11 Best Toy Guitars For Kids + Toddlers | SAFETY TIP TO READ BEFORE BUYING!!

When it comes to choosing the best toy guitars for kids, you'll want to focus on the child's age, skill level, and interest. Babies and toddlers tend to be rougher on their toys and prefer fun gimmicks, while preschoolers and older kids should be paired with a guitar that's engaging, but not too challenging. Discover our favorites, plus tips for helping you choose and a little guitar FAQ on sizing and picks by age!

Selecting a toy guitar, or mini beginner guitar, for a child can be overwhelming. We'll cover the best toy guitars for babies, toddlers, and kids – plus when to buy a real acoustic or electric guitar, kids guitar sizing guide, and more!

A toy guitar is a fantastic musical instrument to help children develop. Music has often been associated with higher levels of intelligence and the ability to unlock your child’s imagination.

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Overall Best Kids Guitars: Loog Acoustic + Electric Guitar for Children and Beginners

The Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar is one of the best guitars thats a hybrid of a classical guitar and toy. Made of real wood with nylon strings and also comes in an electric version! The mini three-string design is a beginner-friendly twist that even young players can enjoy! Plus it comes with flashcards and chord diagrams and the Loog Guitar app to help your child start learning real lessons about music.

The best thing about Loog, aside from making great guitars for small hands, is that they have every type of guitar to grow with your child from with increasing four strings or up to your standard 6 string guitar and picks by handedness to ensure the perfect fit.

Furhtermore, they have suggestions by age if you feel unsure of what to get.

If you follow Montessori at Home, this is going to be the best option on the list for little hands coming in with options as small as 22″ inch long for toddlers. We love it because there's no “toy noise” and it just a fosters a love of music and learning (parents will thank us for that!).

We chose it as the winner given the price point, complete range of products for toddlers through big kids, with acoustic and electric guitar options.

Plus,it's definitely the most beautiful guitar on the list in my opinion and it comes in green blue, pink, black, red, yellow, and white color!

Best Toy Guitar For Babies: Baby Einstein Together in Tune Guitar​

The Baby Einstein Together in Tune guitar is great for babies 12 months and up. A beautiful combination of plastic, wood and colorful painted on accents, the touch activated guitar plays real guitar sounds with a low/high volume control.

The buttonless design makes it easy to use and to wipe clean with littles too.

Runner Up Toy Guitar For Babies: VTech Zoo Jamz Guitar

Runner Up Best Toy Guitar for Young Toddlers: Battat Lil' Rockers Guitar Music Toy

Battat Lil' Rockers Toy Guitar is one of the best toddler guitars thanks to its interactive buttons, pluckable strings, and little rock star feel. It’s also one of our top picks when it comes to a great price!

Aside from the electric vs acoustic setting, it includes a whammy bar, five different chords, and a music book for them to learn as they grow. It really is an excellent choice!

Additionally, it comes in learning mod for beginners and band mode which has the options for slow or faster tempos.

Best Electric Rockstar Toy Guitar: KidKraft Lil' Symphony Electric Guitar

It's packed with fun features. In the first mode, each blue button plays a different guitar rift. The second mode follows musical notes scales. When you push them they blend more like an electronic keyboard, than guitar riff though.

Additionally, there's a strum switch which does create that “strumming” sound that was missing from the second mode, and the whammy bar wails when you push it for a real rock star effect. Lastly, there are two preprogrammed drum beats.

Best Toy Guitar For Musical Exploration: VTech Strum and Jam Kidi Musical Guitar Band 

Best Toy Guitar And Microphone: Best Choice Products

Best Choice's electric guitar and microphone set comes in pink and blue, with flashy lights that are sure to make any child feel like a rockstar.

The major downside to this set, is that the microphone only works while plugged into the guitar. The wires may get a little frustrating if your rockstar prefers to jam out while performing. In which case we suggest opting for a separate toddler microphone and guitar from this list.

How to choose a guitar for a child

Types of Guitars For Kids:

Toy Guitars:

Toy guitars are a fantastic option for babies and toddlers who tend to be rougher on items. Many toy guitars are made from plastic, which makes them a durable option and easy to clean. Plus they are typically more budget friendly than an acoustic or electric guitar.

Toy guitars have so many benefits and can help your child develop a slew of skills too.

Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination are often cited as the most notable skills children work on with toy guitars. However, toddlers and babies are also learning about cause-and-effect, color recognition, and sequencing (early math skill!). Plus listening to the music on the pre-programmed toy guitars can develop not only a love of music, but also helps the brain build pathways for early literacy, memory, and so much more!

With that said, toy guitars don't typically last past the preschool years. They also tend to be noisey, require batteries, and often prioritize pushing a button over fine motor skills, so you need to keep that in mind when selecting one!

Acoustic Guitars:

Acoustic guitars make greater starter guitars for kids if you want to graduate from a toy guitar or skip the toy guitar altogether. They don't require an amp or plugins or extra tuners and are often cheaper than an electric guitar. They provide the real guitar experience, and all of the same benefits previously noted about toy guitars.

Electric Guitars:

Electric Guitars are often the priciest guitar option, making it not the best choice for babies or toddlers – we'd recommend the rock-n-roll electric toy guitars noted above instead for that age group! In addition to the cost of the guitar, you'll also need an amp and other accessories.

But electric guitars tend to be more comfortable to play than acoustic guitars. The strings require less pressure to make noise, and tend to be lower on the guitar, making it easier for little fingers to reach.

How do you pick the right size of guitar for your child? Kids’ Guitar Sizing Guide:

It's crucial to buy the right size guitar for your kid! Sure, your child is going to have preferences about the guitar color, guitar sounds, and even the pre-programmed guitar songs. But none of this will really matter if the guitar is too big or too small for them to really use.

For Toy Guitars:

For the toy guitars that are suitable for children six months to four years of age, guitar sizes can vary dramatically from toy to toy and manufacturer to manufacturer. We recommend staying below 31 inches when selecting a toy guitar, with the ideal size being around 21 inches for toddlers toy guitars.

Most toddlers play guitar in their laps or on the floor, so it doesn't need to be perfect until you are looking to upgrade.

Many children who start with a toy guitar eventually graduate to using a real guitar. And once you are buying real guitars (typically when the child is at least four years old), there are four sizes of guitar that you’ll need to understand.

For real guitars:

This guitar sizing guide will give you any ans

• 1/4 guitar (~30 inch) works best for kids aged four to six years old typically
• 1/2 guitars (~34 inch guitars) works best for children between five and eight years old typically
• 3/4 guitar (~36 inch guitars) typically works best for 8-11 years old
• 7/8 guitar (~37 inch) most people skip this, though it works well for teens and young adults or petite women (source)
• 4/4 guitar (~40 inch) this is a standard guitar that adults use too. Many kids can begin using this around 12 years old. We'd suggest visiting a guitar shop before purchasing. If it doesn't feel quite right, consider the 7/8 guitar.

Think of guitars like children themselves. Just like there is no description that we can apply to every single child on the planet, there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” guitar for every child.

FAQs about toy guitars for toddlers and kids:

Are toy guitars safe?

Generally speaking, toy guitars are safe. However you'll want to cut the guitar strap off if it comes with one to avoid your child accidentally wrapping it around their neck and choking.

What age is appropriate for guitar?

Whenever your child starts to show an interest is an appripriate age for a guitar!

Toy guitars come in a variety of challenge levels and designs to meet your kid where they are at.

For instance, a toy guitar for a baby ideally as preloaded music, works a couple fine motor skills, and has a volume control for mom and dad.

Toddlers and preschoolers can handle more challenge with real strings generating the sound themselves. We love the Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar over the one's with push button options for this age and beyond as it encourages actual cognitive development and learning.

With that said, we all know it's just fun to rock out sometimes, in which case toy guitars with lights and whammy bars are definitely where it's at!

Can a 2 year old play guitar?

The short answer to this question is “no.” That’s because a child at this age doesn’t really have the fine motor control to play a real guitar.

However, it’s never too early to foster your child’s love of music and musical imagination with a good toy guitar. Just as every master painter starts out scribbling simple drawings with crayons, your future musical prodigy may well start out with a guitar shaped like a dog or giraffe.

Can a 3 year old play guitar?

While a three-year-old has better motor control and mental development than a two-year-old, it is still not enough to handle a real six string guitar. Consider a beginner guitar like the Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar when first starting out.

It’s also important to note that children develop at their own pace. While some four-year-olds may be able to handle a real guitar, other children may need to be two or three years older to really begin practicing in earnest.

What is a Guitarlele?

A guitarlele is the smallest real guitar option. It looks like a ukulele, but has six strings and is a little larger. It's tuned like a regular guitar (ukulele's are tuned a little differently), which makes it easier for say a 5 or 6 year old child to follow along tuning or key instructions someone may be sharing using a regular guitar.

What is the best guitar for a 5 year old?

Beyond the Loog guitars, we think a 5 year old who has mastered the toy guitar would be ready for a guitarlele.

At just a little over three pounds, it is very friendly for young hands to hold. And it’s easy to tune this guitar so that it can produce a great sound. And with other added features such as the gig bag and the tuner, this is a gift that will make your child feel like a bona fide musician.

Another reason we love this guitar is simple: it provides the perfect amount of practice for children that will eventually graduate to our next recommended instrument!

What size guitar is good for a 5 year old?

A guitarlele, 1/4 inch guitar, or ukulele should work well for most 5 year olds.

What is the best guitar for a 6 year old?

The Loog guitar is a great pick for 6 year olds with options based on size, experience, and handness.

Final Thoughts 

Toy guitars are great for babies and toddlers, as well as older children in helping them develop across a wide variety of physical skills and cognitive milestones while laying the foundation for early literacy, memory, and so much more.

Plus, nothing feels more rewarding as a parent than seeing our children deeply focused on their play! It's a win-win all around.

Best toy guitars by age:

The best toy guitar for your child depends on your needs/wants. The B. Woofer (Hound Dog Guitar) is wildly popular amongst the baby and toddler crowd. But we prefer the Loog guitar thanks to its wide age range, options for handedness and strings, and support for learning how to actually play a guitar.

No matter what choice you make, it’s important to prepare yourself. That’s because you are about to unlock a lifetime love of music within your child!

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Originally published 12/13/21; Updated 11/1/23