What makes magnets attract or repel certain materials?

Magnets can pull some things toward them or push them away, depending on what they're made of.

Imagine magnets are like tiny little helpers inside a toy car, when you turn the key, these helpers get excited and start pulling or pushing other toys nearby.

Some materials, like iron, have special parts inside them that can talk to magnets. When a magnet gets close, those parts line up with it, kind of like when two kids stand side by side facing the same direction. That lining-up is what makes the material get pulled toward the magnet.

Now imagine you have another magnet that’s already excited and facing the same way as the first one. When they meet, they both want to keep going in their own direction, just like two kids who both want to be at the front of the line. That’s when they push each other away instead.

So whether a magnet pulls or pushes something depends on what that thing is made of and how it reacts with the magnet's helpers inside!