Toys

The 14 Best Educational Toys For 3-Year-Olds & 7 Factors To Help You Choose

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What Kind Of Toys Should A 3-Year-Old Have?

Plenty of 3-year-olds love to socialize and play with new friends, but don’t be surprised if your little one prefers to play on their own. Kids develop at different rates and have varied personalities.

According to child development experts, preschoolers (3-4-year-olds) begin to develop their social skills at this age. When they notice other children playing, most are likely to readily join these other kids even if they don’t know them. (1)(2)

Toys for this age group are ideally those that can be shared and played with other children, such as jumbo building toys for little hands, simple board games, interactive toys for pretend play, and age-appropriate learning activities.

You might also notice that many developmentally friendly toys for 1-year-olds and 2-year-olds are still great for 3-year-olds.

These toys can grow with your child, and you might be surprised that they’ll find new ways to play with these old toys. Older kids (5-7-year-olds) might even find these toys interesting, especially educational toys that continue to challenge their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

Why Should You Choose Learning Toys For 3-Year-Olds?

Your child is getting ready for preschool or might already be in school at three years old. One way of encouraging them to learn is to make the experience fun.

The best learning toys can be used to develop their cognitive skills and learn basic math, science, and language concepts.

That’s why STEM toys (science, technology, engineering, and math) are among the best learning resources and toys you can pick for your child.

These will introduce them to the basic concepts and let them develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as they prepare for preschool.

Our Top 14 Picks For The Best Educational Toys For Three-Year-Olds

You can find our top 14 recommendations for the best learning toys for three-year-olds and other young children, grouped based on:

  • STEM & Montessori-inspired toys
  • Educational building sets & blocks
  • Words, ABCs, numbers, & colors
  • Puzzles & matching toys
  • Imaginative play & role play
  • Musical toys
  • Toys for learning life skills
  • Creative & sensory toys for learning new skills

Continue reading to learn more about each toy below.

STEM & Montessori-inspired Toys

Melissa & Doug My First Daily Magnetic Calendar

EBAY BUTTONMayc's ButtonTARGET BUTTON

  • Pros & best features: Magnetic calendar with 80 magnetic pieces to teach kids the basic concepts of date, weeks, months, special events, and weather
  • Materials: Not disclosed on the company product page
  • Type of toy: Learning materials
  • Educational value: Basic math and time concepts,
  • Recommended age range: 3+ years (still ideal for up to 8-year-olds or even older)
  • Extra features: Fabric-hinged (sturdy cord), dry-erase boards (for the calendar template and magnet storage
  • Certification: FSC, US, and EU (European Union) conformity certificates
  • Product recall: None
  • Cons: Some complaints on Amazon about the magnets being too weak and the pieces easily falling off the board

    Skillmatics Educational Game: Search & FindSkillmatics ButtonEBAY BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: Set of learning materials (write and wipe activity mats) for different learning concepts
    • Product safety: Passed US child safety tests
    • Materials: Certified child-safe
    • Type of toy: Learning materials
    • Educational value: Reflective thinking, problem-solving, reading and comprehension, writing skills, focus, and attention
    • Recommended age range: 3-6 years
    • Extra features: Includes duster cloth and pens
    • Certification: ASTM and CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act)
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: Some complaints over the product being too pricey 

    Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit + Early Math AdventureEBAY BUTTONTARGET BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: Introduces core kindergarten subjects (including shapes, counting, early literacy, language, and communication) with fun games for kids
    • Materials: Silicone, plastic
    • Type of toy: Learning material set designed for use with a compatible device (iPad or Fire)
    • Educational value: Fine motor skills, cognitive development, social-emotional skills, and early literacy
    • Recommended age range: 3-5-year-olds
    • Extra features: Learn 300+ words
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: The set can be pricey and requires a compatible electronic device.

    Educational Building Sets & Blocks

    Dado Fat Cube ToysEBAY BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: Hollow building blocks that can be connected using slits along the sides
    • Materials: BPA-free plastic
    • Type of toy: Building blocks set
    • Educational value: Planning, engineering, visual-spatial skills, fine motor skills, creativity, experimentation, and self-esteem
    • Recommended age range: 3+ years old
    • Extra features: Deluxe pieces that add a twist to the classic building blocks
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: Some complaints about sharp edges. It’s made of plastic.

    Soyee Magnetic Blocks (100pcs)

    EBAY BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: 100 magnetic block pieces with different shapes, number blocks, and alphabet blocks
    • Materials: ABS plastic
    • Type of toy: Building blocks set
    • Educational value: Architecture, STEM toys, hand-eye coordination, and physics spatial reasoning
    • Recommended age range: 3-6 year-olds or even older kids
    • Extra features: Ferris wheel components
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: Some complaints about weak magnets and missing pieces. It’s made of plastic.

    Gigi Bloks 100 XXL Building BlocksETSY BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: Jumbo building blocks to create child-sized forts, castles, etc.
    • Materials: Strong, durable, and finished cardboard made of unbleached softwood pulp
    • Type of toy: Building blocks set
    • Educational value: Imaginative play, architecture, engineering, gross motor skills, and spatial awareness
    • Recommended age range: 3+ years old
    • Extra features: Paper-based materials that your child can draw or paint on
      Certification: Certified food-safe
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: The blocks need adult assembly

    Words, ABCs, Numbers, & Colors

    Lego Duplo My First Alphabet Truck

    LEGO BUTTONMayc's Button
    • Pros & best features: Building blocks set with 36 block pieces, a toy truck, and small people
    • Materials: ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
    • Educational value: Role play, cognitive skills, and learning ABCs
    • Recommended age range: 1½ years old and over
    • Extra features: Small people and a bear are included in the set
    • Certification: US and EU standards
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: Some complaints about duplicates or missing letters. It’s made of plastic.

    Inchimals by Fat Brain Toys

    • Pros & best features: Blocks with 12 pieces that have exact inch segments and cute prints for the representative animals
    • Materials: Wood
    • Type of toy: Wooden blocks and STEM toys
    • Educational value: Math and pre-algebra skills
    • Recommended age range: 3+ years old
    • Extra features: Comes with a write-on-wipe-off puzzle book with 100 puzzles
    • Certification: US and EU standards
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: Some complaints about the wooden blocks arriving with some paint already chipping

    Puzzles & Matching Toys

    Thames & Kosmos Robot Engineer (Level 1) by Kids First

    Mayc's ButtonTARGET BUTTONEBAY BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: Multi-award toy set with 53 pieces designed for STEM learning by making non-motorized but movable robots (with a matching storybook)
    • Product safety: With safety warning for choking hazards for kids under three years old
    • Materials: Plastic
    • Type of toy: Building set
    • Educational value: Fine motor skills, visual-spatial skills, science and math skills, and reasoning and concept development skills
    • Recommended age range: 3+ years old (can also be ideal for 6-year-olds or older children)
    • Extra features: Storybook
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: Some complaints about the pieces not staying together like they’re supposed to. It’s made of plastic.

    Educational Insights Design & Drill Take-Along Toolkit

    TARGET BUTTONEBAY BUTTON

    • Pros & best features: 60 big, colorful bolt pieces with three screwdriver bits to create different patterns on the board
    • Product safety: With safety warning as a choking hazard for children under three years old
    • Materials: Plastic
    • Type of toy: STEM toy
    • Educational value: Fine motor skills and creativity
    • Recommended age range: 3+ years old
    • Extra features: The screwdriver bits have different designs (flat head, Phillips, and socket)
    • Product recall: None
    • Cons: The screwdriver piece requires batteries, but some parents complain on Amazon about the toy not working even with fresh batteries. It’s made of plastic.

      Imaginative Play & Role Play Toys

      LOVEVERY The Storyteller Play Kit

      EBAY BUTTON

      • Pros & best features: Montessori-based materials to introduce different learning concepts
      • Materials: Sustainably harvested FSC-certified wood, water-based paint, and finishes
      • Type of toy: Learning materials
      • Educational value: Engineering, problem-solving skills, imaginative play, and real-life skills
      • Recommended age range: 40-42 months
      • Extra features: Puppet theater set and child-sized squeeze & spray mop
      • Certification: FSC
      • Product recall: None
      • Cons: It can be pricey.

      Musical Toys

      Hape Learn With Lights Electronic UkuleleEBAY BUTTONTARGET BUTTON

      • Pros & best features: Playable ukulele with flashing lights as a guide to teach your child how to play music
      • Product safety: Passed all toy safety tests (sharp point, bite force, tensile, small parts, drop, and chemical tests)
      • Materials: Solid wood, plastic toy finishes are non-toxic according to the brand’s product page
      • Type of toy: Musical toy
      • Educational value: Pretend play and musical learning
      • Recommended age range: 3+ years old
      • Extra features: With instruction sticker, booklet, and handle for easy carrying
      • Certification: ASTM
      • Product recall: None
      • Cons: Requires batteries

      Toys For Learning Life Skills

      The Big Dig Sandbox Digger Excavator Crane

      EBAY BUTTONTARGET BUTTON
      • Pros & best features: Working crane designed for little hands to shovel and move dirt, sand, snow, etc.
      • Materials: Metal, base with capped ends
      • Type of toy: Pretend play
      • Educational value: Logical thinking, reasoning, imaginative play, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills
      • Recommended age range: 3+ years old
      • Extra features: Seat for your little worker
      • Product recall: None
      • Cons: Some complaints about the metal being too soft and easily bending

      Creative & Sensory Toys For Learning New Skills

      Step2 Flip and Doodle Desk With Stool & EaselSTEP2 BUTTONTARGET BUTTON EBAY BUTTON

      • Pros & best features: Activity center with medium and large-sized bins for art supplies
      • Product safety: Free from heavy metals and phthalates
      • Materials: Polypropylene and/or polyethylene plastics
      • Educational value: Fine motor skills, creativity and visualization, self-expression, and coordination
      • Recommended age range: 2+ years but also ideal for 3-6-year-olds
      • Extra features: Easel flips down to turn into a desk
      • Certification: ASTM
      • Product recall: None
      • Cons: Requires assembly, made of plastic

      How To Choose The Right Educational Toys For Three-Year-Olds?

      Here are seven factors to consider in choosing your little one’s toys:

      Although kids develop at different rates, most toys tend to be ideal for different ages. Three-year-olds (or around the same age) need education toys and learning materials to introduce them to basic learning concepts while they’re having fun.

      Child development experts acknowledge that kids can learn a lot through play. Your child can develop any or a combination of the following: (3)

      • Social skills
      • New vocabulary
      • Cognitive skills
      • Literacy skills
      • Physical abilities

      Learning Ability, Interests, & Skills

      It’s good to pick toys that fit their developmental milestones, learning abilities, skills, and interests.

      Developmental milestones for 3-year-olds include the following: (1)(2)

      • Running and jumping easily
      • Stacking 10+ blocks
      • Walking upstairs unassisted
      • Easily drawing straight lines or copying circles
      • Concentrates on tasks for 8-9 minutes
      • Say around 500-900 words
      • Makes two or three-word sentences
      • Names colors
      • Knows some numbers and letters
      • Joins other kids in play

      Kids also have different interests, sometimes depending on their gender. For example, some toys for 3-year-old girls might not seem interesting to boys of the same age.

      Skills Development & Benefits

      Kids this age might already recognize colors, shapes, numbers, and letters more quickly than younger ones. These new skills can make them more interested in educational toys.

      Note that many educational toys for 2-year-olds can still be a great option for 3-year-olds and older kids.

      Safe To Play

      Although most toys with small parts have warnings that indicate they’re unsafe for children under three, avoid choosing them if your child still loves to put things in their mouth even at 3+.

      Choosing toys made of child-safe materials free from toxic chemicals like lead and other heavy metals, phthalates, and BPA is also good.

      Engagement & Fun

      It’s tempting to give “advanced” toys to help your kids learn more. However, toys that offer too much information or have many different things going on might seem too complex for your child.

      They could lose interest if they don’t grasp the essential elements of a certain activity. 

      Sometimes, it’s best to pick a fun and engaging toys that are simple and fit for their age but let them use their imagination.

      Educational Value

      Consider offering your child toys with different educational values so they can develop various learning aspects and find new ways to have fun.

      Building toys, musical instruments, crafting kits, and other learning materials can let them learn without sacrificing entertainment.

      Value For Your Money

      Will your kids outgrow the toys after just a few months? Thankfully, that might be true for some toys for 1-year-olds, but many educational toys for older children might still be interesting as they grow older.

      It’s also good to check for the toy’s quality because some toys might be cheaper but can be unsafe or easily break and get damaged.

      FAQs

      What Can I Buy My 3-Year-Old Daughter?

      Dolls and toys for imaginative play are popular for 3-year-old girls, but you can also pick building blocks, musical instruments, learning sets, cooking sets, and other unisex toys.

      If unsure, you can always ask them to pick the ones they like before you checkout.

      What’s The Best Gift For A 3-Year-Old Baby Girl?

      The answer will usually depend on the child’s interests. But because kids this age are getting ready for preschool, you can never go wrong with picking educational toys.

      Is A 3-Year-Old A Toddler Or Preschooler?

      According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 3-year-olds are preschoolers. Toddlers are kids starting from 1-year-old until they turn three. (4)

      Can 3-Year-Olds Write?

      Although some can already write a few letters or numbers, most 3-year-olds can’t do that yet. However, many might show interest in holding a pencil or any writing material to create lines. (5)

      How Far Should A 3-Year-Old Count?

      Most 3-year-olds can count up to four objects, while some can reach up to 10. (2)

      What Should A 3-Year-Old Draw?

      Kids this age can draw straight lines and copy circles. (2)

      How Do Educational Toys For 3-Year-Olds Differ From Those For 2-Year-Olds?

      Many learning toys for 3-year-olds can have more numbers, letters, or features than educational toys for 2-year-olds.

      Toymakers might also design these toys for sharing and socialization because 3-year-olds are developmentally ready to improve their social skills by sharing and playing with others. (1)(2)

      Other Learning Toys For Different Age Groups

      Toy Recalls To Monitor

       

       

      REFERENCES:

      (1) https://www.understood.org/en/articles/developmental-milestones-for-typical-3-year-olds

      (2) https://www.choc.org/primary-care/ages-stages/3-years/

      (3) https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/UNICEF-Lego-Foundation-Learning-through-Play.pdf

      (4) https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/preschoolers.html

      (5) https://www.pbs.org/parents/learn-grow/age-3/literacy/writing

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