113 Gifts for 4 Year Olds

At 4 years old, the curiosity of kids begins to heighten. It is a peculiar time for ingenuity as the attention span of kids improves. The most important thing is that youngsters this age should have fun while learning and developing their skills. For this gift guide focused on 4-year-olds, we’re covering all the categories from creative to educational and even bath toys. 

Choosing the best gifts for 4-year-olds

Your 4-year-old is exiting the toddler stage and may be exhibiting new and exciting capabilities. By now, they’re singing songs, able to draw shapes, able to identify body parts, understand the difference between fantasy and reality, and becoming more dexterous.

Their speech patterns are also slowly becoming more complex, which can be very exciting for parents. They’re able to make themselves clear, express thoughts and feelings better, and are likely to come up with stories and songs. Concepts and abstract ideas are also becoming clearer. Physically, they’re refining their skills in things like running, throwing, jumping, and kicking. Encouraging physical activity is important to developing healthy growth and building confidence as they learn more tricks and skills. 

At 4 years old, their ability to learn and pick up new things is expanding at an increasing rate. This is a great time to introduce interactive educational toys, and for them to begin to learn the foundations of subjects like math and verbal skills. Fantasy play and dress-up are also becoming an important part of their lives as they are able to visualize themselves as different characters and in various professions. 

Great toys for this age are art kits, DIY kits, and building blocks as they learn to navigate shapes and structures. Other options include computerized toys that focus on educational subjects, easy board games, figurines, costumes, items that encourage physical activity, and games that help them with imaginative play.

How we identified the best toys for 4-year-olds

When we evaluated the best toys for 4-year-olds, we took note of how they aided their development and which milestones were being activated. 

We focused on important concepts that need to be learned at an early age such as mechanical, shape-sorting, and building toys that help develop hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills. Our selection of role-play toys helps children learn more about how the world around them works, as they can recreate real-life scenarios. Figurines and dolls encourage pretend play, which in turn develops social and emotional skills by teaching them how to express emotion, as well as instilling a sense of caring for something other than themselves. 

Our arts and crafts sections again focus on refining those motor skills. Being creative in areas like drawing, painting, and pasting fosters self-esteem and further develops coordination.

We included riding and outdoor toys to promote healthy muscle growth and ensure physical activity is seen as fun rather than a chore. 

Card games and board games introduce them to the idea of strategy, turn-taking, and how to follow rules. The science toys we included promote learning in a fun and creative way, which develops imagination and encourages discovery. It’s also an introduction to more difficult subjects such as mathematics. 

Tips for buying the best toys for 4-year-olds

1. Choose toys that encourage exploration
   At this age, kids need toys that encourage them to problem-solve and discover things on their own. This helps to boost self-esteem and confidence and also fosters a love for learning about things. These kinds of toys also help to develop spatial-relations skills as well as refine the fine motor skills they’ve already developed. 
2. Think of longevity
   Nobody wants to buy a toy that’s going to be discarded in a matter of days, so when choosing a toy for your 4-year-old, think of toys that have longevity like dolls, figurines, games, and computerized toys. 
3. Creativity is key
   At this stage, you want toys that boost your child’s creativity levels and imagination skills. It’s important to find toys that encourage pretend play as this helps develop language and literacy skills as well as sequencing whereby they put events in logical order.