Best outdoor toys for children

Playing in the fresh air is one of the best ways to entertain 3-4 year olds. Scooting to the park, bouncing on a trampoline or getting down and dirty in the garden means hours of fun – and all the mess is outside.

There are many options on the market for garden toys for outdoor play with your child, from cheap and cheerful sandpits to large toys your preschooler can climb on.

Here are BabyCentre's top outdoor toys, found by our editors through research and recommended by parents in the BabyCentre Community.

The best toys for 3-4 year olds – at a glance

• Best outdoor toy for 3 year olds: Scuttlebug
• Best outdoor toy for 4 year olds: Little Tikes Cozy Coupe
• Best children’s sandpit: Chad Valley Apple-Shaped Sandpit
• Best activity gym for 3-4 year olds: Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym
• Best children’s paddling pool: Intex Dinoland Inflatable Water Play Centre

Outdoor toy basics

What you need to know

Whatever the weather, most children love to run around outside and play. It’s a break from their indoor toys and screen time and there’s nothing like fresh air to burn off some of their endless energy. It’s also a welcome space for parents, and keeps play in a place that doesn’t matter how much mess they make.

Mark Austin, Sales Director at Toy World Magazine, says:

"It’s been a great year for outdoor toys, with some warm weather, giving us all the chance to stay outside for longer. Even into the winter months, the weather has been quite mild, meaning more fun and games outdoors!

As well as trampolines, water guns, frisbees and bubbles, toy rockets are fun for children, who love to see something fly into the air, and then compete for the best launch! Bikes and scooters help with fitness and give families the chance to take longer trips together. And electric ride-ons will always be a top choice for parents, as they can start with the remote-controlled element, for safety. Then, once the child is a little older, they can control it themselves."

Having a few garden toys or pieces of equipment for your children to use really adds to the fun. You don’t have to have a large garden or outside space either. It might be some chunky chalks to draw on the back step, a homemade mud kitchen with some old pots and pans, or a bubble wand outside the door.

If you do have an outside area, or a nearby park, running around is great for 3-4 year olds, too. If they have access to a climbing frame and slide, or some play apparatus, it all helps with their physical development, coordination and balance.

If play is focused on items like a sandpit, then you can incorporate small world play with extra toys. Or just filling pots and tipping out sand is great for developing fine motor skills in those little hands.

Just kicking a ball or moving around on a toddler trike will help with coordination. Even using items in your garden can be fun if it's part of an obstacle course. It doesn’t have to mean large pricey equipment to keep them entertained.

Playing outside is great fun, but always keep your child's safety in mind. You can read more about ensuring the safety of your child when outside, but remember garden tools or animal waste may be lurking, especially in sandpits without lids, and gaps in fences or hedges may prove tempting for a curious preschooler.

A young child should never be left alone near water, as even a shallow-filled paddling pool can pose a very dangerous risk. If the sun is shining, then make sure your little one isn’t out for too long and that they’re wearing adequate sun protection and a hat.

The following outdoor toys are great choices in terms of features, quality and value.

Our picks of the best outdoor toys for 3-4 year olds in the UK 2023

Scuttlebug

• Price: from £19.99
• Our pick for: Best outdoor toy for 3 year olds
• Age range: 12 months+ (max weight: 20kg)

These garden-themed trikes aren’t just cute with their insect faces, but are a must among parents and carers for their growing tots. Children can ‘scuttle’ around using their legs to move them before growing into a scooter or balance bike.

Available in four designs of beetle (which looks more like a ladybird), grasshopper, bumblebee and butterfly, your child will be sure to love it and can easily get on and off the simple trike design.

BabyCentre mums and dads also love how they’re not just for outdoor use, but can be used inside to zoom around on without taking up too much space, especially as the Scuttlebug is foldable too. Plus if you decide to brave a trip to the shops with your toddler scuttling along, it’s easy to fold down and put in your buggy basket as soon as they get bored. There’s also an XL version with extendable legs for taller kids.

Heads up

It’s recommended that your little one wears knee, wrist and elbow pads, plus a helmet, while playing with this toy.

BabyCentre parents say

"Scuttlebugs are amazing, they have entertained all my children. I can’t think of any negatives, great for indoor use too and not too expensive."

"This was affordable and keeps him entertained for a while. He plays with it inside the house and outside."

"We have the Scuttlebug and my three-year-old still loves it - he had it for his first birthday. The Scuttlebug has proper wheels and can even be used on grass."

Available from SmythsOpens a new window and other major retailers, including AmazonOpens a new window.

Little Tikes Cozy Coupe

• Price: from £60.00
• Our pick for: Best outdoor toy for 4 year olds
• Age range: 18 months - 5 years

Your child will love the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe car to travel around in. Red and yellow is the classic option, but it’s also available as a police car, fire engine, green grand edition, fairy, pastel pink and blue, black cab as well as a dinosaur version.

It’s not a cheap first vehicle for your toddler, but great for a birthday gift. It’s a popular choice for parents who say it is worth the investment as a sturdy car for toddlers and preschoolers over 18 months, with many still playing with it at four years old.

The swing door is fun for your child to open and close, and it has a working horn and a petrol cap too if they want to pretend to fill it up. Little Tikes even sell a toy petrol pump so your child can really pretend to buy fuel. You can also buy personalised number plates and add-on trailers if they want to carry extra toys while on the go. This is a great high-quality toy, perfect for a gift idea too.

Heads up

This isn’t the cheapest toy car on the market.

BabyCentre parents say

"My eldest got this at one and still loves it at four, and my now one-year-old is loving it too! I thought it was expensive when we first bought it but for the time spent in it and years we’ve had it it’s well worth it! They play traffic jams, driving to the shops, races and practice reverse parking. It’s great for their imaginative play and helps with directions too."

"My son loves the Cozy Coupe! His first word pretty much every day now is ‘car’!"

"My four-year-old still loves the Cozy Coupe."

"I would recommend the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe to anyone stuck for present ideas! My little one loves it. I’ve just picked it up and he's had such a ball all afternoon being pushed around in it."

Available from ArgosOpens a new window and other major retailers, including AmazonOpens a new window.

Chad Valley Apple-Shaped Sandpit

• Price: from £32.99 
• Our pick for: Best children’s sandpit
• Age range: 12 months+

With two apple halves, one for sand and one for water (or whatever you want to add), this sandpit comes at a bargain price for hours of fun. If you just want to use one section, you can use the other side as a lid to stop dirt (or unwanted animals) venturing in.

Available in blue or pink, each side has a large 111-litre capacity so plenty of play opportunities for your children to dig, make sand castles or splash around.

BabyCentre parents are big fans of sandpits saying they keep their little ones entertained for a long time with a few extras like a bucket or bag of toys to drive over the sand, or to bury and find.

Heads up

You don’t get a lid supplied, so if you want to cover one side, you will need to use the other side as a lid.

BabyCentre parents say

"I got my son this and added a bucket and spade. He buries building blocks and tries to pull them out. It’s value for money as it was cheap and will likely be uses for a few years."

"We’ve just got the Chad Valley sandpit and paddling pool - it would be worth it for the sand pit side alone, but the paddling pool is an added bonus!"

"We just got the Chad Valley sandpit for my daughter and she loves it."

Available from AmazonOpens a new window and other major retailers.

Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym

• Price: from £114.99
• Our pick for: Best activity gym for 3-4 year olds
• Age range: 18 months – 5 years

Being able to slide, climb and crawl means this gym offers a lot of play opportunities for your toddler.

Although it’s designed for toddlers aged 18 months and over, many BabyCentre parents said their children were still happy playing up to school age.

Little Tikes play pieces are popular and high quality, and this one is no different. It's sturdy and can stand being climbed over by eager children. A perfect option for a birthday or Christmas gift idea.

Heads up

It isn’t cheap, though can sometimes be found on offer, depending on where you buy.

BabyCentre parents say

"We got this for our eldest child when he was one. He still plays with it at three, nearly four, and now the little one at nearly one is starting to climb and play on it. It’s great for climbing up and around and it can be turned into a den by throwing a sheet over. It doesn’t take up a lot of space, we actually keep ours in the lounge, but it's tough and durable enough to be outside. A great compact slide and climbing space for pre-schoolers."

"The Little Tikes toddler slide is a hit here! She got it for Christmas and loves playing and climbing! She's even mastered the slide now!"

"My son loves the Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym Slide. It's still a favourite now."

Available from VeryOpens a new window and AmazonOpens a new window.

Intex Dinoland Inflatable Water Play Centre

• Price: from £28.99
• Our pick for: Best children’s paddling pool
• Age range: 2 years+ (max weight: 81kg)

This paddling pool takes playing in water to the next level with the slide, coloured balls, inflatable rings, water sprayers and dinos.

Never leave your child alone while in or near the paddling pool.

It’s a good size at 302cm x 229cm, so your preschooler will have lots of room to splash around. It has a drain plug for easy emptying, and even includes a repair patch in case of any mishaps.

Heads up

This isn’t the cheapest paddling pool on the market – but it is bigger than many and has a lot of added extras for the money.

BabyCentre parents say

"We have this paddling pool. So far it’s been used for two summers. She was in it loads in the summer and I have no doubt it will be used lots more by both my little ones."

Available from AmazonOpens a new window.

Want more recommendations?

• See our guides to the best toys for 3-year-olds and 4-year olds.
• Looking for a scooter or bike? Check out the best balance bikes for children.
• Got a birthday coming up? See our ultimate guide to planning kids’ birthday parties.