Best toys for 4 year olds 2025, tried and tested by parents and children
From educational and role playing toys to outdoor and wooden toys – here's our pick of the best toys for 4 year olds
When it comes to buying toys for your child, you'll no doubt want to find a balance between supporting their development, and bringing plenty of fun and entertainment.
Jump to:
- Best interactive toys for 4 year olds
- Best educational toys for 4 year olds
- Best role play toys for 4 year olds
- Best skills-based toys for 4 year olds
- Best budget toys for 4 year olds
- How to choose toys safely
According to Helen Brown, author of Parenting for Dummies, this is the time when your child is developing "greater self-control and ingenuity, and much higher degree of empathy – wanting to be a 'helper' or comfort those who are sad. They enjoy playing with other children their age, especially play where they can pretend to be grown-ups, TV characters or superheroes and act out imaginary scenarios."
She adds: "At 4, your child's pretend play is getting more and more complex. As well as being a way to try on different roles, like doctor or astronaut or teacher or rock star, make-believe play – with playsets and child-size replicas of household objects – is also a way to act out emotions and explore feelings."
Finally it's a time when your child's finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination is much improved which means: "they can do more complex puzzles and art or craft activities, and play with toys that have smaller parts."
So, whether you're looking for something imaginative, educational, or just plain fun, here's our roundup of the best toys for 4 year olds.
Best toys for 4 year olds at a glance
Best interactive toys for 4 year olds
- L.O.L Surprise Magic Flyers, £21.08
- L.O.L. Surprise! Tweens Costume Surprise, £19.99
- Thomas & Friends Talking Cranky Delivery Train Set, £62.99
- Pets Alive Mama Duck & Baby Surprise,
£29.99£23.99 - Polly Pocket Pollyville Resort Roll Away Playset,
£60£39.99 - Toniebox, £79.95
- Yoto Player, £89.99
- Goo Jit Zu Hero Creator Pack,
£19.99£10.99 - The Gross Bucket,
£29.99£12.99 - Daisy The Yoga Goat,
£49.99£40.74
Best educational toys for 4 year olds
- Learning Resources Space Rover, £56.79
- PlayHouse - Play Tray Sea and Dino Set,
£64.99£54.99
Best role play toys for 4 year olds
- Barbie Dreamhouse Playset,
£169.99£164.99 - Gabby’s Dollhouse Cat Friend Ship, £50
- Moana Singing Doll, £29.99
Best skills-based toys for 4 year olds
- Casdon Ooni Pizza Oven, £24.99
- Rubble & Crew Bark Yard Crane Tower,
£79.99£49.99 - Smoby Gabby's Dollhouse Ice Cream Factory, £30
Best budget toys for 4 year olds
What are the best toys for 4 year olds?
Best interactive toys for 4 year olds
1. L.O.L Surprise Magic Flyers, £36.99
Available at: Amazon and The Entertainer
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4| Size: 10.16cm x 20.32cm x 22.86cm | Batteries: 3 x Lithium Polymer batteries (included)
The L.O.L. Surprise Magic Flyer is a fairy doll that will fly out of its case and spin up in the air by itself. Each L.O.L Surprise Magic Flyer comes in (reusable) bottle-shaped packaging. To activate the unboxing sequence, you child taps the logo, the bottle then shakes, rocks, and lights up before opening to reveal a L.O.L Surprise Doll that flies out of the packaging. The flight is then hand guided, meaning when your child holds their hand underneath the feet of the Magic Flyer the doll goes higher into the air. The doll will land by itself once finished, and it can be put back into the bottle to be "unboxed" as many times as you like.
I really like the way it flies because it flies really high and it’s really cool to watch. It’s really exciting to see how it hatches out the heart and it starts shaking before it starts flying out with its wings.
2. L.O.L. Surprise! Tweens Costume Surprise, £29.99
Available at: Very and John Lewis
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4| Batteries: 4 x AA (included)
This one is all about the unboxing. As soon as you tear open the package, the inflating process begins as a mysterious shape begins to grow, you can then pop it open to reveal a surprise L.O.L Tween with their own inflatable pet. There are 4 pets to collect including a puppy, a kitten and a bunny, plus the L.O.L Dolls in their iconic costumes.
I really, really love how the dog has purple and pink hair, and how it blew up – that was my favourite part. I like the doll because it has blue eyes like me. Yes, I would play with it again.
3. Thomas & Friends Talking Cranky Delivery Train Set, £62.99
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 3 | Size: 69.3cm x 132.7cm x 50.5cm | Batteries: None
Bring Brendam Docks to life with this Thomas & Friends motorised train and track set that includes songs, railway sounds, and real character phrases from the Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! series. The set includes 14.5 feet of track which Thomas can travel around, while Cranky the Crane can spin 360 degrees and help to load and unload cargo. In a move that will delight all fans of the show, the characters recognise and talk to each other on the tracks. There are also 325+ songs, sounds and phrases to soundtrack kids’ imaginative play.
My favourite part is Cranky, because he can pick up things with his claw. I want to keep playing with it and get another train track to make it bigger. I want to collect all the trains. It's my favourite toy.
4. Pets Alive Mama Duck & Baby Surprise, £29.99
Available at: The Entertainer and Amazon
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4| Batteries: 3 x AAA (not included)
This Mama Duck is ready to hatch her own family! Inside you'll find the Mama, her nest and 4 eggs – but how many will become ducklings? Open up each egg to reveal the surprises inside, then attach your ducklings to the Mama's tail and watch them follow her around. Plus, there's a potential rare golden duckling to find – perfect if you're looking for animal toys for your 4 year old.
Poppy plays with Mama Duck daily at the moment and has now put her in her bedroom. She loves to say the colours of the ducks, lines them up and counts them. She tells me she loves Mama Duck because she is ‘so soft and cute’ and ‘loves her singing’
5. Polly Pocket Pollyville Resort Roll Away Playset, £59.99
Available at: Amazon, Argos, Hamleys and John Lewis
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4+ | Size: H35.5cm x W28cm x D18cm | Batteries: None
The case-shaped playset opens to reveal a miniature world which holds a 3-story hotel with an elevator, an arcade, a spiral slide, and speedbumps that activate playset features. Included are four dolls, a vehicle and 25 accessories, all in tiny form. There’s also an extendable handle on the exterior of the case, meaning you can take the playset with you around the house and on the go. The Pollyville Resort Roll Away also doubles as a storage unit for Polly compacts.
Polly Pocket is one of her top toy brands and she plays with my collection from 30 years ago, so it's really special, for us both, for her to be building her own collection and enjoying toys that were so dear to me as a child.
6. Yoto Players and Tonieboxes, from £79.95
Yoto available at: Yoto and Amazon
Tonies available at: Tonies and Amazon
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 3+ | Batteries: Rechargeable
Yoto Players and Tonieboxes are both remarkably similar and hugely popular – which is why we've decided to group them together. As far as educational toys for 4 year olds, these are a great choice. By simply inserting a Yoto Card or Tonie figure, the speaker will play the matching story, audiobook, album, science lesson, nursery rhyme – making them a a brilliant screen-free solution to keeping your kids entertained.
Both of these speakers scored highly with our testers, and we've examined them in depth in our Yoto vs Tonies review. But in a nutshell, they're brightly coloured, easily portable speakers with hundreds of stories and adventures available.
7. Goo Jit Zu Hero Creator Pack, £20
Available at: Argos
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4+ | Batteries: None
Superhero toys for 4 year olds are always a hit and you can now make your own Goo Jit Zu Hero from scratch. Simply mix water, plenty of goo and a few fish and pump it into the figure, then watch as it comes to life. Once filled, your Goo Jit Zu's body can be stretched to three times its size.
“Making it was really fun and at the end I liked that you could move all the bits that were inside it and stretch it. I like the weird noise he makes when he has liquid in him. I would play with it again and I am going to refill it again soon.”
Our child tester, 7
8. The Gross Bucket, £29.99
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4+ | Batteries: 3x AAA (not included)
This playset is only for the strong stomached as it features a huge range of "freaky figures" and "creepy compounds" from inside the Fast Food Fryer. From mouldy milkshakes to smelly sauce, each of the 9 compounds is certain to gross you out, and inside 8 of them is a collectible creature.
My son is 7 and he really enjoyed opening and playing with this toy. He loved that there was different slime and bath bombs, and all the various aspects to it. He enjoyed making his sisters smell the smelly sauce and seeing their reactions. He said it was the best toy ever and would definitely recommend it and said it was a 10/10.
Kirsty, mum to Theo, 7 years
9. Daisy The Yoga Goat, £50
Available at: Amazon and Argos
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4+ | Batteries: 4xAA
Meet Daisy, the interactive toy goat featuring over 60 sound and motion combinations. To begin play, simply flip the switch on her belly and pet her back. Then you can hear her giggles and yoga phrases and watch as she starts to perform poses like Downward Dog (or goat I suppose!). She can also perform 3 minute meditation seconds and will gurgle up the water you giver her. The perfect animal toy for 4 year olds!
Best educational toys for 4 year olds
10. Learning Resources Space Rover Deluxe Coding Activity Set, £54
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4 | Size: 24.99cm x 24.51cm x 8.51cm | Batteries: Yes (not included)
Looking for an out-of-this-world way to spark curiosity? This screen-free set is one of the most imaginative STEM toys for 4 year olds – young coders-in-training can build their own maze, plot a coding path with cards, then send their rover out to grab magnetic space rocks, avoid rough terrain, and return to base. The set comes with 20+ coding challenges and STEM activities for kids, outlined in a mission handbook that also contains space facts.
This toy is exciting, interactive (without screens) and excellent quality. The ability to create an endless number of unique tracks for the rover means that it will be played with for several years.
11. PlayHouse - Play Tray Sea and Dino Set, £64.99
Age: 3+ | Best for age: 4-6 | Batteries: None
This table set provides hours of endless creativity, with 2 themed play mats – 1 sea, 1 dinosaur – plus a sand pouch, shaping toys and minifigures.
I love the magic sand and hiding the dinosaurs inside. I had fun putting my Paw Patrol pups on top, too. The mats are really cool and I got to put the different animals – like the sea animals – on there. I can’t wait to play with it again today and tomorrow!
Best role play toys for 4 year olds
12. Barbie Dreamhouse Playset, £169.99
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 3+ | Size: L157cm x W70.1cm x H114.3xm | Batteries: 3 x AA (not included)
Host the ultimate Barbie pool party with the iconic deluxe Barbie Dreamhouse. Discover an incredibly spacious floorplan with 3 levels, 10 different play areas, integrated lights and sounds, a working lift, a 3-storey spiral slide and over 75 accessories and customisable spaces. There’s also a puppy figure included with plenty of pet-friendly features such as a doggie door, pet elevator and pet slide and pool.
I've never seen my daughter so excited for a new toy and it really is a Dream House. She has been playing with it every day since it arrived. It offers endless opportunities and hours of imaginative play so overall I personally think it is an amazing playset.
13. Gabby’s Dollhouse Cat Friend Ship, £50
Available at: Amazon,
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 4+ | Size: L47.3cm x W16.5cm x H29.8cm | Batteries: 3 x AAA (not included)
For fans of Gabby's Dollhouse, this latest addition to the range takes Gabby and her cats out onto the ocean for a sea adventure. The cruise ship comes with 18 pieces, including a pool with a smoothie bar and a photobooth. It also comes with Gabby and MerCat figures, and there's also one extra Dollhouse Delivery accessory to open – just like Gabby does at the beginning of the show.
Freya was so excited to open and play with this and wasn't disappointed. She especially loved the colour changing pool and the portholes which can be turned to show different times of day so she could put the characters to bed.
14. Moana Singing Doll, £29.99
Available at: Hamleys
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 4+| Batteries: None
Another great role play toy for 4 year olds is this Moana singing doll. The heroic, wayfinding princess is wearing a brand-new red and white dress, complete with sea glass necklace and flower crown. Best of all if you press her tummy, she'll sing the song "We're Back" from the hit film.
Best skills-based toys for 4 year olds
15. Casdon Ooni Pizza Oven
Available at: Ooni
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 3+ | Batteries: 3x AAA (not included)
The Casdon Ooni Pizza Oven is a role play toy for budding young chefs. It features a realistic flame-effect light, a pizza cutter, and pretend ingredients, offering hours of imaginative play. Kids can mimic their parents' pizza-making adventures, creating their own culinary masterpieces.
My son was very excited to play with this as soon as he saw it and instantly wanted to jump straight in. He asked to play with it again straight away the next morning.
16. Paw Patrol Rubble & Crew Crane Tower Playset, £59.99
Available at: Very, Amazon and John Lewis
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 3+ | Batteries: 3 x AAA (not included)
One of the best construction toys for 4 year olds, this action-packed Paw Patrol set is perfect for budding builders and Rubble fans. At 60cm high it has so many cool features like a working claw attachment, a compound moulding area, a lift and more. The set also comes with a Kinetic Sand, a toy bulldozer, construction toys, and a Rubble action figure in his iconic construction uniform. Perfect for imaginative play and unlocking fine motor skills, it was a hit with testers.
Oliver has really enjoyed playing with this toy. He loves Paw Patrol and Rubble, and loves the moving parts and the sounds that it makes. He really likes that the moving parts that hold the Rubble figure actually hold the figure in place, and it doesn't just fall off if when moving around.
17. Smoby Gabby's Dollhouse Ice Cream Factory, £30
Available at: Argos and Amazon
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 4+ Batteries: 2 x AA (not included)
A great role play toy for Gabby's Dollhouse fans, this epic colourful ice cream maker, comes with 20 accessories, including an ice cream maker, waffle iron, sauces and so much more.
My daughter has really enjoyed this toy and particularly enjoyed constructing it and adding the stickers, that is definitely where she was the most excited. I definitely think she will keep coming back to it and will play with this lots over the years, she has very much enjoyed making us all ice creams!
Best budget toys for 4 year olds
18. Galt Velvet Picture Animals, £4.78
Available at: Amazon
Age: 4+ | Best for age: 4+ | Size: L21cm x W14cm x H1cm | Batteries: None
Looking for creative toys for 4 year olds? In this little spiral-bound pad, there are 10 cheery animal pictures, set on a velvet background, for your little artist to colour in. The way the images are set on the velvet means that if your child struggles to keep inside the lines, it won't be noticeable.
19. WWF Wild Scenes Tiger's Hang Out, £9.99
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 4+ | Best for age: 4 | Size: 13cm x 11.2cm x 12.5cm| Batteries: None
Earning itself a place on our list of best toys for 4 year olds is this WWF Wild Scenes Tiger Hang Out where green-fingered little ones can grow their own tiger habitat using real grass seeds. WWF Wild Scenes are made with 100% recycled plastic and aim to teach kids about growing and nurturing plants, as well as safeguarding endangered wildlife species.
It also includes a tiger-friendly miniature play habitat complete with a shady tree canopy. Using the seeds that are included with the pack, kids can grow and nurture their own grass in the habitat (you will need to source your own soil though). While some patience is required with this toy while you wait for the grass to grass to grow, two toy tigers are included that you can play with in and out of the set.
My child was very interested in playing with it, planting the seeds, and checking to see if they had grown. As a parent I like the educational side of this toy.
How to choose toys safely
- Look for the CE symbol as this is used by manufacturers to show the toy meets all the relevant regulatory requirements
- Also keep an eye out for the British Toy and Hobby Association's (BTHA) 'Lion Mark' – although this is voluntary it means that the toy has to meet safety requirements to be a member
- Pay attention to the age suitability of the toy
- Avoid toys with loose fabric, hair that sheds easily or small parts that detach easily as these can be a choking hazard
- Check toys over time for sharp points or edges. If they have become dangerously worn considering getting rid of them or having them repaired if possible
- Ensure batteries are secured with screws to prevent access
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Authors
Gemma has two decades of experience in digital content. She is mum to a preschooler, and aunt to 4 children 5 and under. She is particularly passionate about sleep (for babies and parents) and loves testing out gadgets, technology and innovation in the parenting world.