14 November 2021 by Calan
This post is part of a series based on research into the toys, games, activities and gifts for children. We asked 1,515 British mums to complete a questionnaire, and for this question we were looking to identify their favourite games and activities at different ages.
Over time we are going to expand this research, adding to the level of detail. If you’d like to take part in future and receive a copy of the results, please subscribe to our blog using the form on this page and we’ll include you in the next questionnaire.
Download the full spreadsheet
While the results appear in this series of posts, what is really interesting is to see the lists horizontally side by side, as it shows how the popularity of particular games and activities changes as a child gets older. You can download a copy of the full spreadsheet by subscribing to our blog using the form on this page.
Child favourites are good for development
As you'll read in the next post on the games and activities that have had the biggest impact on child development, reading books and singing are highly regarded, and they also top the lists of favourite activities for young children.
If you think of a baby as starting life with a completely blank slate, it makes sense that they favour the activities that help them develop and learn the fastest. My youngest has just passed her first birthday and loves unpacking pots and taking everything out the fridge.
Peekaboo
Peekaboo features very high in babies under 2 years old. According to Wikipedia, Peekaboo demonstrates an infant's inability to understand object permanence, an important stage of cognitive development for infants that is typically achieved at eight to nine months of age. For a young baby, revealing your face after hiding behind a pillow seems like magic, until they're old enough to understand that your face hadn't actually disappeared.
Hide-and-seek, crafts and puzzles
Hide-and-seek is another favourite with kids up to 6 years old, as is playing in the park and various crafts. Puzzles feature very high on the lists and are also mentioned a lot in activities that support child development. Imaginative role play is the most popular with 3-5 year olds.
Children’s favourite games and activities
Within each age-group heading I’ve indicated the number of children that participated in the questionnaire, and within each list I’ve highlighted the total number of times the game/activity appears in the list.
6-12 months (66 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Knocking down towers | 11 |
Opening and closing doors | 11 |
Climbing | 10 |
Peekaboo | 9 |
Rough play (being thrown, tickling, bouncing) | 9 |
Bath time | 7 |
Reading books | 7 |
Clapping | 6 |
Hide-and-seek | 5 |
Looking in the mirror | 4 |
12-18 months (84 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Singing and dancing | 47 |
Peekaboo | 25 |
Reading books | 21 |
Chasing/running | 12 |
Building blocks | 11 |
Hide-and-seek | 9 |
Opening and closing doors | 9 |
Opening kitchen cupboards | 8 |
18-24 months (108 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Singing and dancing | 24 |
Reading books | 18 |
Building blocks | 15 |
Peekaboo | 15 |
Playing in the park/garden | 12 |
Shape sorters | 12 |
Chasing/running | 9 |
Destroying towers | 9 |
Puzzles | 9 |
Climbing | 9 |
Ride on toys | 9 |
Swimming | 9 |
Hide-and-seek | 6 |
Stacking cups | 6 |
24-30 months (135 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Singing and dancing | 63 |
Hide-and-seek | 24 |
Art and crafts | 22 |
Building structures | 21 |
TV nursery rhymes | 21 |
Playing in the park/garden | 20 |
Reading books | 18 |
Puzzles | 18 |
30-36 months (141 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Playing in the park/garden | 54 |
Singing and dancing | 51 |
Hide-and-seek | 30 |
Building structures | 27 |
Arts and crafts | 18 |
Reading books | 18 |
Puzzles | 18 |
Kicking balls | 15 |
Trampolining | 12 |
3-4 years (234 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Imaginative role play | 63 |
Art and crafts | 54 |
Playing in the park/garden | 54 |
Reading books | 42 |
Building structures | 36 |
Hide-and-seek | 33 |
Singing and dancing | 33 |
Puzzles | 30 |
Biking | 21 |
Swimming | 18 |
Scooting | 15 |
Alphabet games | 12 |
Football | 12 |
Climbing | 9 |
Dressing up | 9 |
4-5 years (198 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Arts and crafts | 84 |
Imaginative role play | 66 |
Building structures | 51 |
Playing in the park/garden | 48 |
Board games | 30 |
Puzzles | 24 |
Hide-and-seek | 21 |
Reading | 18 |
Swimming | 15 |
5-6 years (135 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Building structures | 51 |
Arts and crafts | 37 |
Board games | 36 |
Imaginative role play | 33 |
Hide-and-seek | 18 |
Puzzles | 18 |
Football | 17 |
iPad games | 10 |
Gymnastics | 9 |
Trampolining | 9 |
6-7 years (123 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Arts and crafts | 63 |
Building structures | 54 |
Board games | 24 |
Football | 24 |
Imaginative role play | 21 |
Swimming | 12 |
7-8 years (90 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Board games | 24 |
Biking | 24 |
Building structures | 21 |
Imaginative role play | 21 |
Arts and crafts | 15 |
Football | 15 |
Gymnastics | 12 |
8-10 years (114 children)
Toy | Total |
---|---|
Building structures | 42 |
Football | 36 |
Singing and dancing | 21 |
Arts and crafts | 16 |
Board games | 15 |
Trampolining | 15 |
Xbox | 15 |
Reading | 13 |
Swimming | 12 |
10-13 years (87 children)
While this age group was included in the study, the results were limited due to a lot of parents not completing this question. We've therefore chosen to leave it out but may include it once we have more data.
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