If you have a tiny 4-year-old preschooler of your own, you would know that they are incredible, energetic, jolly, enthusiastic, and always in search of new knowledge.
In fact, most children during the preschool stage of development often gain self-control and develop a creative imagination.
By age 4 your child is embarking on a journey of developing the foundations of their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills and often requires external meaningful stimuli for holistic development.
While board games or toys aren’t associated with facilitating cognitive and academic development in children, believe it or not, they are a great way of promoting children to broaden their horizons.
Board games are fun, engaging, and definitely thrilling especially when you have friends or family over!
But have you ever heard of board games for preschoolers or 4-year-olds? Yes, there are myriads of board games curated for children who are 4 years of age that provide them with age-appropriate knowledge and stimuli.
If you are a parent who wants to incorporate fun, engaging, and exciting board games that stimulate your child’s senses and broaden their horizons, keep reading.
Why are Board Games important for 4-year-olds?
Ever heard of development through open-ended play? Believe it or not but there is a wide range of toys in the market that promote holistic development in children from the youngest age.
Children from 4 years begin to develop longer attention and often benefit from partaking in tasks that require longer periods of focus.
In fact, the average attention span of a 4-year-old preschooler is somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes, which is significantly higher than that of two or three-year-olds who have an average attention span of 2 to 3 minutes.
Thus it is essential to take the needs and requirements of this stage of development into account and provide your child with the best toys that integrate appropriate stimuli.
Board games and puzzles are a fun way to incorporate age-appropriate engaging stimuli that keeps your child entertained for hours on end.
Board games are a fun and exciting way of acquainting the child with a broad range of topics and concepts.
Boards incorporate detailed rules and opportunities to collaborate or cooperate with other players that help with not only cognitive development but also social development in children.
Here is a list of some important skills your 4-year-old can develop when they play interactive board games:
- Problem-solving skills
- Turn-taking
- Collaboration and cooperation
- Fine Motor Skills
- Math Skills
- Literary Skills
- Sportsmanship
- Teamwork
A List of the Best Board Games for 4-year-olds:
Board games for 4-year-olds? Yes, you read it right, there are some really fun and engaging board games available in the market that not only keep your preschooler for hours on end but also promote holistic development.
To help you choose the right Board Game for your child’s age-appropriate needs and requirements here is a specifically curated list of the best board games for 4-year-olds:
The Ladybug Game:
Help the cute little Lady Bugs find their way back home with the help of this wonderful board game!
As this game was developed by a 1st grader, The LadyBug Board Game is a great introductory board game for your preschooler.
This Board Game is colorful, bright, vibrant, and definitely suitable for beginners as it is fairly easy in terms of its instructions.
Features of the game:
- Ages 3 and up
- Interactive play
- No reading Materials
- 2 to 4 players
- Mathematics Concepts
- 20-minute playtime
Connect 4:
Promote your child to develop problem-solving skills with the game Connect 4! This wonderful board game is a great way to develop hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills in children.
Whether you go up, down, vertically, horizontally, or even diagonally, you connect the four discs of the same color and you win!
With simple rules, instructions, and vivid colors, Connect 4 is a great game for preschoolers and 4-year-olds.
Features of the game:
- Develops Counting Skills
- Develops Critical Thinking
- Meant for children 4 and up
- Meant for 2 players
Zingo:
Zingo is a super fun board game targeted at all ages, however, it is incredibly great for children who are 4 years of age.
With the help of Zingo, the child develops the requisite to read by word and object association, as well as develop the skill of visual discrimination.
The concept of the game Zingo is similar to the traditional game of Bingo which promotes children to match object cards with their corresponding or matching cards.
Features of the game:
- Meant for ages 4 to 10 years
- Develops critical skills
- Meant for up to 7 players
- Simple and clear instructions
Smart Games-Little Red Riding Hood:
Bring a fairytale into reality with this wonderful and interactive Smart Games Little Red Riding Hood board game.
This wonderful game incorporates figurines that are to be meticulously arranged on the board which helps develop spatial awareness, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and perseverance in children.
The child is encouraged to take the little red riding hood figurine to the grandma’s house by problem-solving and critical thinking.
Features of the game:
- Building Board game
- Meant for ages 4 years and up
- Meant for 1 player
- Interactive play
- Includes 4 different skill levels
Hi Ho Cherry O:
At first glance the board game Hi Ho Cherry O may seem to be as simple as picking up cherries, however, this amazing interactive game allows children to develop basic math skills of addition and subtraction.
Children are promoted to pick up different fruits like apples, berries, and cherries from the tree and fill their baskets, the child with the most fruits wins!
Features of the game:
- Simple instructions
- No reading Material Required
- Great for beginners
- Meant for 2 to 3 players
Disney Classic Characters Matching Game:
Matching object cards is a great way of developing visual discrimination skills in children.
The Wonder Forge Disney Classic Characters Matching Game is perfect for both Boys and Girls.
This wonderful board game incorporates two sets of corresponding cards that have some familiar classic Disney characters that your child will instantly recognize.
The objective of the game is as simple as matching the cards fashioning the same Disney character and the child with the most matched sets wins.
This wonderful game develops the child’s memory, focus, and attention span and is great for children who have just turned 4 years of age.
Pete the Cat the Missing Cupcakes:
Join the team of Pete the Cat and his friend to get back their tasty missing cupcakes from the angry, Grumpy Toad.
This board game is more than a few pegs on a board, it develops the child’s gross motor skills by taking them outside, jumping, singing, dancing, and collecting colorful cupcakes.
The board game Pete the Cat the Missing Cupcakes also develops hand-eye coordination, visual discrimination, and literary skills by introducing the child to new vocabulary.
Features of the game:
- Meant for ages 3 years and up
- Meant for up to 2 to 4 players
- Colorful, Vibrant Interactive Play
- Manufactured by Briarpatch
- Good Quality board Game for Preschoolers
- Suitable for beginners
Dr. Seuss Matching Game:
Just like the Disney Classic Characters Matching Game, the Dr. Sues Matching Game is a fun interactive matching board game meant for preschoolers.
This wonderful, vibrant, and colorful board game comes with sets of matching cards that fashion your child’s favorite characters from Dr. Seuss’s Show Cat in the Hat.
Features of the game:
- Develops the child’s memory and attention span
- Matching card game
- Meant for multiple players
Alphabet Bingo:
Develop a firm foundation of literacy skills in your child by introducing the alphabet to them from a very young age.
Alphabet Bingo is a new and unique take on the traditional Bingo Game where instead of basic numbers imprinted on the cards, the child has to select alphabets and the first one to call Bingo wins.
This Game is great for object recognition, word association visual discrimination and develops the child’s fine motor skills.
Features of the game:
- Meant for 2 players or more
- Creative and Interactive Play
- Meant for ages 4 and up
Hoot Owl Hoot:
Hoot Owl Hoot is a fun, interactive, creative, and award-winning matching game manufactured for preschoolers.
The child has to help the owls find their way back home to their nest before the sun comes up.
This Game is a great way of promoting the child to develop sportsmanship, teamwork, and cooperative and collaborative skills as it allows the child to work in unison.
Features of the game:
- Meant for 2 to 4 players
- No reading material required
- Develops social skills