Best Toys for 9 Year Olds 2025
9 min read
Last Modified 4 July 2025 First Added 4 July 2025
Choosing the best toys for 9 year olds can prove difficult due to their growing sense of independence. One minute, they may want to immerse themselves in a complex, imaginative world; the next, they might simply want to play with your phone. However, understandably, you may want to limit their screen time–these toys are designed to keep them entertained and engaged for longer.
This guide will help you find the right toy for 9 year olds and answer important questions that could steer you in the right direction.
At nine, you start to see your child’s personality coming through. They’ve developed enough skills and interests to shape their wants and needs, meaning they could easily find activities they become obsessed with—whether reading a book series like Harry Potter or playing football. As their friendships become more complex and shaped by this, so do their interests.
The question has no correct answer as it’s purely based on what your kid is passionate about. If they prefer learning new topics to playing outside, you could find educational toys that truly engage them. If they are more active or energetic, you may want to look at outdoor toys so they can adventure outside while burning off all that extra energy.
Absolutely not. Whilst the way that 9 year olds play will differ from how they played when they were younger, there’s no reason they can’t still enjoy playing with toys. It’s less about simple make-believe and more about projects, challenges, and creation. The best toys for 9 year olds aren’t simple; they give them a challenge or project they can sink their teeth into or an activity that can absorb them for hours. If anything, you could argue that a 9 year old gets more enjoyment from toys than they did when younger, as the toys they play with now are based on their own likes and interests.
It can be challenging to find the perfect birthday present for your kid. Our best advice is to focus on giving them an experience—don’t just think of it as an object they can use to keep them entertained for a few hours. What kind of toy will help them feel proud or accomplished? What type of toy will teach them valuable facts about the world? Or what toy would they just really enjoy playing with?
Sometimes, the most memorable gifts are family board games that everyone can enjoy or challenging problem-solving toys that will take them a while to master. Gift-giving is about understanding where they are in development, leaning into their interests and finding an experience they will love!
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM learning is based on finding interesting and practical toys that can further your child’s education about topics to develop their own understanding. The best STEM toys for 9 year olds are complex and teach your child about resilience, as there’s a good chance they may not get everything right the first time they interact with the toy.
But that’s okay! In fact, learning how to build the toy and get it to work is part of the joy of playing with them. A good science kit isn’t just about the fizzing potion at the end – it’s about understanding how that happens. It teaches patience and critical thinking. These educational toys aim to build their confidence and problem-solving skills, so they can start trusting their instincts based on their understanding.
The best outdoor toys for 9 year olds are based on finding easy and fun ways to use their incredible energy. Outdoor play at this age is about your kids learning their own limits and building confidence from understanding what they can and can’t do. Outdoor physical activities can help develop their gross motor skills by relying on their balance and coordination.
If you’re looking for the best ride on toys for 9 year olds, we have a wide selection of ride ons and bikes that your kid will love! As they get to this age, it’s crucial to let them explore more of the world with family and friends to develop that growing sense of independence.
The best construction toys for 9 year olds should build on the skills they’ve developed by providing them with more challenging and complex designs. They may prefer intricate building sets that require intense focus or open-ended construction toys that are more centred around imaginative play – either way, this kind of play is excellent for developing their fine motor skills and understanding their spatial awareness.
The best creative toys for 9 year olds give them different avenues to tell their stories or express themselves in a unique and fun way. If your child is creative, you can find toys that combine their interests with new skills. A stop-motion kit, for instance, can turn their love of building sets or action figures into an epic movie they direct themselves. These types of educational toys are based on developing your child’s voice by giving them ways to express their unique perspective on the world.
Screen time is an understandable concern, but the best electronic toys for 9 year olds encourage active participation rather than passive watching. These toys feed into their growing imaginations, helping them play in new and interesting ways. The electronic nature of these toys adds to their charm and versatility.
Many electronic toys are pet-based, for example. Toys like this can help children understand how to care for something and develop essential traits like responsibility and empathy towards other creatures. These types of toys have many benefits, so if you’re worried about screen time, we recommend looking into the benefits of the toy before making a purchasing decision.
If you’re still struggling to know what to get them, think about your child’s personality. You know them better than anyone, and so you will know what they like and don’t like doing. Do they want to play alone, or are they more open to playing as a team? Do they enjoy imaginative play, or do they prefer problem-solving puzzles? Ultimately, the goal is to find something that respects their growing intelligence and independence. The very best toys for 9 year olds are the ones that make them feel seen and challenged, showing them that they are capable of amazing things.
To learn more about our range, check out our toys for 9 year olds.
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