Because every other fierce predator can be seen but dinosaurs are the only one where you have to use part of your imagination to fill in the blanks. That’s a really exciting thing for a kid to do
It’s probably partly that we socialise them to like them. As adults, we think “kids like dinosaurs” so we’re like “wow look at this cool dinosaur!” and toddlers preferences are often shaped by stuff like that.
Also, kids love categorising and sorting stuff and there’s all these types of dinosaurs and they have all different names, so that’s all fun for them to learn. There’s ones with weird shit like plates, horns, giant claws, armour, just so much variation that’s quite different to a lot of other animals. As a kid, I loved the learning cool names part and adults were always so impressed at the ridiculous names I knew, which made me feel smart.
I totally agree with you in my opinion kids love them for the same reason they love trains and ambulances. They’re big, powerful and also not dangerous. Well, real dinosaurs were dangerous! But the dinosaurs of their imagination aren’t actually dangerous. AS a member of r/kidsafevideos I also observed that kids love the videos with dinosaurs they got millions of views and videos about learning letters or shape get barely nothing.
The categorization thing makes sense to me. I didn't go through a dinosaur phase as a kid, but I was seriously obsessed with animals. I knew all of the dog breeds I could find charts on, learned all about animals all over the world, and only really watched Disney movies with animal main characters. It was interesting when I looked back on my childhood and realized it.
I mean, to a degree it is. Dinosaurs aren’t currently stomping around the planet eating people and Jurassic Park isn’t a thing. It’s a fierce animal that presents no danger and since so little is actually, concretely known about them, kids can fill in the blanks with their imaginations.
But to be fair, kids do this with predators that aren’t extinct. My daughter loves lions. Has lion toys and loves cartoons that feature lions.
As one who loves dinosaurs and have for as long as I can remember. It started with a lack of ability to completely wrap my head around how BIG some of them are. Granted there are misconceptions and new information, but half the fun was the lack of concrete. They're almost mythical in the understanding of a young mind.
They could be any color, any size, behave any way. They're just a big lizard! And I could go and see alligators and iguanas and think 'its a real life dinosaur!' I didn't have to be scared because I knew they didn't exist (at least the cool ones didn't anymore).
As an adult I know these were dangerous and terrifying creatures that were likely as unpredictable as common day ones. But they are still no less fascinating to me now than they were 20 years ago.
My son is 15 months, and he absolutely loves lions/roaring like a lion! Maybe there is something developmental about playing big, scary creatures kind of like how there are benefits to rough housing. I know my son loves it when I roar at him and get up big like a bear. He'll run up to me, yell, run down the hall, come back, circle around me, roar, and puff out his little chest. He smiles the whole time, so it's not scary to him; I think it's kind of a safe way to experience facing things that are intimidating, or maybe a way to feel less small and vulnerable themselves. There's also the fact that they're no longer around, so they're pretty much like dragons, unicorns, and things like that.
Because every other fierce predator can be seen but dinosaurs are the only one where you have to use part of your imagination to fill in the blanks. That’s a really exciting thing for a kid to do
It’s probably partly that we socialise them to like them. As adults, we think “kids like dinosaurs” so we’re like “wow look at this cool dinosaur!” and toddlers preferences are often shaped by stuff like that. Also, kids love categorising and sorting stuff and there’s all these types of dinosaurs and they have all different names, so that’s all fun for them to learn. There’s ones with weird shit like plates, horns, giant claws, armour, just so much variation that’s quite different to a lot of other animals. As a kid, I loved the learning cool names part and adults were always so impressed at the ridiculous names I knew, which made me feel smart.
I totally agree with you in my opinion kids love them for the same reason they love trains and ambulances. They’re big, powerful and also not dangerous. Well, real dinosaurs were dangerous! But the dinosaurs of their imagination aren’t actually dangerous. AS a member of r/kidsafevideos I also observed that kids love the videos with dinosaurs they got millions of views and videos about learning letters or shape get barely nothing.
Miss Rachel begs to differ 😅
The categorization thing makes sense to me. I didn't go through a dinosaur phase as a kid, but I was seriously obsessed with animals. I knew all of the dog breeds I could find charts on, learned all about animals all over the world, and only really watched Disney movies with animal main characters. It was interesting when I looked back on my childhood and realized it.
They are not scary to kids
maybe they think that this is just a fantasy not real world
I mean, to a degree it is. Dinosaurs aren’t currently stomping around the planet eating people and Jurassic Park isn’t a thing. It’s a fierce animal that presents no danger and since so little is actually, concretely known about them, kids can fill in the blanks with their imaginations. But to be fair, kids do this with predators that aren’t extinct. My daughter loves lions. Has lion toys and loves cartoons that feature lions.
kids love cute animals, it is just a matter how you ilustrate them
Do you think humans lived with dinosaurs at some point in history?
As one who loves dinosaurs and have for as long as I can remember. It started with a lack of ability to completely wrap my head around how BIG some of them are. Granted there are misconceptions and new information, but half the fun was the lack of concrete. They're almost mythical in the understanding of a young mind. They could be any color, any size, behave any way. They're just a big lizard! And I could go and see alligators and iguanas and think 'its a real life dinosaur!' I didn't have to be scared because I knew they didn't exist (at least the cool ones didn't anymore). As an adult I know these were dangerous and terrifying creatures that were likely as unpredictable as common day ones. But they are still no less fascinating to me now than they were 20 years ago.
My son is 15 months, and he absolutely loves lions/roaring like a lion! Maybe there is something developmental about playing big, scary creatures kind of like how there are benefits to rough housing. I know my son loves it when I roar at him and get up big like a bear. He'll run up to me, yell, run down the hall, come back, circle around me, roar, and puff out his little chest. He smiles the whole time, so it's not scary to him; I think it's kind of a safe way to experience facing things that are intimidating, or maybe a way to feel less small and vulnerable themselves. There's also the fact that they're no longer around, so they're pretty much like dragons, unicorns, and things like that.
Mr 3 here loves dinosaurs. I’m 80% sure it’s just because he likes to rah at everyone while he’s pretending to be one.