Parents' Guide to Dinosaur Garbage Truck

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire Free to try Education
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Common Sense Media Review

Mieke VanderBorght By Mieke VanderBorght , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 3+

Trucks, dinos deliver, but mini-games miss the mark.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 3+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Dinosaur Garbage Truck App: Screenshot #1
  • Dinosaur Garbage Truck App: Screenshot #2
  • Dinosaur Garbage Truck App: Screenshot #3
  • Dinosaur Garbage Truck App: Screenshot #4

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What's It About?

Tap play and choose a truck to get started with DINOSAUR GARBAGE TRUCK. Tap and hold ahead of the truck or behind it to make it go forward or backward. Along the path, there are waste items to pick up and load, levers to pull, or obstacles to drive into or over. After the path, kids enter the processing area where they pick apart salvageable pieces of waste items they collected and dispose of the rest through, e.g., a car crusher machine or an incinerator. There are five trucks and locations to play with; two are available for free whereas the other three must be unlocked with an in-app purchase of $2.99.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Though there's a lot here that seems attractive for young kids, the actual content of these mini-games is disappointingly weak. Dinosaurs and trucks -- what could go wrong? Nothing really, in that there's nothing inherently wrong with Dinosaur Garbage Truck. Play is clear enough for young kids, graphics are clear and simple, and kids can see various machines do exciting things like crush cars, burn trash, and load heavy items. There's also not a whole lot that makes Dinosaur Garbage Truck stand out either. The dinosaur theme isn't connected so is likely just to get kids' attention. Play is simple, but also lacks creativity. There's not really any thinking involved as kids simple follow directions and follow the path. So kids aren't challenged to engage in any meaningful way with the app. The learning theme of waste material and recycling is covered only on a very superficial level, which makes it difficult to expect kids to learn much. Dinosaur Garbage Truck may be appealing as an easy way to distract kids and keep them occupied, but don't expect it to do much more than that.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Dinosaur Garbage Truck's themes of waste removal and recycling. What parts of the waste items can be used again? How can those materials be recycled? What happens to the parts that can't be recycled?

  • Involve your kids in waste management in your home. Help teach them how to recognize what can be reused, what goes in recycling, and in what ways they can reduce consumption of materials.

  • If possible, arrange a visit to your local recycling center to see some of these processes in action.

App Details

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