Best Toys For A 4 Year Old

At 4 years old, your little one is ready for as much independence as they can get!

This is a great age to encourage them to participate in practical life skills around the home, like cooking, baking, and care for their space. We have a lot of really great Montessori tools for this age.

If you're looking for more traditional toys and gifts, imaginative play is becoming a big part of playtime for most 4 years olds - cars, pretend food and kitchens, and dollhouses are wonderful at this age.

This is an age where they are paying close attention to what the grown ups around them are doing and much of their imaginative play will mimic this.

The Most Popular Toys for Four Year Olds

Here are skills and activities that most four years are interested in:

Active toys like our Pikler, Balance Board, or Waldorf Rocker are great at this age. Four years old are constantly looking for ways to move and learn the limits of their bodies. Each of these toys is designed to improve balance, coordination, and build core strength.
Simple cooperative games - at four, children can begin the follow the rules of games and enjoy the challenge. Simple, cooperative games, like our Peaceable Kingdom games, are great for developing social skills.
Art - simple, open-ended art sets are perfect for this age. A few paints in primary colours, good quality brushes and paper are all they need to grow their creativity.
Music - easy to play musical instruments, like tambourines and maracas, are great for children around this age. They allow them to create and play along with music without frustration.
Open-ended toys - open-ended toys are a play object that can be used in many different ways and will grow with your child. In short, it is a toy that can be anything your child wants it to be! For example, wooden blocks. The main objective of wooden blocks is to build; but the beauty of wooden blocks is that the building opportunities are endless.

In contrast, a closed-ended toy is made for one, single purpose and functions in one particular way. This would be most of the flashy, plastic toys you'd find in a regular toy store.

Open-ended toys like Magna-Tiles, can be used to spark imagination and will be used for years.