Finding the best toys for seven year olds is much easier than picking out things for children to play with when they’re younger. This is because by the age of seven, children will tell you which toys take their preference and show you clearly which toys they like the best based on how much they play with them.
However, when buying gifts for seven year olds, choosing which as the best toys for seven year olds out of the masses of products on the market can be tough.
Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you and selected the best toys for seven year olds out there at the moment to make things much easier.
What toys do 7 year olds play with?
By the age of seven children have really developed their imaginations and are also seeking even more independence and freedom. Open-ended toys that allow children to create their own games and play in their own way with friends or alone are the best toys for seven year olds.
You will also find that increasingly seven year olds do not want to play with any toys that they deem ‘baby toys‘ – or toys that they see as specifically ‘for kids’. They are growing up from being little kids to children entering Year 3 of Primary school – and they feel it!
Norland Nanny and founder of The Nanny Louenna app, Louenna Hood says that in her experience, there are two toys that seven year olds always love, no matter what their interests are:
- Lego is always popular at this age – following simple instructions to build their creations takes time and patience, and is a huge achievement once completed.
- An art box stocked with paint, glue, paper and stickers is always popular and provides endless entertainment.
Experts say that a well-stocked art box is essential for seven-year-olds to keep them entertained.
Children of this age may also start to get excited about reading, show an interest in playing team sports, or develop new interests and hobbies. Toys, books and games that encourage and foster these things are also popular with seven-year-olds.
What skills should 7 year olds have?
By the age of seven children will be getting to grips with numbers and might be able to do some addition and subtraction, and even basic multiplication.
They will also usually be quite confident readers by this age, having started junior school three years ago and be heading into Primary school Year Three.
However, it’s not just all about the academic skills your seven year old is mastering. By this age they are learning a range of important life skills too.
A recent nationwide study of parents revealed a list of life lessons that every parent wants to teach their child and skills such as how to share, be a good loser, stay safe online, respect other cultures and always tell the truth came out on top.
The research also found that 65 percent of parents agree that teaching their kids practical life lessons is just as important as academic subjects, and three in 10 parents have taught their kids new skills like cooking, baking and gardening for the first time during lockdown.
Buying toys for seven year olds that encourage these practical skills, such as how to ride a bike and how to bake, are equally as important as encouraging them to read, write and practice their numeracy skills outside of school.
Coding toys
Children aged around 7 are ready to begin to learn the fundamentals of coding and the basic skills needed for computer programming. This may sounds like a lot for a small person, but with so many fun games and toys out there, kids will just loving playing with toys and working out how to make them go without realising they are actually learning computer programming as well as developing their spatial reasoning, problem solving and storytelling skills.
Multi-level family board game
Board games are a great, fun way for the whole family to spend quality time together, especially if you have children of different ages who might be interested in different things.
By the age of 7, children are able to take on slightly more challenging board games that require flexible thinking and clever planning to win. Plus, they'll love any game that allows them to occasionally annoy their opponent – especially if it's mum or dad!
Non-fiction books
Children will start to show more interest in reading by the age of 7 as they have usually developed and practiced this skill enough by this age to start reading independently.
As they become more confident reading, inspire their new found love of books by buying them stories they can read to themselves – whether that be books with pictures or longer stories for young children with chapters.
Gardening Kits
Children become less and less interested in anything that appear to be made 'for kids' at this age, so they're not going to be bothered by the toy lawn mower or mini rake and towel you bought them when they were little.
Instead, cultivate a child's interest and love of nature with toys, kits and sets which teach the fundamentals of gardening. That might be growing sunflowers, planting their first vegetable patch together or building a 'bug hotel' to encourage more biodiversity in your backyard.
Puzzles
Puzzles are great for kids at any age, but for 7 years olds they are especially good as the challenge of putting smaller pieces together will test their spatial reasoning and match their newly develop skills as they become more complex thinkers.
When completed, 7 year olds will thrive from the sense of accomplishment and seeing the picture that they finished themselves.
Painting and drawing kits
Children have a long enough attention span to enjoy painting and drawing for long periods of time by the age of 7 and they also have developed their motor skills, allowing them to become more detail focused.
Slightly more advanced painting and drawing kits, such as painting by numbers sets, are great for engaging children of this age and challenging them.
Sports toys
By the age of 7 a child might be starting to get into team sports and as well enjoying playing and practicing their new hobby they will also show a growing interest in the sport in general.
Feed their interest with toys that allow them to engage with sport, whether that's kit to practice at home like a football and net, books about the sport or buying them the kit of their favourite team.
K’Nex 33122 Building Set
Building toys are often a winner for seven year olds who love the challenge and reward of taking different pieces and creating something new out of them.
K'nex has been around for decades but it's still a bestseller for good reason. Plus. It's a STEM toy- which is great for skills building.
Featured product is available from Amazon for £17.99
Cooking and baking kits
With longer attention spans, a greater ability to follow instructions and understand cause and effect, 7 is a good age to properly introduce children to the wonders of cooking and baking and there are loads of easy kits, sets and accessories you can by for kids to help.
Making and decorating things like cupcakes, biscuits, pasta dishes or homemade pizzas is a great way of inspiring an interest in children and they'll love the sense of accomplishment they get when they see all of the separate ingredients come together into the finish product which they can then eat!
Featured product is available from Not On The HighStreet, £29.95
Lego
Lego is still a failsafe toy for any child aged 7, but gone are the days where you could keep a kid occupied with wooden blocks or Duplo.
Children at this age want to take on the challenge of building toys that are more complex, require more careful thought and planning.
Lego kits are best sellers for this reason, especially ones featuring where kids can build something they are interested in – like cars, castles or a model from a film they enjoy.
Featured product is available from John Lewis, £17.97
Trampoline
A proper trampoline is a big investment as far as toys for seven year olds go, but you can bet that any energetic, outdoors-loving child with just adore their own trampoline and it's something that kids can play on alone or with friends for years and years to come.
Parents worried about safety can have a net installed around the trampoline or have the trampoline sunk into the ground, so it's closer to the floor.
The Rainy Day Craft Hamper
Age suitability: 5 years +
Crafty toys that help children create things are always a great toy or gift to buy kids and at 7, when they have further developed their motor skills and have a longer attention span, they can enjoy kits that are more difficult and require slightly more attention to detail to complete.
Think jewellery making sets, tie-dye art, paper craft packs and more – or just buy a full craft set and let their imaginations run wild.
COST: £44.95 at Amazon
Nerf Vortex Aero Howler
Age suitability: 7 years +
By the age of 7 a child will have become to develop close bonds with their peers, perhaps vocally choosing 'best friends' and certainly participating in a larger friendship group.
Buying them toys that they can play with along with other children is a great way to foster and encourage these friendships and bonds, while providing endless opportunities for kids to play together (and entertain themselves) when they have play dates and hand out outside of school.
COST: £9.99 at John Lewis
Toys to inspire new hobbies and interests
At this age children are developing from being little kids to year 3 primary school children and going through a whole host of changes. As the grow up, their interests will change and this is especially true at 7 when things they may have been obsessed with at 5 or 6 are suddenly ceasing to engage them at all.
Some of the best toys for 7 year olds are kits and sets that have the potential to inspire new hobbies and introduce children to new interests that they are now old enough to grasp. Whether that's science, construction, nature, animals, sports, baking, princesses or something else.
Featured product is available from Amazon for £17.99.