Gifts for 4 Year Olds

Finding a gift for 4 year old kids is pure delight.

If you have spent any time with a 4 year old, you'll know how full of imagination their play can be! Anything that engages a child's sense of fun and make believe will be a welcome gift.

Because children learn while playing, this is an age when your gift can have great impact for the child. You can choose a gift that inspires the imagination, delights the soul, and exercises the body. 

Large motor as well as fine motor skills are being developed through play. Imagination games, such as dress up and acting out scenarios, can also be fun. Dolls, tea sets, trucks, and blocks are all good play things at this age. You also cannot go wrong with art supplies, books, and puzzles.

In this article, I will explore some gift possibilities for your 4 year old child. I hope you have fun choosing your 4 year old a gift!

Unstructured play with blocks should be in every child's preschool experience. There is no right or wrong way to play with blocks (unless you fling them across the room!). Children can build tall towers or elaborate structures. They can build enclosures for their little cars or make houses for tiny stuffed animals and dolls.

Playing with blocks gives children an experience with concrete objects they can count and move around. They can see how different sized blocks can be used for different functions and how two smaller blocks can sometimes take the place of one larger block. By playing with blocks, the stage is set for recognizing number and area and geometric shapes. Children who have had the chance to play with blocks can more easily pick up math skills. 

This is reason enough for providing your child with a set of blocks.

A 4 year old child needs lots of practice with fine motor skills. This practice includes using many different implements against different surfaces. Crayons, markers, paints, chalk, and pencils all provide a different feel in the fingers. The child has to hold each implement in a different way. Making a mark on paper is also very different from making a mark on a chalk board. All of these experiences help develop a child's grip for writing later on.

Most children also love having experience with color and self expression. Your 4 year old can spend long hours drawing or splashing in paint. These are important early learning experiences.

And don't forget the old stand-by of playdoh! Whether you make your own playdoh or purchase it ready made, your child will love the tactile feel and smell of the medium. Playdoh gives a child unstructured play. Manipulating the dough strengthens the fingers and relieves stress. You may enjoy pounding and squishing dough between your fingers, too, alongside your child.