As parents, we always consider how toys affect our child’s development. Toys such as LEGO provide educational playtime activities that can develop fine motor skills in younger children, not to mention hours of quiet concentration.
LEGO has been at the front of my sights because it provides educational playtime activities. The benefits of playing with Legos include a child exercising their finger muscles while improving dexterity, which is a powerful way to improve fine motor skills.
LEGO also encourages children to practice creative skills by having countless explorative methods in a set system. Creativity enhances intelligence because conventional thinking is no longer the only route; a child learns to take fresh perspectives and be innovative.
John Hopkins University believes Legos also enhance a child’s intelligence by exercising their spatial reasoning at a young age. Another Early Child Development and Care study found that young children did better in math playing with LEGO in early childhood.
The benefits are countless, but let me get into why each set improves specific skills.
In This Article
How LEGO Benefits Younger Children
Honestly, most toys and games will help kids develop their skills. Still, LEGO is a special kind of learning experience for younger children. I played with building blocks, and the UK Children’s Wellness Center recommends LEGO for multiple developmental benefits.
Inspires Creativity Early
The importance of creativity in children is more relevant than the newest rage on the toy market. LEGO inspires children to be creative, think outside the box, and exercise their cognitive skills. Johns Hopkins University confirms that LEGO makes your child smarter.
Increased intelligence is a gateway to many other skills. The open-ended nature of LEGO kits also encourages children to find new ways to build with the same blocks. Little ones learn to problem solve by testing the restraints of a set with new ideas and imagination.
I highly recommend the LEGO Creative Ocean Fun Building Kit because it’s simple for little ones under six. Yet it challenges their creative minds to think of new ideas. Toddlers have over 300 pieces to design known and new creations as they learn about the ocean.
The LEGO Classic Creative Ocean Fun kit comes with 6 ocean-themed build ideas to spark your child’s imagination.
Price: < $20
Develops Fine Motor Skills
Age-appropriate toys are essential for early childhood development, and starting with LEGO early can help… Toddlers and preschoolers are still developing the muscles in their hands. They have no coordination, strength, or spatial awareness yet.
LEGO comes in age-appropriate sets, like the Duplo Kit, which appeals to tiny fingers and exercises fine motors. For example, Chicago Occupational Therapists use LEGO to encourage toddlers to improve their grasp, bilateral, and hand-eye coordination.
I recommend this Duplo Classic LEGO Set for young toddlers with tiny hands and fingers as they have not yet mastered their fine motor skills. This classic LEGO set helps little ones easily hold and maneuver the blocks, and the bright colors maintain their attention.
Tiny hands can easily fit the Duplo Classic blocks into each other to build creative structures resembling identifiable objects. The interaction with LEGO teaches this age group about fine motor, language, spatial awareness, and creative skills.
The LEGO DUPLO Classic Heart Box is perfect for preschoolers learning to develop their fine motor skills through building!
Price: < $20
Boosts Spatial Awareness in Young Children
Research shows that children playing with three-dimensional LEGO sets and other construction-based toys develop better spatial awareness. Spatial awareness allows children to organize things in their world once they learn to locate and navigate objects.
Toddlers learn to make sense of objects around them when they gain spatial awareness and spatial relations. Look for sets such as Disney Junior LEGO Firehouse Play Kit that motivate younger children and keep their attention on their favorite characters while creating.
The Children’s Wellness Center in the UK uses LEGO as a therapeutic, educational toy because it helps children develop spatial awareness, math, communication, language, social, emotional, and self-confidence skills.
LEGO’s Disney Mickey and Friends Fire Truck & Station set is great for encouraging spatial awareness using familiar Disney characters
Price: < $50
Introduces Emotional Resilience and Expression
Parents know how little emotional resilience toddlers have and don’t know how to express their vast feelings adequately. Toddlers must learn patience, perspective-taking, handling frustrations, and perseverance.
Research on gifted children found that emotional resilience was an essential factor in children honing their cognitive skills. LEGO builds emotional resilience because it allows children to deal with frustrations every time the blocks fall, teaching perseverance.
The LEGO Classic Creative Transparent Bricks Set pushes a child’s perseverance with challenging builds. The blocks are challenging enough for toddlers to experience frustration while learning to build innovative ideas. The transparent blocks create a more significant challenge.
Bring a new twist to the old LEGO bricks with these colorful transparent blocks!
Price: <$30
Encourages Higher Thinking and Improved Cognitions
There’s nothing more precious than helping a child learn cognitive skills. Research shows how a child’s attention span and critical thinking correlate in secondary school. Toddlers improve their attention span before reaching secondary school.
LEGO sets invite young children to pay closer attention to design ideas successfully. LEGO robotic toys encourage STEM skills, helping toddlers develop early engineering, math, and science skills. There are sets with mechanical pieces and movable builds for toddlers.
The LEGO Classic Bricks and Wheels Set teaches young toddlers about cause-and-effect with a few moving pieces. It also teaches preschoolers about early engineering by allowing them to build with blocks that become responsive.
Kickstart their higher thinking skills using this Bricks and Wheels kit that allows for endless building possibilities!
Price: <$40
Final Thoughts
Children learn skills from LEGO building kits, irrespective of age. There’s a construction set for little ones with tiny fingers. Another set challenges young teenagers to push their engineering boundaries and cognitive development.
These LEGO sets are highly recommended for early childhood development with continuous learning potential. Pick the correct targets for your child’s needed developmental areas, and watch them flourish.
References:
Brosnan, Mark J. “Spatial Ability in Children’s Play with Lego Blocks.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 87, no. 1 (August 1998): 19–28. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1998.87.1.19.
Bazoolnejad M, Vakili S, Kashan Vahid L, Yaripour M. The Effectiveness of LEGO Therapy on the Resiliency of Gifted Children. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health. 2021 Sep-Oct; 23(5): 359-366. article_19159_ac278aa1d6e668d3dc4ce1e1b09a45c3.pdf (mums.ac.ir)
Ellah, B. O., Achor, E. E., & Enemarie, V. (2019). Problem-Solving Skills as Correlates of Attention Span and Working Memory of Low Ability Level Students in Senior Secondary Schools. Journal of Education and E-Learning Research, 6(3), 135–141. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.509.2019.63.135.141
Wolfgang, C., Stannard, L., & Jones, I. (2003). Advanced constructional play with LEGOs among preschoolers as a predictor of later school achievement in mathematics. Early Child Development and Care, 173(5), 467–475. https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443032000088212
