Are you wondering what to buy for a 3-4 year old this holiday? Let us make it easy for you! As Speech-Language Pathologists, we are often asked what toys to buy to target speech and language through play. We decided to put a list together so that parents will have the right toys to encourage language development this holiday season. We want to help YOU! Please enjoy this free holiday gift guide download.
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During this phase your child 3-4 years old should begin or continue to:
- follow 2-3 step instructions
- Ask and answer lots of questions
- Kicks a Ball Forward
- Balances and walks on toes
- Rides a tricycle
- Begin having conversations
Toys that are appropriate for this age include:
- Tricycle
- Pretend play items ( food, appliances, etc)
- Dress-up Clothes
- Building and Stacking Toys
1.Tricycle or Early Pedal Bike
Early pedal bikes are a lot of fun for littles on the go. Bikes can help improve gross motor skills. Taking a ride down the street is also a great opportunity to explore and have some natural language development opportunities.
2. Dress-up Clothes
Most kids love to dress up in costumes. it is more fun to pretend with a matching wardrobe. These awesome dress-up clothes can double as Halloween costumes. Melissa and Doug make some great durable costumes that consist of jackets and a few accessories.
3. Pretend Play Food
Target vocabulary, colors, requesting, questions and following directions with a great pretend food set. Bonus points, fine motor skills, if you can slice the food like in the set above. Kids have so much fun taking orders and “cooking” up food for grown-ups. This is another great gift that kids will not outgrow for a long time.
4. Dolls
Dolls are great for boys and girls alike. Dolls are especially great for little ones awaiting the arrival of a younger sibling. Target fine motor skills when getting the doll into a new outfit. The language targets are endless: feed the doll, put the doll to bed, dress the doll, fix the doll’s hair. Rarely do kids play with one thing in isolation, so you may as well fix baby some pretend food we mentioned above.
5. Early Games
This early bingo game is adorable and functional. Great for learning about playing a game as well as turn-taking. Matching and picture identification are key components of this game as well. Play an early board game with others is a great way to target social skills and expectations.
We hope that this list is helpful to you! Find the free download for the 5 gifts we recommend for your 3-4 year old below. Send it to family members to make their lives easier this year! What toys are YOUR favorite for your 3-4-year-old? Please share so we can add it to our list. For other ages check out our gift lists for 12-15 months, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, and 4-5 years.