Age 4 is a huge milestone year. Not only do many 4-year-olds go to preschool or start pre-kindergarten, they tend to become much more well-rounded, articulate opinionated little humans at this age. Most 4-year-olds start to share, ask tons of questions, and form solid friendships. Kids also become choosier about what toys they will or won’t play with around age 4. That’s why the best gifts for 4-year-olds are toys that play into these new, emerging capabilities while also taking kids’ own specific idiosyncrasies and interests into account. You want toys for 4-year-old boys and girls that are as open-ended as possible, meaning there’s no prescribed way to use them.
“Think about simple board games to use new thinking skills and emerging self-control as they wait for a turn and cope with losing, puppets to tell stories with, interlocking plastic blocks to create structures, a child-sized chalkboard for writing and drawing, or a bicycle or other wheeled toys so they can move their strong, growing bodies,” says Rebecca Parlakian, the senior director of programs at Zero to Three. “And pretend play props are always a great idea, as they let kids make up and act out stories.”
Also, consider a toy’s longevity. Open-ended toys, ones that can be played with in limitless ways, are the gold standard. They include blocks of all shapes and sizes, such as Legos, and toys that mimic real-life objects and tools. As a general rule, the less a toy does, the more your kid’s imagination has to work. When it comes down to it, the best toys for 4-year-olds are those that let them play however they want.
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The Best Active Gifts for 4-Year-Olds
For your athlete in training, these soft rings fly true when thrown by even tiny hands, while facial contact will only elicit a laugh. They're a great foundation for team sports in the future, and with this two-pack, you'll have an extra to lose in a tree.
This wobbly board teaches kids about balance, helps them hone their gross motor skills, and supports up to 480 pounds worth of child. Plus, most of all, it's a hell of a good time because it's way harder than it looks. And it doubles as a bridge or a tunnel for playtime.
Things don't get any more fun than hurling a pin at these soft creatures and knocking them over. The weighted bottoms make the game ever more challenging, as kids develop their hand-eye coordination.
The Best Creative Play Gifts for 4-Year-Olds
The ultimate STEM toy for open-ended play — this wonderful kit is made up of washable felt pieces kids can used to build a motorcycle, a caterpillar, or anything else they think up. The felt pieces are flexible and snap together to make creatures or cars or what have you.
The ultimate in free play, as kids use their brains (and their hands) to create 2D and 3D patterns both on the board, and off the board. There's no right or wrong way to use this set. Which is what it makes it just right.
This 100-piece domino play set encourages children’s spatial thinking abilities and color recognition, and fosters a basic understanding of physics. What goes up must come down. Kids learn that, and more, with this deceptively simple yet utterly cool domino set. It includes a bridge, a bell and assorted tricks that add extra drama to the domino racing game.
Kids learn all about gravity and balance when they play with these soft, foam magnetic blocks, which click together, rotate 360-degrees, and always attract to each other. There's literally no right or wrong or whatever way to play with these blocks, which is the whole point. Bonus: They're dishwasher-safe.
Kids use a working drill (yes, a real working yet kid-safe drill) to build this adorable race car, and then they drop the driver and his monkey pit crew pal to get moving. A great way to work on hand-eye coordination and problem-solving.
Not only is this a delightful and engaging magnetic toy, which it most certainly is. But it's also a fun way for kids to learn about feelings through play. They get three magnetic boards, and they put together 31 facial pieces to convey anger or sadness or joy or confusion or any combination thereof.
It's Jenga, with a twist: This 51-piece stacking game is governed by a roll of the dice. If the dice shows you a lion, the player needs to remove that corresponding block without topping the whole tower. It's a fun, cooperative game for the whole family to play together.
Kids get a clear activity board, along with 120 chunky plastic bolts, a reversible power drill, a screwdriver, a combination wrench, two drill bits, and 10 pattern cards. And then, they put their imagination to work, using their gross motor and critical thinking skills to drill the bolts into slots in the board, to create whatever pattern they dream up.
Give their hand-eye coordination and reasoning skills a solid workout with this building kit. It includes 139 pieces, such as nuts, bolts, blocks, a hammer, and pliers, all kid-sized and kid-safe.
Dinner is served! Kids divvy up the pretend meals they just pretend cooked or grilled or steamed, and they count out how many servings they need. This lovely set comes with a pot, pan, lid, spoon, spatula, two plates, two sets of knives and forks, and a pair of salt and pepper shakers. It's math, creativity, and pretend play. All in one.
Kids of course need food to serve up. And this set not only makes veggies accessible and appetizing, but it comes with a 'knife' that they use to chop everything up, thus working on those fine motor skills.
Your Jurrasic kiddo will enjoy hours of creative play with this multi-action Indominus Rex. A button on its back activates arm movement and sound effects, while a tail button triggers chomping jaws. It can fit an entire Lego minifigure in its maw.
This 42-piece set of beautiful magnetic wood blocks, with enough to go around so two kids can play together, teaches them about gravity and problem-solving, while also working on their motor skills.
Not only does this plush puppet theater look like the real deal, but it has a real curtain that rolls down, and a double-sided backdrop. Perfect for acting out intricate stories in small spaces.
A wood gorgeous guitar perfectly sized for 4-year-olds, with tunable strings. It looks like it belongs at Coachella. And it lets kids explore the fundamentals of music and rhythm.
These 112 interlocking blocks connect together and let kids build towers or cars or dinosaurs or castles or, or, or.
Kids get insanely creative with Magna-Tiles, and this set has 15 colorful, shiny and glittery shapes including four mirrored squares, seven glitter squares and four equilateral triangles.Kids can use these magnetic blocks to create and build complex structures, which helps with critical thinking and problem solving.
Summer means ice cream, and what's perhaps better than ice cream? Treats kids can make themselves, using this scented sensory sand. It never dries out, and with this set, kids can mix, mold and create their own custom sundaes and cones.
Dolls are nurturing toys, teaching kids how to care for something. This doll is cuddly, washable, and wears clothes with a fabric hook and loop closure for easy changes.
Kids learn about colors, shapes, and numbers as they work together to get the very cute bugs to safety before the stinkbugs invade.
These gorgeous wood building blocks are the foundations of open-ended play. They help kids practice hand-eye coordination and learn about balance and gravity. Oh, and they can begin to recognize letters and start spelling out words.
The Best Educational and STEM Gifts for 4-Year-Olds
Teach preschoolers the basics of geography with this globe puzzle; the six puzzle pieces represent Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, and North and South America, while a stationary bottom piece represents Antarctica. Each piece is sized for little hands.
Want to get your kids outdoors? Give them this adjustable telescope, beautifully made from bamboo. Explorers get 8x magnification so they can see bugs and blades of grass up close.
Playing with foam is a tactile, sensory experience. Using that foam to form numbers teaches kids about numeric literacy while also working their fine motor skills.
Getting vaccinations can be scary. So make it much less so with this beautiful medical kit, which makes kids comfortable about being around medical equipment. It includes a syringe, a stethoscope, and of course, a blood pressure cuff. Plus it's great for pretend play.
What's better than stickers? Puffy stickers, of course. Kids this age are generally obsessed with all things that stick to stuff. This set is loaded with reusable stickers and has its own carry case.
These 64 long-lasting soy wax crayons are shaped precisely for little hands, specifically created to strengthen kids' grip muscles and improve fine motor coordination. While also letting kids be as creative as they want.
Real-world toys like this set help 4-year-olds make sense of the complicated, often overwhelming things they see in the adult world. And let's face it: Seeing a doctor can be a scary thing. This gorgeous medical kit is great for pretend play, as kids dole out pretend shots and take your blood pressure.
