Tips on Parenting

Blocks and building sets have been popular toys for generations. In this age of electronic toys, you might think they would have faded. Yet, they now sell more than ever. That’s because they continue to serve the same purpose they always have: providing fun and education in an unbeatable package.

Building sets come in such a great variety today that just listing all the options would fill a catalog. LEGO continues to be the king, but there are a dozen other manufacturers that make fine sets, too. K’Nex, Guidecraft and others offer creative choices that will make you wish you were a child again.

Start them off with something simple, like the Arch and Tunnel Set from Guidecraft. A set of two tunnels and eight arches, even this simple toy offers dozens of ways to assemble some very cool structures.

Move up a step and introduce a great new feature with the Shimmering Water Blocks. Rectangles and half circles filled with colored water offer a new dimension to explore. Stack them in dozens of ways and watch the water slosh back and forth as they settle. Great for learning shapes in a fun and stimulating way.

Add to the fun with a 45-piece set of unit blocks. Triangles, rectangular blocks, wedges and half-moons let kids put together ancient buildings in wood. There are 14 shapes in all and the possible combinations are practically endless.

Let them build some truly exotic structures with the 75-piece set of hardwood building blocks. Shaped to allow creating Roman or Gothic buildings, the U-shaped pillars complement the medieval towers perfectly. With 16 different shapes they’ll be able to build entire cities.

Then move ahead in history and up in number to the Lincoln Logs Yukon Express 250-Piece Set. Blue roof parts, characters, a train, tracks and dozens of brown logs let them build colorful, accurate homes and forts. Your child will have years of fun with this set creating entire villages of the frontier.

Enter the modern age with the Mega Bloks Cars Super Building Set. Filled with their favorite characters from the popular animated film, they can make Lightening McQueen, Mater and more. Comes with a storage case that makes it easy to put the pieces away for safe play another day.

Then zoom off into the future with the Star Wars LEGO building kits. Star Wars is an enduring theme for building sets and the LEGO Star Wars Sandcrawler set is just one of many examples. Inside the center section is the Jawa workshop. A crane loads droids inside. The cockpit opens to place a driver in the seat. With almost 1,700 pieces, your young one will never run out of fun.

Your baby may or may not be a future Frank Lloyd Wright. But every child enjoys playing with blocks and building sets. They exercise their active imaginations in countless ways as they learn essentials about shape and the forces of nature. Great fun and super learning toys. It doesn’t get any better than that for you or them.