Just for fun, I wanted to mention that last year at the 2007 New York International Auto Show, Mattel unveiled its new line of Polly Pocket fare for the 4 and older set, called Polly Wheels – die cast toy cars made specifically for little girls. Now, I know Cars For Girls is strictly for us “big girls behind the wheel,” but I simply couldn’t resisit writing about Polly and her new set of sweet wheels! 

Polly Wheels includes convertibles, classic cars, cruisers and even cars with scents, all in rainbow colors with cool names like  Going Wildberry, Midnight Sparkle, Pearl Princess, and Splashin’ Pink.  Each Polly Wheels car comes complete with a Polly Pocket doll and friends are also available and sold separately.

Also available are the Polly Pocket Quik-Clik Car Cool Makeover, which allows girls to give Polly’s car a make-over by loading the chamber with Quik-Clik car fashions, placing the car inside and with a few clicks, Polly’s car looks fab!  The cars can be customized with stickers and lots of Quik-Clik fashions and accessories for little gals ages 4 and older.

The Polly Wheels Race to the Mall car track and play set is also available and allows girls to race against one another; with a push of the button, the cars are off and racing towards the finish line first one to the mall wins!  Girls can also take a leisurely drive, ride the escalator, or just park and enjoy the imaginary view from the observation deck.

One year for Christmas when my son was about 4 or 5 years old, I bought him a large kitchen set for children, complete with an oven, stove, sink, and a microwave and for the complete experience, I threw in a table with 4 small chairs and lots of fake plastic food {what’s a kitchen without a place to sit and plastic food?}.  I figured it was a good investment since my daughter, who is younger, would eventually get some play time out of the set when she got a little older, but instead, a funny thing happened; my daughter never really showed much of an interest in the kitchen or culinary arts and instead, preferred building skyscrapers and houses out of blocks and Lego’s, while it was my son who went on to develop a love of cooking, all things culinary and eventually went on to land employment within the food and culinary industry.  It just goes to show we never really know what our children will be interested in as they get older unless we allow them to experience all that they can when they’re younger, when play is secretly wrapped in the joy of learning. 

Girls who have an interest in cars at a young age may grow up to develop a passion for the automotive industry as a whole, and could very well go on to become mechanics, automotive designers, professional drivers or one of many careers within the field. 

I’m glad Mattel took the initiative to develop a set of cars for girls - after all, why should boys have all the fun?

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