush, these stuffed animals have a more cuddly, charming design (on the off chance that Bestever's are too scary for your baby), with big happy eyes, and are soft to the touch.
Lego Stegosaurus For the most creative kids, you have the Lego Creator Stegosaurus.
This is for kids willing to piece together the entire thing from scratch.
What this toy provides is more customizability than the Mega Bloks dinos.
Since the Stegosaur and the other Lego dinosaurs are built from regular Lego bricks, it's not hard for kids to piece them together however they like.
You can only do so much with the Mega Bloks toys, but with Legos, Basically, if you think back to your favourite toys as a kid, not many of them are still popular today.
Howdy Doody? GI Joe? He-Man? Just try talking to kids about those guys today, they won't have a clue what you're talking about.
Dinosaurs, on the other hand, the awe-inspiring kings of the past, are always going to have plenty of appeal for every new generation of kids.
As far back as the 19th Century, kids have been literally obsessing over the great beasts of the past.
Kids have always loved dinosaurs, but it may be doubly true ever since Jurassic Park came out.
And with more Jurassic Park movies on the way, it looks like Dinomania isn't going to be over any time soon.
The appeal, for most kids, usually comes down to one of a couple of things.
Many kids are just in awe when they think about the fact that the world is actually millions of years old, that great lizards ruled the planet for thousands of those years.
Dinosaurs are the closest thing we've ever had to dragons, and it really is cool that they really, actually used to exist.
That's probably the most common reason for kids who love dinosaurs.
But let's be honest, some kids just want to ride on the back of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, ordering their pet to stomp the school to the ground.
Whichever of these describes your kid, there are plenty of dinosaur themed toys available for all ages...
Mega Bloks Plasma Dinosaurs Mega Bloks, the company known for their Legos like brick building sets, have also released a line of dinosaur toys which are actually customizable.
These are perfect for slightly older kids, allowing kids to piece together arms and legs and armour and other accessories to their liking, creating all new prehistoric creations (yes, that's an oxymoron, but you get the idea).
Bestever Stuffed Dinosaurs For babies and toddlers, Bestever has a line of stuffed animal dinosaurs available.
These plush dolls are soft to the touch, with surprisingly intricate detail.
For example, the Stegosaur actually has about a dozen separate scales on his back.
ImagiNext Dinosaurs More action-oriented toys, ImagiNext combines dinosaurs with medieval fantasy elements.
Many of the dinosaurs come with miniature human (or almost-human) warriors to ride on the back of the dinosaurs and do battle...
Yeah, that's kind of ridiculous, but remember when we mentioned the kids who fantasize about having a pet dinosaur to stomp on the school? Where there ya go! Teddy and Friends Dinosaurs These ones are perfect for the youngest children.
Completely soft and plush, these stuffed animals have a more cuddly, charming design (on the off chance that Bestever's are too scary for your baby), with big happy eyes, and are soft to the touch.
Lego Stegosaurus For the most creative kids, you have the Lego Creator Stegosaurus.
This is for kids willing to piece together the entire thing from scratch.
What this toy provides is more customizability than the Mega Bloks dinos.
Since the Stegosaur and the other Lego dinosaurs are built from regular Lego bricks, it's not hard for kids to piece them together however they like.
You can only do so much with the Mega Bloks toys, but with Legos, Basically, if you think back to your favourite toys as a kid, not many of them are still popular today.
Howdy Doody? GI Joe? He-Man? Just try talking to kids about those guys today, they won't have a clue what you're talking about.
Dinosaurs, on the other hand, the awe-inspiring kings of the past, are always going to have plenty of appeal for every new generation of kids.
