Toys for Four-year-olds

The toys suggested below are generally appropriate for typically developing four-year-olds. Many of these same toys are also suitable for kids who are not developing according to typical milestones, though they may need to be used differently. (For information on selecting or adapting toys for kids with disabilities, see Selecting Toys for Children with Disabilities or visit the National Lekotek Center at www.lekotek.org or www.ableplay.org.) Parents and caregivers must always ensure that any toy they let a child use is safe for that child.

Balls
Beads for stringing
Beanbag games
Brushes and paints
Bubble-blowing materials
Building blocks
Cars, trucks, boats, trains, airplanes, etc.
Child’s tape recorder
Child-size musical instruments
Child-size workbench and vise
Clay
Climbing equipment
Construction toys
Cooking set, child-size kitchen appliances
Doctor and nurse kit
Dollhouse
Dolls and doll furniture
Dominoes
Dress-up box
Finger paints
Housekeeping toys
Jump rope
Lacing card, lacing shoe
Large appliance boxes
Large crayons
Memory games
Nesting toys
Parents who sing, talk, and read to their child
Puppets
Puzzle
Sand toys
Simple card games
Stencils for tracing
Toys for water play
Tricycle
Wagon
Wheelbarrows

Adapted from Play with Purpose by Theodosia Sideropoulos Spewock and Jean Warren. Published by Brighter Vision Publications, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: 2000. Page 39.

Provided By Susan J. Oliver, Tropomedia
This information is provided on behalf of the toy experts at your neighborhood toy store.