4 yo toys/play

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

DD1 had our cousin round to play today. Hes 5.8 and shes 4.3. They got bored very quickly because apparently she doesnt have enough toys.

She has lots of books, a dolls house, jigsaws, a vtech laptop, babies and prams. But apart from that shes really grown out of most of her toys.

So at 4 years old, what toys should she have? Do your DCs have loads and loads of toys? DD1 spends most of her time looking at books, baking with me, dancing around, drawing. Not really playing. Is this a concern?

[amazingmumof6]

no, she's more than fine - can I come and bake with you and dance around, sounds like she's having a lot of fun!!!!

however I would introduce puzzles which are a fantastic tool to develop shape recognition, which in turn helps them learn to read (quicker)

also she's old enough for Lego which IMO is the best toy ever - creativity, spatial awareness, engineering, logic, manipulation, maths symmetry, physics (balance and gravity) and many more "subjects" can be learned and developed by simply building things, especially when they do their own things!

(yes, we have a lot of Lego including the Death Star, which I loved building with my boys in 3 days - best Christmas present ever!)

hama beads are also fab, developing pincer grip and eye-hand coordination, focusing on small details, learning to follow charts.

hope this helps

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Thanks! Great ideas there! I loved lego and hama beads as a kid. Must get some of those, and puzzles!

[PoppyWearer]

My 4yo spends a lot of her time drawing and reading. Much like I did.

She does like Lego, and the odd bit of baby/dolls house play, very occasionally trains. And bike rides. She is at school and I know she plays with stuff like Lego there, and stickle bricks. So maybe she gets her fill of that there?

DH and I were racking our brains about what to get for her 5th birthday and it really does seem like she has moved away from plastic toys - so we are thinking iPad or Wii, then some new drawing supplies. It's a bit sad isn't it? They're growing up!

[LadybirdsAreFab]

My DD is just 4 and loves puzzles, Playmobil, Barbie and Hama beads. She also plays lots of games with us, especially the Orchard Toy ones. Everything but the Barbie dolls were introduced by us. She was given 2 Barbie dolls & dresses for her birthday.

Babies and prams are fab but DD doesn't play with them but her 5 year old cousin loves them.

They are all different and as long as they are happy everything is fine.

[Pozzled]

My 4 year old DD1 doesn't have many toys either tbh. She makes up her own games, usually involving soft toys, blankets and whatever she can find around the house. She sets up a show or a picnic, or makes a car from a couple of chairs etc.

She does also enjoy Lego, play dough, ilots of art and crafts and dressing up.

One thing which I'd like to have more of is small plastic figures- animals, dinosaurs, knights, princesses or whatever. They can be used for so many things, all they need is a bit of imagination!

[PoppyWearer]

My DD has a Barbie too but she stays on the shelf, she rarely plays with her.

[PoppyWearer]

Sorry, me again.

I guess the next stage is board games and the like? My DD isn't quite at that stage yet, but I can see it coming.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

I agree with Pozzled about characters for play. I have boys, but when girls come to play they gravitate to our "animals" drawer - some farm, some zoo. It's fascinating to see the different ways children play with them but they all do, from tiny toddlers to school age.

You can get buckets of cheaper ones, or the individual beautiful Schleich ones. When we were potty training we used these as cumulative prizes to great effect.

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Oh Horry I remember going to elc with my brother for him to pick a new animal! She would love those!

I was thinking some dressing up things, maybe a new play kitchen. She broke her old one. Think she was just too young for it.

We should definitely start playing board games as a family. Havent up until now as she was young.

She wants a microscope for xmas and a camera for her birthday. We are hmming about a DS but might wait until she can read to get one of those.

[Bumpsadaisie]

My Dd is nearly four and spends her entire life playing with her playmobil collection. The other things she likes are drawing cutting and sticking, her baby and its accessories, Lego, a dolls house and jigsaws and a tea set and cooking implements b