Experts from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) concur: “The less a toy does, the more the child can do with it,” according to ASHA. With a little bit of elbow grease (and their own tools), kids can put together these dinos that have moveable joints. This dinosaur toy pack includes four iconic species: the Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, Spinosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus. If your child isn’t into dinosaurs or you just want to offer them a more open-ended building experience, you may want to try the ETI Toys Lil’ Engineers set.

If that’s not enough to teach the power of hard work, the set also includes two manual screwdrivers to put the pieces together. If he has all six dinosaurs out and he isn’t parent-directed, it quickly turns into a demolition derby situation, which is a blast for him. According to a 2016 study published in JAMA Pediatrics, electronic toys—talking farms, baby laptops, baby cellphones, for example—were associated with decreased quantity and quality of language input compared with books or toys that don’t make noise. Packed with a variety of features and carefully designed for safety, this set offers endless entertainment while fostering important developmental skills. ToyVelt’s Take Apart Dinosaurs are meant for children ages 3 and up and are designed to help them develop problem solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and patience.

This drill not only serves as an assembly tool but can also be used as a standalone toy, providing additional play value. The dinosaurs and the tools don’t feel incredibly sturdy and there are complaints of the screwdrivers breaking, so we aren’t sure if these dinosaurs will ever secure hand-me-down status, but they’d be great as a party favor, especially for a dinosaur-themed party. For the younger crowd, it’s best as a parent-led activity, but for older kids, these dinos could provide hours of entertainment. This STEM-friendly set—Tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, and velociraptor—helps teach motor and problem-solving skills, complete with a small kid-safe power drill. The first dinosaur in the collection is equipped with pulleys in its feet, allowing it to slide effortlessly.

With their multicolored and realistic designs, these dinosaurs instantly grab children’s attention, stimulating their creativity and imagination. However, the screws are tiny, so if your child still likes to put things in their mouth, make sure you watch them closely while playing with this toy. But, toys can be educational even if they’re not billed as such and they can help with motor skills development (making dinos stand up in preparation for an attack?What’s nice about this set is it taps into a number of play areas, so to speak, including motor skills and creativity. Thankfully, we anticipated that might happen, so we did a little prep work before introducing him to this toy.

Introducing the FancyWhoop Take Apart Dinosaur toy set, designed to captivate the imagination of children while fostering valuable developmental skills. Despite newer models and options being available, we still feel confident that this product is one of the best choices, and therefore have included it in The Best Toys for 3-Year-Olds. We have a set similar to this one that comes with a play mat, which my kids also fill with cars, making for a great conversation starter.Lessons in cause and effect, gravity, spatial reasoning, and even math happen while building with blocks and construction sets.