Best Toys & Gifts for 5-Year-Old Children

What type of toys are 5-year-old children interested in? And, even better, which toys are both fun AND educational for children at this age? 5-year-old children are loving, responsible, and fond of activities where they can demonstrate their many skills and talents. Here’s a list oftoysyou can be sure will excite your 5-year-old.

Highlights:

5-year-old children can do many things by themselves, and they like to take on new tasks.
Here are four toys that support and develop 5-year-old children’s skill sets:

Surfer Boards: challenge the child’s gross motor skills, balance, and core strength.
Construction Sets: train the child’s ability to concentrate for longer periods of time.
Musical Toys: provide the child with an outlet for expressing themselves creatively.
Make-Believe Toys: have the child’s make-believe games come even more alive.

A Time of Harmony

Before we go into which toys and gifts rise to the challenge of being both fun and educational for 5-year-olds, let’s look at some of the things that characterise children of this age. Danish expert on children’s play, Joern Martin Steenhold, shares some interesting insights:

“5-year-old children can do a lot of things by themselves, and it fills them with joy and pride to complete all sorts of tasks. Even tedious tasks you’ve decided they should do, like helping around in the house. The 5-year-old child is harmonious and well-balanced. They are also caring and mindful of other people’s feelings, and they like to play elaborate, imaginative games with other children.”

Here are four toys that support and develop 5-year-old children’s skill sets:

Surfer Boards

When children turn six and their limbs really start to grow, even simple tasks that they have managed before, and without difficulty, can suddenly seem hard again. So, everything you can do to promote the 5-year-old's motor skills is an invaluable gift.

A Surfer Board is a toy that does a lot of great things for children’s gross motor skills. It’s fun to explore the square-shaped skateboard’s many possibilities, both when you’re five, six, and even seven years old. The surfer board’s 360-degree rotating wheels challenge the child’s balance, core strength, postural stability, and navigational skills - plus, it’s just good fun to tour the house on wheels!

Construction Sets

The 5-year-old child still has difficulty staying focused on a given task. They easily get distracted by their surroundings, but with the right toys, you can help them stay concentrated for longer periods of time.

A Construction Set, whether it’s made up of building blocks or nuts and bolts, has an almost hypnotic effect on both children and grown-ups. Go for a set where the bits and pieces can be assembled and disassembled time and again, and where the little engineer can build whatever comes to their mind – a crane, a house, or perhaps a robot? When things get tricky, try asking “what can you do about it?” instead of “here, let me help you”, as this gently forces the child to come up with clever solutions on their own.

Musical Instruments

5-year-old children have already developed a great memory, and you’d be amazed at how many songs they know by heart. Music is a window for expressing oneself, and with music comes dancing, singing, and jumping around.

Gift the 5-year-old with musical instruments like Flutes, Drums, Xylophones, and Maracas and watch them gain experience with both timing, tempo, and rhythmic accuracy. Perhaps their music-making will lead to singing their new favourite song, singing in rounds, or composing a tune of their own. It’s all about creativity!

Make-Believe Toys

Tap into the 5-year-old's imaginative nature and present the little dreamer with toys to make their make-believe games come even more alive. With this type of play, children get to replay situations and feelings they otherwise have a hard time processing, and they make new friends when they work together to build up new fantasy universes.

Some great, all-round make-believe toys include pretend food, such as Vegetables, Fruits, Ice Creams, Pizzas, and the like. Children can use these delicious artifacts whenever they play restaurant, tea party, birthday party, or even shop-owner and customer. The possibilities for play are endless!