The best toys for three-year-olds

With the must-have accessories you need to settle a baby, the Baby Annabell Leah Doll is incredibly soft to hold, and makes realistic sounds and movements, such as suckling on the dummy.

Mother&Baby writer, Mother of two, Samantha Ball, said: "Growing up I absolutely adored my Baby Annabell and to see how much better the dolls have gotten and to watch my own children play with their own is incredible. My son loves helping my daughter feed and dress the doll, while my daughter loves the realistic noises Baby Annabell makes!"

With wooden accessories and food, this Pizza Toy Shop is a great way to encourage pretend play which can help with fine motor skills and imagination. Your child will have fun adding their own wooden toppings and pretending to cook in the oven.

Review: "Great purchase! My nephews adore preparing pizza for everyone - from taking their order, to preparing it, to delivering and cutting it. Teaches them a lot of valuable skills. Love that they are made of wood, too."

This portable and interactive drawing pad offers endless artistic possibilities. With its vibrant LED screen and easy-to-use stylus, aspiring artists of all ages can sketch, doodle, and bring their imaginations to life anytime, anywhere. It's easy to start a new doodle with a simple push of a button which erases the screen like magic.

This 100 per cent wooden puzzle is simple beautiful. This is one of a range of inclusive puzzles, that come in all different skin tones and shades. This a fantastic way to help children of all ethnicities identify parts of their face and shape.

Mother&Baby writer, Mother of three, Hannah James, said: "When I saw this puzzle, the little girl inside of me screamed with excitement. Growing up, I would have loved a puzzle which looked like me, but more commonly it did not. So I couldn't wait to play with this with my own children. They loved putting the puzzle back together. They were able to correctly identify all of the features and where on the body they went. It is a brilliant present for all children, but especially those from the BAME community."

With this dentist play set, young dentists-in-training can give cleanings, treat cavities, and even fit retainers and braces. Little ones can mark the pretend teeth with "cavity" stickers, then use the vibrating tool with interchangeable polishing and drill heads, and the toothbrush to clean.

Review: "A really lovely toy set which includes realistic items related to dental care. My daughter asked for it for her birthday and has been absolutely obsessed with it since, she has spent hours cleaning the teeth and applying the braces. The toy feels to be of very high quality and sturdy."

This smart robot has over 280 built in images which it can draw all at a touch of a button. It will provide hours of artistic excitement - he even sings while he draws!

Review: "VTech does what it does best create amazing toys, fantastic robot thats sure to keep your kids happy for hours on end. put in a pen and the robot draws for you , amazing quality."

A marvellous musical toy is great for the little Winnie the Pooh fan in your life. This traditional music box is relaxing for little ones. All you need to do is, wind up the music box and watch Pooh Bear and Piglet twirl around to the tune of Brahms Lullaby. This has been made from sustainable wood and has been painted with characters from the Hundred Acre Woods.

Mother&Baby writer, Mother of three, Hannah James, said: "This a beautiful timeless gift that can be enjoyed for generations. Winnie the Pooh is such an iconic and instantly recognisable character even children who haven't read all of the books can enjoy it. It has been beautifully crafted to such a high level. The music, unlike most children's toys, is wonderful. My children and I love listening to it."

Hug-A-Bug World encourages children to enjoy story books with their parents, develop an attachment to the tactical-themed toys and naturally grow their social and emotional skills through the repetitive play of Hug-A-Bug World’s affirming hearts. 

In the Hug-a-Bug World story of I am Unique, Sedric Snail wishes he was more like his friends until he realises how special and unique he really is.

Review: "I think this is such a wonderful concept for little ones and I find the psychology behind it really interesting, instilling positive self-worth and confidence in children."

We love this mini ukulele. This four-string guitar is perfect for little musicians in the making. This wooden musical instrument allows your child a chance to discover new musical notes and sounds.

Review: "Bought for my three-year-old granddaughter and she adores it. It's so colourful too and pleasing to the eye. Great purchase."

Stretchy Worm is a great addition to your child's toy collection and a lovely companion for recreating scenes from the Super Worm book.

Review: "Such a fun stretchy toy. My son loves the book. This made the perfect surprise gift and at a great price. Very happy."

These blocks are easy to grip so that your child can easily pick up and build whatever their imagination lets them. They can even be used with Duplo blocks.

Review: "Fairly big block which is easy to assemble and disassemble. The quality of the material quit good. Most importantly it’s big enough for my kids, there is no chances for kids swallowing it. It’s safe and easy."

Meet a cast of six hungry characters by inserting activity cards to explore colours, counting, flavours and numbers and play a creativity and stacking game. Your little one can follow the animals' instructions and test sequencing, memory and matching skills to build their orders. They can press the bell when the order is ready and pay at the magic till.

Tested by mum Danielle: "Both of my children were thrilled with this toy. It is brightly coloured and is very interactive. If the batteries run out, you can still use all the features. Being a busy mum, battery changing is low on my list of priorities."

All children have a Peppa Pig stage, and this magnetic Peppa Pig dress up set with 26 pieces is perfect for children. It helps children learn how to match items.

Review: "My little girls loves this toy I actually bought another one for my older daughter because she also liked it too."

Explore open-ended creativity and make amazing creations with this Play-Doh variety pack! With four different Play-Doh colours to squish and mould, kids can create all sorts of wonderful 'crafted pieces'. It is packed with Play-Doh potential! This type of hands-on fun helps power imaginations.

Review: "Good value for money, classic playdoh which is perfect for my 3-year-old."

Your child will love learning to steer with this three-wheel scooter. This scooter has a gorgeous Gruffalo print and will be a sure hit with your little one. The best-selling book has become a firm favourite of pre-schoolers and parents alike. The easy steer will help your child to coordinate the scooter and learn how to master the skill of balancing. We love this scooter as it is great exercise and will help to build your little monster's muscles.

Mother&Baby writer, Mother of three, Hannah James, said: " My two sons absolutely love this scooter. It is much easier for them to manoeuvre than a traditional two wheel scooter. It think it is absolutely fantastic. The design is eye-catching and lots of people comment on the fact it has the Gruffalo pattern. The only issue we have is who is going to ride it."

With over 100 felt shapes, children will be able to recreate their favourite scenes from the Gruffalo, sparking their imaginations and encouraging story telling in a fun way.

Review: "Helps to entertain the Granddaughter indoors on rainy days to start to make pictures without the mess with paints. She loves it."

This excellent kit from The Den Kit Company provides everything you need to make a den in your garden for budding pirates. In the kit, you get a sturdy canvas satchel, filled with pirate bunting, a 100 per cent cotton calico tarpaulin, a groundsheet, a wooden mallet, and other essentials for building a brilliant den.

Sophie Knight, mum to Eli (3), says: "I was gifted this for my little boy and it's just wonderful - it's really captured his imagination, and he has as much fun setting the den up as he does playing once he's inside. I've walked the plank many times since we got this kit. It's all of a really high quality and will last a long time - past when he's interested in pirates to when he just wants to escape his parents with his own space in the garden."

This innovative audio player is easy for young children to use and will last them years. It has up to 7 hours portable playing time and you can even personalise messages to be read to your child, or singsongs for them (perfect if they're sleeping out and grandparents and love to hear your voice for a bedtime story!)

Review: "This was a great gift for my nephew for his 3rd birthday. Got the whole family to record stories and send them to me. Then I uploaded them and sent it to him so he could hear his Mam's side of the family, who he doesn't get to see very often. Have maintained access to the character (online account) so I can upload more stories from afar when I want to. He was thrilled to hear everyone."

This smart board box looks just like a traditional book, however, it has a magnetic lid which your child can spend hours working on. This kit is full of magnetic shapes, words and letters that your child will enjoy sticking to the lid. This is the perfect toy for taking out and about because everything can be kept neatly in the board box.

Review: "Wonderful gift for a 3-year-old boy whose older brother (5) loves too!"

Magnetic PlayTiles is a fantastic toy for helping your child develop their creativity skills. It also helps kids build and strengthen their colour and shape recognition abilities, creative thinking, creative problem-solving skills and use of imagination.

Review: "Bought for my three-year-old granddaughter. She absolutely loves it and will sit for hours connecting, building, dismantling and rebuilding objects over and over again. It is great value for money and a great imagination-building exercise toy. Would recommend it without hesitation every single time. I am delighted."

With so many plastic toys on the market, this eco-friendly truck is a breath of fresh air. This toy is ideal for outdoor play. Bioplastic is 100 per cent recyclable but is still designed for durable, long-lasting play. It is made with sustainable plants and thus reduces carbon emissions. 

Review: "This is a genuinely fantastic toy. It’s so sturdy, thoughtfully designed, environmentally friendly and rolls so smoothly. It’s been used inside and outside, carries stones, Pom poms, petals, building blocks and all sorts. Mechanism flawless and colours gorgeous. We’ve since also bought the tractor/digger version and are equally pleased with this - you won’t regret the investment!"