Mom Tested
Featured
- Age 3
- Age 4
- Age 5
- Fine Motor
- Social
- +1
72PCS Fire Station Wooden Train Track Electric Train Set, Gift Packed Toy Railway Kits for Kids, Toddler Boys and Girls 3,4,5 Years Old and Up
Toys for Social-Emotional Skills
Big feelings and first friendships are some of the hardest — and most important — things little ones learn. These toys help children practice sharing, turn-taking, naming emotions, and caring for others through play.
Pretend play, cooperative games, and feelings-focused toys give children a safe, joyful way to rehearse empathy and self-regulation — the social-emotional skills behind every classroom and friendship to come.
Mom TestedFeatured- Age 2
- Age 3
- Age 4
- +1
- Fine Motor
- Cognitive
- +4
Set 100pcs Magnet Building Tiles Clear Magnetic 3D Blocks Construction Playboards, Creativity Beyond Imagination, Inspirational, Recreational, Educational Conventional
Mom TestedFeatured- Age 3
- Age 4
- Age 5
- Gross Motor
- Balance & Coordination
- +4
Air Rocket Toy – Ultimate LED Rocket Launcher for Kids, Jump and Launch the Light Up, Air Powered, Foam Tipped Rockets up to 100 Feet
Mom TestedFeatured- Age 3
- Age 4
- Language & Communication
- Emotional
- +1
Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles- Secondary Emotions, Toddler Sensory Toys, Quiet Fidgets for Classroom, Calm Down Corner Supplies, Social Emotional Learning, Mindfulness for Kids
Featured- Age 3
- Age 4
- Language & Communication
- Emotional
Mom TestedFeatured
Mom Tested- Age 3
- Age 4
- Age 5
- Gross Motor
- Balance & Coordination
- +2
Balance & Groove Set - Balance Beam for Kids - Musical Games & Activities - 5 Sensory Stones, 8 Wavy Beams & 1 Musical Pod - Indoor Active Play - 3 Years +
Common questions
What toys help with social-emotional development?
Toys that invite pretend, cooperation, and feelings talk: dolls and play sets for nurturing, cooperative board games for turn-taking, and feelings-focused toys like emotion cards or calm-down tools for naming and managing emotions.
How do toys help children manage big emotions?
By giving them a gentle way to practice. Feelings toys help children name what they feel; calm-down and sensory tools offer a strategy to settle; and pretend play lets them rehearse big moments safely. Naming and practicing, with a caring adult nearby, is how self-regulation grows.
What toys help toddlers learn to share?
Turn-taking and cooperative play are the practice ground: simple board games, building together, and pretend play where toys are passed and roles are swapped. Sharing is genuinely hard for little ones — these toys make the practice playful and low-stakes.
How does pretend play support social skills?
Pretend play lets children try on roles — caregiver, friend, helper — and rehearse empathy, problem-solving, and conversation. Feeding a doll or running a pretend shop builds the perspective-taking behind real friendships.
What are good toys for building empathy?
Dolls and stuffed animals to care for, play sets that involve helping others, and books and games about feelings. They give children gentle practice noticing and responding to what someone else needs.