Toys for 5 and 6 Year Olds

Toys for 5 Year Olds and 6 Year Olds Buying Guide Your child's rapid physical growth will be accompanied by many new discoveries. During these years, she is taking the first steps toward becoming a self sufficient person by squeezing out toothpaste, brushing her hair, eating, dressing and using the bathroom by herself. She's developing visual-motor coordination that will allow her to throw and catch balls more easily. She's also able to follow two-step directions. Pretend play is very exciting for your child at this age because she still believes in fairies, magic and monsters. While these beliefs make her world very wonderful, remember that they can make it frightening at times. 5 and 6 Year Olds Growing Developments Your child has control over large and fine motor movements, although she is still occasionally clumsy She talks herself through the steps required in simple problem-solving situations She can ride wheeled toys like tricycles, scooters, and soon, bicycles She is beginning to count and save money She enjoys entertaining people and making them laugh In school, she is learning to read and write and she is forming organized memories She still believes in magic even when she is told that it doesn't exist

Guide to Toys

• Look for problem solving and sorting activities like stacking toys, puzzles and mazes
• Introduce five and six year olds to tracing, folding and coloring books as calm art activities to aid in fine motor control
• Collect a variety of interesting toy figures to provide her with hours of pretend play
• Add young science activities to help children understand the way things work

Best Play Value Toys for Ages 5 and 6

• Push scooters for kids
• Jigsaw Puzzles
• Board Games
• Brain Teasers
• Dollhouses

Top Brands for Ages Five and Six

• Papo Figures and Papo Castles
• Coloring and ARTivity Books from Creativity for Kids
• Schleich
• Young Science Kits from Scientific Explorer
• Calico Critters
• Ryan's Room

Choosing Toys for 5 and 6 Year Old Girls and Boys

Gender stereotypes should not dictate your decisions as you shop for toys. It's important for kids to experience the different learning benefits that all types of toys offer! But we know that sometimes a shopper may not be familiar with a specific child's interests and shopping by gender can make the decision easier.

Popular toys for 5 and 6 year old boys include Playmobil, LEGO® and Papo Toys. Boys may also be interested in outdoor toys from Franklin Sports and fun items from Zing Toys or Kid Galaxy. Popular toys for girls include beginning arts and craft kits like Sticky Mosaics. Calico Critters families, Groovy Girls Dolls and the Papo Princess collection are popular pretend play toys for 5 and 6 year old girls.

You can also view our best selling toys for girls or boys by selecting the gender and "most popular" from the drop down menu on the green bar in the center of the page.

Ways to Play

Before age five, your child was generally focused on herself and believed she was the center of everyone's world. Now, she should be beginning to show empathy and understanding for other people. This new understanding could cause her to be less outgoing than before, as she starts to realize that other people form opinions based on her actions. She will also begin to display a sense of modesty and will be ready to learn about polite behavior.

At the same time, her imagination is working in overdrive. She loves pretend play. You can be help her to develop her creativity by continuing to pretend along with her. Add new twists to the regular plotlines of her games to expand her creativity. For instance, suggest that her doll family take a vacation to the beach or that the couch is really a rocket ship that will take you both to distant worlds where silly aliens live.

Spend lots of time reading together. Let her read simple books to you and read more complex stories to her. Discuss the characters and action of the story together. You can try asking questions like: "How do you think Emily felt when that happened?" or "what would you do if that happened to you?" to develop early critical reading skills. Additionally, try writing stories together and make them into books that she can illustrate as a special team project.

Your child is very eager to learn new things and wants to please you. Lots of love and encouragement will build her self confidence as she begins to navigate the world!