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Are you looking for the best toy kitchen for 4 year old chef?
Here are highly rated kitchen sets that provide years of fun.
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A Word from a Psychologist
Written By: Psychologist Natasha Tanic
- Play kitchens are one of the best dramatic play toys that boost the child’s social development, language, and problem-solving skills
- Play kitchen sets are great for promoting creativity, imagination, and independence
Play Kitchens Benefit Every Aspect of a Child’s Development
Except for endless fun, play kitchens for four year olds provide many learning and developmental benefits.
Such toys allow children to learn about healthy food choices, practice counting, colors, replicate everyday situations, and explore social roles.
Playing with a play kitchen can also boost your child’s language, fine motor skills, social skills, encourage cooperation and communication, and teach your child how to solve conflicts.
Top Picks
Our top pick: Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen – that 50’s vibe is just adorable!
Second place: Kidkraft Grand Gourmet Corner Kitchen
Third place: Kidkraft Large Kitchen
Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen
The Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen (also comes in pink) is a great old fashioned looking kitchen that your 3 or 4 year old will love playing with.
This toy kitchen comes with a stove, a removable sink, a fridge, an ice dispenser, a cordless phone, and a microwave.
The kitchen has doors that open and close and knobs that click when they are turned, which makes for more realistic play for your child.
The kitchen comes made from particle board with an attachment that allows you to attach the kitchen to the wall.
It does take a bit of time to assemble, but parents shared that it is time well spent, as the kitchen is sturdy and great looking once assembled.
Once completed, this play kitchen measures 33 inches X 13 inches X 35.75 inches, making it a great kitchen for homes that have limited space.
One of the great things about this kitchen is that the style and color reminds one of a 1950’s diner.
The Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen is a great toy kitchen for parents who are looking for a kitchen that takes up a little less room.
Why We Recommend The Kidkraft Red Retro Kitchen
- Enough features to make this a fun kitchen for your child to play with
- Ideal for apartments and smaller homes
- Made from good quality materials
- Parents like the attachment that allows them to attach the kitchen to the wall, making it safer for their child.
- Has great details even though small children may not notice, but parents love them
- Perfect for group play for your three year old to enjoy with toddlers friends or siblings
Kidkraft Grand Gourmet Corner Kitchen
The Kidkraft Grand Gourmet Corner Kitchen kitchen will make any blossoming little cook feel as though they’ve won the toy kitchen lottery!
As the name suggests, this KidKraft play kitchen is designed to fit in the corner of a room, against the wall.
It’s ideal for smaller spaces.
This delightful kitchen is fully loaded! It comes with a dishwasher, oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, cloth curtains, and a sink that’s removable for quick and easy cleaning.
All of the appliance doors open and close and that’s something kids really love.
It also comes with a pot, a pan, 2 spatulas, two hanging pegs, storage shelves, a chalk board, a cell phone, and an ice dispenser.
Right out of the box, your child will have everything they need to start their pretend play cooking adventures in this wonderful corner kitchen.
And the great thing is that it’s large enough for two kids to play in at the same time.
Size wise, from the right side to the middle of this kitchen measures 34.7 inches and from the middle to the left side measures 36.5 inches.
Parents find that this kitchen does take some time to assemble, in most cases several hours, but they think the time invested is well worth it as their child can play with this kitchen for several years.
Parents like that this kitchen sits nicely in a corner, which is great for smaller spaces and actually makes it more stable than some of the other toy kitchens on the market.
Recommended for kids 3+, with all the awesome features this KidKraft kitchen has, it’s easy to see why it made our list of the best toy kitchen for 4 year old kids.
This Grand Gourmet Corner Kitchen will have your child cooking up a storm and feeling like a real chef!
Why We Recommend The Kidkraft Grand Gourmet Corner Kitchen
- Big enough for two kids to play in at once, so it’s great for cooperative play and will help develop your child’s social skills
- Encourages imaginative play as your child can play restaurant, home cook or master chef
- Parents find that the instructions for assembly are easy to follow even though the assembly itself takes some time
- Made from wood, this corner kitchen is sturdy and durable and designed to hold up for years of use
- This kitchen is made to grow with your child so they can play with it year after year
KidKraft Large Kitchen
Your aspiring little chef will have fun cooking up some wonderful imaginary feasts in this awesome KidKraft Large Kitchen!
With tons lots of interactive features, such as turning knobs and doors that open and close, it’s not hard to see why this one made our best toy kitchen for 4 year olds list.
It features a fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, and storage cabinets above and below the sink. We love the see through doors on the stove and microwave.
Also included is a cordless phone, a removable sink for easy cleaning, and hooks to hold the included potholder, spoon and spatula.
For even more pretend play fun, many parents bought a set of toy dishes and food to go along with this KidKraft kitchen.
With knobs on the stove and oven that click when they’re turned, this delightful play kitchen for kids is ideal for encouraging imaginative play!
And when playtime is over, there’s plenty of cupboard space to fit everything in for easy clean up and storage.
It measures 42.2 inches X 16.2 inches X 42.9 inches, so there’s plenty of room for two or three kids to play together, which is a great way to develop your child’s social and sharing skills.
Made from fiber board and PVC, it takes 3-4 hours to assemble but once done, it’s very sturdy and durable enough to last for years.
This kids play kitchen is sure to spark your child’s culinary imagination and inspire them to whip up some delightful pretend meals for friends and family!
Why We Recommend The KidKraft Large Kitchen
- Enough room for multiple kids to play in at once, so it can help to develop your child’s sharing and social skills
- Kids love the bright colors
- Has doors that open and close and knobs that turn, which help improve your child’s fine motor skills
- Lots of cupboard space to make clean up and storage easy and convenient
- Well constructed and sturdy enough to last for years
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I ensure my child’s play kitchen is safe?
Ensure the plastic ‘foods’ in the play kitchen are age-appropriate – they should be large enough and not easy to be swallowed to reduce risk of choking.
Let play remain in the play kitchen/play area – avoid having knives and forks spread out beyond the play area.
Finally, ensure they do not have access to real utensils.
What age are play kitchens appropriate for?
Most play kitchens are recommended for kids aged 3 years and above.
How do play kitchens help kids?
Play kitchens help kids improve their fine motor skills, achieve greater independence, learn how to pretend play and engage in imaginative play.
It also teaches them teamwork, responsibility for their stuff and nurtures organizational skills.
Are play kitchens the same as Montessori kitchens?
No, Montessori play kitchens are different from “regular” play kitchens and well worth looking into.
A Montessori kitchen is a functional space that allows children to experiment with cooking and cleaning tasks.
On the other hand, a play kitchen basically gives children a space to pretend play cooking and cleaning.