This is NOT a sponsored post but it contains affiliate links. I just love LEGOs and wanted to talk about them. 🙂
Legos were created in Demark in 1932. These stackable interlocking colorful pieces of plastic quickly won over parent’s hearts across the globe. Fun fact: the name Lego is derived from the Danish phrase “leg godt”, which means “play well.” These simple little plastic pieces have since expanded to become the brand most parents know, love, and hate to step on! Lego bricks have grown from a random package of colorful interlocking bricks (which were great on their own) to fabulous model kits where you can create extensive models for collecting. No matter what type of Lego bricks your child loves most, there’s one thing for sure: Legos are fantastic for child development. Here are the top five reasons why I feel Lego’s are great for kids.
– Legos Grow With Your Child
I hate buying a toy that I know my child will discard by next year or will find babyish in a few years. Legos aren’t like that. They will be something kids will play with for years and years and years. Legos have dominated the toy industry for creative kids and parents everywhere. Allowing your kids to own their own Legos from toddler years and beyond will inspire loads of family fun time. Plus, it’s a toy that won’t get broken or too dirty! All you have to do is grab a laundry bag and toss them in the dishwasher. (You can buy the laundry bag set shown above here)
– Teaches Color, Shapes, & Letters
Legos are a great tool for parents of younger kids as a means to teach color recognition. These fun stackable bricks that can be interconnected in so many ways arrive in a wide range of colors which can easily help any parent teach their kids about colors. The simple sets of Legos even come with kits (plan books? I’m not sure the right term) for building objects of different colors! (The set above can be purchased here) With the bright colored blocks, kids’ attention will be easily attracted to learn colors and shapes using Legos as the tool. My kids know their colors, shapes, and alphabet now but they still enjoy writing messages out in Legos.
– Improve Fine Motor Skills
Whether you’re raising a toddler or a child with special needs, there comes a time when you need to figure out a fun way to improve the fine motor skills of your kids. Legos are the perfect option for a child on the spectrum, a toddler, or anyone who has a learning disability that keeps them from developing fine motor skills naturally. Legos help improve those skills in a fun and low stress way. Also, a quick search on Pinterest for “Lego fine motor skills” will pull up approximately a bazillion ideas for using Legos in other ways for strengthening fine motor skills (writing letters in Play Doh using Legos, etc). For older kids who want to practice fine motor skills or just want a really cool Lego set I highly recommend the Star Wars set pictured above. You can buy it on Amazon here. My friend’s son had it and I was amazed at all the compartments that opened up and the detail included. It was impressive! The sets are a great way to get older kids to sit down and focus on something for more than a few minutes.
– Encourages Creativity
Kids are known to have a creative mind from day one. With each new experience, that creativity can be expanded to grow or diluted. Legos are a great way to encourage that creativity within kids without much effort. You can use Legos to help encourage your kids’ creative side as they work to build Lego models or a creative masterpieces from scratch. My kids aren’t into the super fancy structures (yet) but they love to create an imaginary world for their other playthings to venture into. They don’t have any little Lego people yet and I’m quite happy with that because this way they feel free to incorporate many of their other toys into their imaginative play.
There you have it! There is my short list of reasons why Legos are great for kids. Regardless of your age, Legos are a great way to encourage sharing, connecting, and bonding, which is truly the biggest reasons why I love having Legos in our home. Family time can’t be beat. I remember when my son was too young to play with Legos he loved sorting the pieces in the kit for his daddy to put together. We happened to get a Twister game for Christmas that year so that’s what he used to sort them on. Each circle had a different color of blocks. It wasn’t meant to be a permanent idea but it worked so well that we get the Twister mat out each time we sort through a Lego kit. It helps keep the Legos contained too so I’m all for it. Happy Lego building!!
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