Best toys for 4-year-olds as recommended by parents

Tested by Mumsnet editor Rebecca Roberts: VTECH KidiZoom Duo FX review: the best overall kids’ camera

If your 4-year-old is forever trying to take photos on your phone, they’ll love the independence of having their very own camera. The VTECH KidiZoom Duo FX Compact Camera is an excellent choice for beginners - designed specifically for younger children (aged 3-10 years). We love the robust, shockproof design, simple menu system and large buttons that make it perfectly sized for small hands. 

Despite being marketed as a toy, the VTECH KidiZoom has come on leaps and bounds over the years, now including front and rear-facing cameras, and an impressive 8-megapixel resolution that produces surprisingly good quality images. While editing can reduce the overall quality, children will love using the fun editing software to get creative and add fun frames and filters to their snaps. 

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Children love stickers, and with the ever-increasing popularity of sticker books, there are plenty of options to choose from. Typically, once stickers are stuck to the page, there’s little chance of removing them without ripping the scene behind, which means they'll need to be thrown away once all the activities have been completed. However, with the Melissa & Doug Reuseable Sticker Pad, your child can enjoy the stickers again and again.

Melissa & Doug's sticker pads - which are around A3 size with more than 165 stickers - have plenty of themes including animals, dinosaurs, fairies and vehicles. A Mumsnetter-trusted brand and the creator of award-winning toys, Melissa & Doug's sticker pads are the perfect toy for encouraging creative play and developing fine motor skills.

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If your child is ready to move on from DUPLO, the LEGO Classic Large Creative Box is an excellent choice to start their LEGO collection. Designed to inspire creativity and set them on the path to creating their own masterpieces, this set promises a lot of fun for years to come.

There are 790 pieces, including bricks in 33 different colours, windows, frames, eyes, tyres and wheel rims. LEGO has also added two different size baseplates, although some reviewers noted these were a little small, so we'd recommend purchasing an additional larger baseplate.

LEGO play has lots of benefits, including boosting social and communication skills, encouraging creativity through self-assembly and problem-solving, and aiding physical development.

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When it comes to educational play, you can’t go wrong with Orchard Toys. Their Shopping List Game is both highly rated by Mumsnet parents, and tested and approved by teachers.

The game can be played in two ways: turn the cards over and play a memory game to find all the items on your list or, for younger children, turn the cards face up and play a matching game.

Shopping List is a great learning tool, promoting matching, memory, language and recognition skills.

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Tested by Mumsnet editor Poppy O'Neill: Read our full Yoto Mini review.

Designed for kids, the Yoto Player is easy to use: pop in an audio card to play and remove to stop. Parents can have additional control via the free app.  With this bundle, you don't have to purchase the cards separately. Instead, you'll already have access to My First 100 Words, The Story Shed Podcast, Crackling Fire Soundscape, Robin Hood: A Musical Adventure, Hotel Flamingo Story, Songs from the Playground and a pack of blank cards to make your own.

The large dials make it easy for children to change the volume or skip content and it has a pixel display showing fun graphics corresponding to the content. The Yoto Player can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker through your phone - and has a nightlight function when it’s time for bed.

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Mud kitchens are a great incentive to get children playing in the great outdoors, combining their imagination with natural resources to rustle up a whole range of fun mud pie creations in the garden.

While it’s not the most affordable choice, we love the sensory experience offered by the beautiful Plum Discovery Mud Kitchen, which features a wide range of play elements and is big enough for siblings and friends to share. In addition to moveable dials, plant pots, wind chimes and even a perspex screen for menu planning, it also comes with a selection of tools, pots and pans.

It’s worth noting that this high-quality kitchen does take some time to assemble, however with a weatherproof finish and robust, sturdy design, it can easily stand up to the elements and be enjoyed for many years to come.

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There are plenty of dinosaur toys on the market but Schleich comes highly recommended by Mumsnet users. Good quality, detailed and sturdy, Schleich’s dinosaur range is one of their most popular, and the Dino Transport Mission Playset makes a great addition to any collection.

While it does only include one dinosaur, we selected it because it's a lot cheaper than some of Schleich's other dinosaur playsets, so if you're not quite ready to splash out on the 33-piece Large Dino Research Station, this is a great starter set.

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Hot Wheels cars are regularly recommended within the Mumsnet forums, but if you’re seeking something a bit more exciting for your 4-year-old car fanatic, these remote-controlled Hot Wheels Monster Trucks can take their gameplay to the next level.

While the batteries can drain relatively quickly, this remote control truck is easily rechargeable via USB for convenience. With a detailed and life-like design, we love the large wheels and robust design that make off-roading with these monster trucks an absolute breeze. While it may take a bit of practice and support initially, your child will soon master using the portable remote control independently. 

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If your four-year-old is jewellery-obsessed and has already begun raiding your personal collection, why not invest in this colourful, plastic-free bead set by Melissa & Doug?

Ideal for fashion lovers and crafty children, the set encourages children to use their creative skills to design their own necklaces using the 220 colourful wooden beads and butterflies. They get to practice their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as they feed the beads onto the five coloured cords that are included.

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The ideal combination of a book and playset, My Busy Book is an affordable travel toy that comes in a range of themes from Paw Patrol to Toy Story. Each board book comes with a section at the back containing a durable play mat and 10 play pieces, allowing children to use their imagination for storytelling and role play.

While the inclusion of four vehicles included in this particular set has led to some confusion amongst reviewers (the pups don’t fit inside), they found the pieces to be durable and hard-wearing, and say that the set keep kids entertained for ages - making them a fun companion for train journeys or flights with a little one in tow. Certainly one to add to your stock of the best travel games if you're going on holiday with a 4-year-old in tow.

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If your 4-year-old loves trains, they’ll adore the Brio train sets - praised by Mumsnet users for their high-quality wooden pieces and engaging designs. 

As a first train set, this 22-piece push-along train set is a great place to start, including accessories like a tunnel and bridge and enough track to create a fun figure of eight looping design. We love how the driver, passengers and even some luggage can be stashed inside the carriages, 

While your child will likely want to expand their collection fairly quickly, we love how this set is compatible with other BRIO world expansion sets and trains, meaning you easily add more pieces as your child becomes more confident in play. 

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Leapfrog toys are regularly recommended by Mumsnet users for their engaging and educational toys that make learning feel just like fun. The latest release from the makers of the highly rated Ice Cream Cart, the Build a Slice Pizza Cart is a fun push-along toy for 4-year-olds that encourages imaginative role play while introducing colour matching, numbers and counting.

With fun lights, sounds and music, children will love using the spatula, pizza cutter and cheese shaker to create their masterpiece, before popping it into the box and taking payment with a selection of paper money.

We love how playing with this toy can be adapted to your child's age, even introducing concepts such as money and calculating change as your child grows.

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Aimed at children aged four to six years, the beautiful Bobbin 16-inch bike makes a great first pedal bike for 4-year-olds. With stabilisers included, it’s also a great option for children who haven’t mastered using a balance bike, providing support and reassurance until your child is ready to feel the independence of two wheels.

With a traditional and classic design, we love the durable frame and stylish vegan tan leather seat on this bike. Your 4-year-old is sure to love the basket attached to the handlebars - ideal for bringing their favourite teddy or some snacks alone as they head out on some active adventures.

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If you’re keen to buy educational toys that introduce STEM (science, technology, engineering or maths) concepts to your 4-year-old, the Learning Resources Coding Critters sets are a great place to start. While many coding toys will be too complex for younger children, these easy-to-use sets introduce sequence building and step counting, helping them programme this cute character to follow a black line and navigate its way through a story-based adventure.

It’s worth noting that the age-appropriate coding skills are relatively basic, so you may prefer to move onto a coding robot such as Botley as your child grows in confidence.

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Play-Doh is the toy of choice for children everywhere. Tactile, versatile and jam-packed with possibilities, it’s the ultimate creative toy that inspires children to create all kinds of creations while developing their fine motor skills.  

If your 4-year-old loves getting creative. They’ll love this Play-Doh Rainbow Swirl Ice Cream set. Simply help them load their choice of colours, before pressing down the pump to fill a cone or cup and turning the dial to add colourful sprinkles. The included moulds can also be used to make a selection of fun toppings such as cherries, flowers and stars. 

Play-doh does require supervision during use and we recommend you add a table covering to make tidying up simple and stress-free.

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