Best educational toys for kids aged 1 to 5: help them learn and play

Children learn best when they’re engaged and having fun, which is why learning through play is so important. Most toys help children learn in some way or other, whether it’s imaginative role playing with baby dolls, spatial skills while doing a jigsaw or gross motor skills trying to ride a balance bike. 

In the last few years, there’s been a boom in toys created to really hone the educational side of things, helping children to develop key skills that will be useful in later life, such as STEM, cause and effect, hand-eye coordination and investigative techniques, while also keeping them entertained.

Whether it’s a new language, skillset or the ability to retain facts, science tells us that young children are sponges when it comes to learning new things. That’s why educational toys are so important and why incorporating different activities and games are a great opportunity to help them to learn and stimulate their minds.   Also screen-only toys can be a winner, like the popular audio boxes Yoto or Tonie (though, be sure to check out our Yoto Vs Tonie to get a real breakdown.)

With so many to choose from, finding the right educational toy for your child can be a daunting task. To give you a helping hand on where to start, we’ve rounded up the best educational toys for children of all ages. Read on to find your perfect match.

Best educational toys for kids 

Crocodile Balancing Game - £10.95 | Amazon 

Good for: Hand-eye coordination | Age suitability: 1 year and up | Batteries required: No

This colourful game is designed to build hand-eye co-ordination, as well as hone fine motor skills and stimulate shape recognition, as your child uses the colourful wooden blocks to balance the friendly crocodile.

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SMARTMAX My First Totem - £20.99 | Amazon

Good for: Stimulating minds | Age suitability: 1 year and up | Batteries required: No

My First Totem has picked up multiple awards for innovation and being a great toy for stimulating young minds. The set features 8 colourful magnetic building blocks, with different sounds, styles and textures. Little ones can combine the sensory blocks to build the coolest totem; or follow one of the 24 fun challenges.

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Tidlo Wooden Activity Walker - £59.99 | Amazon 

Good for: Learning to walk | Age suitability: 1 year and up | Batteries required: No 

As well as helping little ones take their first steps, a durable learner walker, like the Tidlo Wooden Activity Walker pictured, also features plenty of activities to keep toddlers entertained and busy. The spinning cage rattle, mini abacus, spinning mirror and matching blocks there’s plenty to stimulate young minds.

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Vtech Touch & Teach Tablet - £21.99 | Amazon 

Good for: Learning numbers, colours and shapes | Age range: 1-3 years | Batteries required: Yes 

Coming with 25 light-up buttons that encourage kids to learn numbers, letters, colours, animals and shapes, the Vtech’s Touch and Teach Tablet is one of the best educational toys around. It also comes with 20 melodies and 3 singalong songs for little singers to sing along to. 

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Djeco Topanifarm - £19.99 | Amazon 

Good for: Construction skills and hand and eye coordination | Age suitability: 18 months + | Batteries required: No 

This cute little farm-themed set may look like it's just sweet animals in small boxes, but this block and tower set is a great way to get small children practising their construction skills and hand-eye co-ordination, whilst learning about different animals and their homes.

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Kids Piano Mat - £15.99 | Amazon 

Good for: Creativity and musical expression | Age suitability: 18 months and up | Batteries required: None 

Great for encouraging children’s creativity and musical expression, this musical mat comes with eight different piano ‘keys’ which each make the sound of a different instrument. Easy to use like a retro dance mat, children will love jumping around and experimenting with sounds.

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Petit Collage Fishing Around Wooden Fishing Game - £22.92 | Amazon 

Best for: Dexterity | Age suitability: 3 years and up | Batteries required: No

This wooden game is great for developing dexterity in children and getting them to learn to focus to achieve their goal. Sure to keep children entertained for hours they can play on their own or in small groups, learning to take turns.

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Learning Resources Mathlink Cubes Numberblocks 1-10 Activity Set - £20.95 | Amazon 

Good for: Numeracy | Age range: 3+ | Batteries required: No

Little one learning numbers? Count on these Numberblocks to bring numeracy to life. The colourful blocks come with a fun twist as they make up the characters from the hit CBeebies show. The blocks themselves easily click together and then twist apart, so are great for little hands. The kit contains character cards, and write-and-wipe activity cards with loads of activities to try, helping them build their essential early maths skills in a fun and enticing way. 

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LEGO 10696 Classic Medium Creative Brick Box - £20 | Amazon 

Best for: Creativity and problem solving | Age suitability: 4 years and up | Batteries required: No 

A classic that just doesn’t seem to age, Lego is an educational toy that has been inspiring children for generations. Dig your old box of Lego out of the attic to pass down to your kids or get them started with this epic set of coloured blocks that come in a handy storage box.

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Green Science Magic Water Tap - £24.99 | Amazon 

Good for: Physics | Age range: 5+ | Batteries required: 2 x AAA | 

Calling all future plumbers! Specifically aimed at young minds, this toy teaches the principles of physics, engineering and about how the earth’s resources – such as water – are finite. Pretty educational, right? When you invest in this, you'll get a water container, water tap, motor module, T tube, sticker, template, battery cover, tap head, container cover, disk, wire cover, plug, blade cover, transparent tube and instructions on how to build it and use it. 

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How important are educational toys to a child’s development?

Joanne Moore, a Primary School Teacher in Norfolk and Educational Product Adviser to Learning Resources told Goodto that educational toys are ‘essential’ to a child’s development.

‘As stated by Einstein “play is the highest form of research” and from a very early age children learn and develop through play,’ Joanne told us. ‘They allow children to freely explore, challenge their minds and support the development of many skills from fine motor control, early mathematics to speech and language.’

Child development expert and psychologist Dr. Amanda Gummer, who is also the founder of Dr. Gummer’s Good Play Guide, adds that while toys that promote school-based learning can help children’s confidence at school and help them embed the learning: ‘there are also lots of educational toys that support learning through encouraging exploration, fostering curiosity, building relationships, exploring moral dilemmas etc which should not be ignored.’

What kind of toys can help a child’s development and how?

‘Toys that encourage a child to be actively ‘doing’ and toys that provide open-ended opportunities I feel are most important for early child development,’ says Joanne.

‘Toys that are kinaesthetic allow a child to develop their hand-eye coordination - plus their fine and gross motor skills. These skills are the essential building blocks before a child can learn to write. There are some great apps available out there for online learning. However, I feel it is important to do as much off-screen learning as possible for young children.

'Open-ended toys allow a child to explore their own imagination and creativity. They will often provide a child with challenges which build resilience, perseverance and problem solving skills. These are all characteristics of effective learning. These characteristics are essential for young children to develop in order to become an effective and motivated learner for life.'

For very young children, sensory toys -  those with bright or contrasting colours, feature different textures and noises - will also stimulate their senses, aid development and encourage learning.

What is a STEM toy?

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM toys are designed to promote learning, curiosity, and education while they are played with.

When it comes to educational toys for kids, STEM toys in particular are great for helping your child develop innovative thinking, hand-eye coordination and spatial skills amongst other things while they play. You'll love watching STEM toys foster creativity and problem solving in your child.

What age should parents introduce educational toys to their children?

‘It’s never too early to introduce your children to toys containing letters and numbers so that children become familiar with them at an early age,’ says Dr. Amanda Gummer.

However, Dr Gummer also emphasises that it’s important not to ‘hot house children’. Basically, try not to force the educational toys on them.

'Feeling pressured to play with a particular toy is a sure way to turn a child off wanting to play with it and wanting to learn,' Dr Gummer advises.

Feeling inspired? Check out our selection of the best toys for one-year-olds, two-year-olds and three-year-olds. For more advanced learning through play, browse our guide to the best coding toys for toddlers up to teens or, for a wide range of educational, outdoor and imaginative toys, read our guide to the best toys of 2023, as recommended by the industry experts!