Traffic is abstract for a child
For an adult it is obvious that you give way at a triangle pointing down, or that you wait for green. For a child these are rules without context until they have seen them work. It is hard to understand a roundabout from a child seat in the back.
On the living room floor it looks different. When the child steers the car and can see the whole junction from above, the rules become something you can try out. Who goes first? What happens if everyone goes at once?
Build a town with real rules
In Crateit Town the roads are part of the game. Rule the Roundabout is made for practising the roundabout: children steer through the turns and learn who has to give way. Traffic & Road Signs Pack puts up signs along the road, so the drivers have to be guided around town.
And when someone has to keep an eye on the traffic, Police Station is our newest set, with police cars, a motorbike and 12 road pieces.
Six games that teach traffic
- Stop and look: Build a junction with a stop sign. Every car has to stand completely still and count to three before it drives on.
- The roundabout: Drive three cars into the roundabout at once. Who has to wait? Talk about it and try again.
- The zebra crossing: Let a figure or a block be the pedestrian. The cars have to stop when someone wants to cross.
- Police check: A police car waits by the road and checks that everyone follows the signs. Anyone driving too fast gets a friendly word.
- The school run: Drive the bus from home to school, and find the safest route together.
- Swap roles: The child puts up the signs, and the adult drives. Now it is the child who makes the rules.
From the floor to the pavement
The game does not replace real practice in traffic with an adult alongside. But it gives you a shared language. When you walk to school the next morning, you can talk about giving way and zebra crossings as something the child already knows from their own town.
Many parents find that the questions come by themselves: Why is the sign round? Why does the bus have its own lane? Those are the conversations that turn the rules into something you understand, not just something you have to remember.
Colour the signs yourself
All Crateit sets come uncoloured. That means the child colours the signs, the roads and the cars. Crateit markers go on layer upon layer, so the colours can change as the town grows. Use the time to talk about which colours the signs have in real life, and why.
Talk about traffic without wagging a finger
Traffic is very much about rules, but the game does not need to feel like a test. Let the rules come up when they make sense in the story. When two cars meet at the junction, you can ask who should go first and let the child suggest an answer. If the answer is wrong, you can try it out and see what happens.
That way the rules become something the child has worked out for themselves, which makes them easier to remember.
When the child builds the roads
A next step is to let the child build the whole road network. Where should the bus stop? Where should there be a zebra crossing? Where should the police keep watch? When the child has to plan the town, they think about where traffic gets dangerous and how it can be made safe.
- Build a route to school that crosses two roads.
- Put a roundabout in the middle of town and see how the traffic changes.
- Make a road with traffic calming by the playground.
Rebuild the town from time to time. A new junction or a new roundabout brings new questions, and it keeps the game fresh, so the rules get practised again in a new way.
And when the bus has arrived safely at school, it is time for a new trip.
Frequently asked questions
From what age can children play with traffic?
Crateit Town is recommended for 5-9 years. The sets can be used from 3 years and are assembled with an adult up to 5 years. The youngest can drive the cars around, while the older ones can build the whole town and make the rules themselves.
Do I need to buy many sets to get started?
No. Start with a piece of road and a couple of cars, and build on when the game calls for it. All sets in Crateit Town fit together.
See all of Crateit Town, and build a town where the rules make sense.
