How to Make a Toy Car from Recycled Materials and Easily Found Items

Toy cars are one of the toys that can be played with by both boys and girls. The notion that girls should not play with toy cars is very misguided. People think that if girls play with toy cars, it will eliminate their feminine side. In fact, toy cars will not diminish a girl's femininity.

There are many types of toy cars sold in toy stores, but children do not always need to be bought new toys that are expensive. Because what children actually enjoy is playing with their parents. Unfortunately, many parents do not understand this. And they continue to buy expensive toys as a form of affection.

In fact, anything at home can become a toy for children. Friends just need to be a little creative with the used items available at home. One of the ways is to make your own toy car at home with your little one using some of the following used items.

Toy Cars From Used Items

Utilizing materials available at home to make toys is very good. Besides honing children's creativity, using these used items will slightly reduce waste. There are several used items that can be made into toy cars, such as cardboard, drinking bottles, paper or newspapers, and also old calendars.

How to Make a Toy Car From Cardboard

Cardboard is the easiest material to find at home. There are various types of cardboard, such as used milk cartons, used toothpaste boxes, used instant noodle boxes, or cardboard from various other items.

The materials and supplies that you need to prepare to make a toy car from cardboard are scissors, glue, a ruler, a pencil, an eraser, black tape, skewers, and if needed, markers or crayons.

First, make a toy car from a used toothpaste box.

This used toothpaste box is not very large. So you do not need to cut any part of this used toothpaste box. Just add wheels made from bottle caps. If you don't have any, you can cut larger cardboard to make wheels.

After making the wheels, adjust the length of the skewer to the width of the toothpaste box. Punch holes in the toothpaste box and insert the skewer, then attach the wheels. Put a cover on the ends of the wheels.

For the final part, on the body of the toothpaste box, use black tape to create car windows. If you don't have black tape, you can use black paper to make the car windows.

Second, make a car from a used milk carton.

To make a car from a used milk carton, you need to create a pattern on the cardboard first. Determine what shape the car will be. Draw the pattern and cut according to the pattern made. Stick the pattern with glue and attach the wheels to the toy car.

How to Make a Toy Car From Used Bottles

Besides cardboard, the most commonly found item at home is used bottles. It can be from mineral water or other drinks. Before using it to make a toy car, the used bottle should be washed first with soap. Especially if the bottle was used for sweet drinks. Residue from sweet drinks can attract ants and even make the toy car sticky and uncomfortable to play with.

The way to make a toy from a used bottle is quite easy. Prepare scissors, glue, 4 bottle caps, skewers, and folding paper.

Punch holes in the body of the bottle with the skewer that has been measured for length. This hole will later be used as a place for the axle of the wheels.

And for the wheels, heat a screwdriver and make a hole in the center of the used bottle cap.

First, insert the skewer into the body of the bottle that has been punched. Then attach the bottle caps on each side until the used bottle looks like a toy car.

To make it look nicer, you can add decorations from folding paper, for example, adding ears to make it look like a rabbit. You can also draw on the body of the bottle using colored markers. You can adjust the design according to your little one's imagination.

How to Make a Toy Car From Paper or Newspapers

Origami or the art of folding is an activity that can train children's fine motor skills. For young children, making origami can start with the easiest ones first. Toy cars made from paper or newspapers are among the easy origami forms to make.

Besides newspapers, old calendars at home can also be utilized as materials for making used toys. Especially since old calendars usually have plain sides that can be drawn with shapes as desired. The material from old calendars is also sturdier than newspaper.

Now, how do you make a toy car from calendar paper or newspapers?

Simply prepare 2 sheets of used paper like newspapers or calendars that are no longer used, markers, scissors, and glue.

To make the body of the car, fold the paper into a rectangular shape. Then cut a half-circle on one side. This side will be made as the front of the car. To make it sturdy, you can add paper with the same pattern and stick it on.

After the body of the car is done, you can add drawings of windows or doors on the car. If necessary, the entire paper can be given colorful patterns to make it look more interesting.

Then for the wheels, using paper of a different color, make 2 circles for the wheels. Glue them onto the body of the car that has been made.

This toy car cannot be played while walking like toy cars made from cardboard or used bottles. But its shape is similar enough to make your little one happy because they made it with you.

Must Be Under Parental Supervision

Making toy cars from used items with parents is a fun activity for children. It is important to remember that because some steps in making toy cars require sharp objects, children must be accompanied by parents. The minimum age for children to be invited to make toy cars from used items is three years. Because at that age, children can start to understand adult words well. And can follow instructions.

In steps that require sharp objects, it is best for parents to take over to avoid injuring the child. Especially since young children often cannot control their hands well. But for cutting, you can provide special scissors that are safe. Usually, these scissors can only cut paper, so they are not too sharp.

When making toy cars, it is also necessary to ensure that the toys made from used cars do not have parts that could be dangerous for children. Especially if using used bottles, there is a possibility of sharp edges that could injure the child. To be safer, you can use materials from used cardboard, as they are not hazardous to children.