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Here is the test that decides everything: does the broom move a real crumb across a real floor? If it does not, your kid will figure that out in about four minutes and the whole set becomes a stick they hit things with.
That sounds harsh, but it is the honest failure mode of this entire category. Most kid cleaning sets are props. Soft bristles that push nothing, a dustpan lip that does not sit flush, and a "mop" head made of felt that has never been damp in its life. It photographs beautifully. It does not survive contact with a two-year-old who genuinely wants to help.
So let's start with what we make, because it is the reason we started making it.
Our sets (and why we built them differently)
We sell the Toddler Mop + Cleaning Set for ages 3 to 5 and the Big Kid Mop + Cleaning Set for ages 5 to 8. Both are a spray mop, a broom, a dustpan, and a brush. Four things, not one.
The three differences that actually matter:
The mop sprays real water. Not a button that makes a noise. There is a pull-and-spray handle that mists actual water onto the floor, and it comes with two washable microfiber pads. Which means the floor gets genuinely cleaner, and more importantly, your kid can see that it did. That feedback loop is why they stay with it for twenty minutes instead of two. (The head also fits most standard disposable sweeper cloths, including Swiffer brand ones, if that is what you already have under the sink.)
The broom and dustpan work. The bristles move crumbs. The dustpan catches them. This is a low bar and most of the category limbos under it.
It is sized by age, not by "kids." This is the part almost nobody does. A three-year-old and a seven-year-old need completely different tools. Our toddler version uses a two-handed front pull, because a three-year-old does not yet have the one-handed grip strength to squeeze a trigger. The big kid version uses a one-handed squeeze and a longer handle, because a seven-year-old with a toddler-sized mop looks (and feels) ridiculous. If you have both ages in the house, buy both, and skip the argument entirely.
The honest caveat: ours is not the cheapest thing here, and if you want a $13 broom because your kid asked for a broom once, that is a completely reasonable purchase and I have linked one below.
The rest of the field
The famous one
Melissa & Doug Dust Sweep Mop 6-Piece Set. The one everybody's grandmother buys, and it is a good-looking wooden set that has been around forever. It comes with a stand, which is either the best or worst part depending on your floor space. The mop is a pretend mop. Who it's for: you want the classic, you want the stand, and you are not trying to get an actual floor cleaned. We did a full side-by-side comparison here if you want the detail.
The wooden one without the stand
Battat Sweep n' Clean Wooden Playset. Similar idea, wooden, and no bulky stand to find a home for. Who it's for: small spaces, or you already have somewhere to lean things.
The budget set
Play22 Kids Cleaning Set, 4-Piece. Broom, mop, brush, dustpan, under twenty dollars. Who it's for: a gift for someone else's kid, a second set for grandma's house, or testing whether this phase is real before you invest.
Just a broom
28-inch Kids Broom and Dustpan Set. No set, no stand, no mop. A child-height broom and a dustpan, and that is it. Who it's for: you have a small kitchen, a specific kid, and no interest in a fourth object. Sometimes the right answer is just a broom.
The middle option
JustForKids 6-Piece Wooden Housekeeping Set. Broom, mop, brush, duster, dustpan, and a hanging stand. Who it's for: you want more pieces than the budget set without going all the way up.
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What to skip
Sets that include a toy vacuum with a light and a motor sound. The vacuum is always the piece that dies first and it teaches the kid that cleaning is a button you press.
Anything with a mop head made of stiff felt or fringe that cannot get wet. That is a costume, not a mop.
Fourteen-piece sets. Nobody needs a kid-sized spray bottle, a squeegee, a duster, two cloths, and a bucket. Four working tools beats fourteen decorative ones, and you will lose nine of them.
How to actually get them to use it
Give it to them during real cleanup, not as a toy at playtime. Sweep next to them with your own broom. Do not correct their technique, ever, because the second it becomes a performance they are done. And expect the floor to be worse for the first few weeks. That is not the kid failing. That is the price of the thing they are actually learning, which is that they belong to this house and the work of it is theirs too.
My two-year-old brings home real produce from the fruit stand in her own little basket, then wants to mop the kitchen. Not pretend-mop. Mop. She is not doing a great job. She is completely delighted.
More on that phase in my toddler won't stop cleaning, is this normal, and the full buying breakdown in what to look for and what to skip.