Essential Toy Box Guide for 6 & 7 Year Olds
We believe these toys are essential members of your family's toy box. Our extensive toy experience (over a decade!) plus years of customer feedback inform this no fluff guide to the very best. Explore consistent favourites that build essential life skills like creativity, emotional intelligence, problem solving and grit.
Browse the collection below for our customers' favourites or keep scrolling for a deeper dive into which toys are best at this age and why.
What Do 6 & 7 Year Olds Need Out of Their Toys?
Children this age are often ready for more independent play opportunities. Playing with things like blocks and construction toys, puzzles, small world and imaginative play toys and art supplies are perfect for your child to enjoy their own company .
They often really enjoy nature and learning about our natural world. Encourage them to play outside often and explore nature themed toys and books. The world needs more nature lovers!!
Their social/emotional world is expanding. Things like school and new friendships bring excitement and challenges and it’s important for them to have ways to let off steam and process their feelings (could be dressing up in costumes, making art or playing out scenes with small world play). They often like creating collections (from play figures to Pokemon cards) to express their personality.
6 and 7 year olds are still really into imaginative play and small world play. Encourage them to play with open ended toys for as long as possible to build creativity and imagination - it will serve them well for life.
They are honing fine motor skills and are ready for more intricate toys (like smaller blocks) and activities (like simple sewing).
Top Considerations
Aim to develop the whole child - mind, body and spirit. Look for toys that develop critical thinking skills and grit (like construction toys, puzzles and games), creativity (like small world play, dolls and stuffies and art supplies) and emotional intelligence (like small world play, dolls and stuffies, books and art supplies).
Don’t shorten childhood by pushing them into older kid toys or books. They’ll never be this young again. Play is the ultimate form of learning for children, so let them play deeply and without heavy expectations.
Keep fueling imaginative play - incredible for brain development and emotional intelligence. Don’t discount the educational benefits of things like stuffed animals, dolls or figures.
You know your kid best - what do they already love? Lean into that and make it possible for them to play more deeply in that zone! Is there an area where they’re struggling? Find fun toys or books that explore that skill they could use more of. There’s no such thing as a Must Have Toy for everyone.
Maileg
Ignite your child’s imagination with these adorable mice with heartwarming personalities! It's a busy world - lots of lights, noises and flashy gadgets competing for (and diluting) our attention and focus. Bring storybook whimsy to everyday moments with your child with these toys designed specifically to help children explore the pure and simple joy of imagination.
Maileg toys invite boundless imaginative play, whether it’s a mouse tea party, tucking baby mice in teeny beds or going on a wild camping adventure,.
Maileg toys are an excellent choice for supporting creativity and emotional intelligence development in your kiddo. Most kids instantly gravitate to imaginative and nurturing play with Maileg toys.
Art Supplies & Craft Kits
Engaging in art creation encourages creativity, abstract thinking, concentration and perseverance - all necessary skills for success in school and life. Generally, kids this age like colourful art supplies like pencil crayons, watercolour paints and felt pens. Origami or craft kits are fantastic options too!
Construction Toys
Your child is now ready for more complex building options. At this age, kids can build increasingly complex creations with Connetix tiles, and are ready for smaller, more intricate blocks like Areaware.
Building with these toys promotes creativity, imagination, problem solving skills and critical thinking. These are all star educational toys!! Play figures and vehicles make excellent additions to blocks and can really bring the whole scene to vibrant life
Books
Books are a ticket to another world and can educate, inspire and transport like nothing else! Instilling a love of reading will serve your child well for life, both personally and in the classroom. Both reading independently and being read to by an adult are important, so a mix of books they like to look at on their own and books you love to read together are a great choice.
Non fiction books build knowledge and curiosity about the world around us, while picture books expose your child to different points of view and artistic styles. Chapter books can be wonderful for either independent reading or reading together. We’ve been reading our son chapter books since he was very little, and we still love doing it now that he’s 8.
Small World Play
Boost your child’s creativity, imagination, language skills, fine motor skills and problem solving abilities with small world play. There are so many benefits to small world play we have a separate blog post all about it! Bottom line - small world play develops the brain and the heart, making it an all star in our books.
Most kids love small world play for many years, making these toys great value. Small world play simply means imagining and acting out stories with miniature scenes (either from real life or imagined) in a mini play scene created with small figures, toys and household or found objects.
Small world play is straight up awesome and kids love it!
Small World Play Collections
Stuffies & Dolls
Bring comfort to your child, boost imaginative play and develop emotional intelligence. These toys are awesome for building creativity - kids love to dream up wild adventures for their stuffies and dolls from tea parties to imaginary quests.
Kids will do all kinds of creative and nurturing play with stuffed animals and dolls. They may need to tend to their stuffed animal’s wounded paw, or perhaps their doll is feeling a little under the weather and needs some extra love. This kind of play builds a child’s heart and mind.
Nature Toys
Nature-inspired toys and kits encourage your kiddo to observe the world around them and get their hands dirty — while building curiosity and critical thinking. From bug viewers to flower presses to inspiring books, build a tool box of toys that explore nature’s beauty.
And spend as much time as you can enjoying the great outdoors, rain or shine!
More Top Collections for 6 & 7 year olds
Looking for more beneficial toys to build your child's skills and create fun family play opportunities? We have so many incredible educational toys for 6 & 7 year olds. Here are some more favourite collections:
Science & STEM for 6 & 7 Year Olds
Explore the world and boost critical thinking with engaging science toys.
Jewelry & Accessories for 6 & 7 Year Olds
Kids love to express their unique personalities with fun jewelry and hair accessories. Explore our collection of fun, age appropriate options.
Dollhouses & Playscapes for 6 & 7 Year Olds
A great dollhouse can spark your kiddo’s imagination for years of play and nurtures everything from creative thinking to emotional intelligence to language development.
Favourite Brands for 6 & 7 Year Olds
These top toymakers excel at creating engaging, skill building toys that 6 & 7 year olds love to play with. These toymakers are committed to toys that encourage healthy childhood development.
