Four skills your child develops when playing with building blocks
Finding toys your little ones will use for years and not just a couple of months can be challenging, even more so when you’re looking for something for a special occasion like Christmas or their birthday. Well, why not buy them something that will help their development while they play?
Building blocks, boards and shapes can be enjoyed by any child, any age, with kids finding their own unique games for them. From building a simple tower as a toddler to constructing a mega city with bridges and tunnels as an older child, these open-ended toys are extremely versatile.
As well as great fun, they also help support your child’s motor skills, concentration, social skills, thought processes, mathematics and literacy development.
And this isn’t just us saying this! Scientists have even looked into the positive aspects of building blocks and have proven all of the above skills are nurtured. Here we look at each one in more detail.
Maths and literacy
While this may not be the first thing you think of when building blocks come to mind, they can in fact help your child develop their mathematical and literacy skills. Just think, when you’re building something with your child, how often are you counting or explaining things to them? If like our family, building unique towns or cities from our blocks and boards is most definitely not a silent game! Kids are able to learn different words to do with building or towns and start to count how many blocks are in the towers – before they knock them down, of course!
Critical thinking
Building that tower as high as they can isn’t just fun it also helps improve their critical thinking skills. They have to be patient, think outside of the box, and weigh up on whether their tower can withstand one more level or not. These skills to develop their critical thinking will help them throughout their life, and it’s never too young to start them! Have you noticed how long your baby or toddler will spend analysing a certain toy? Well, this is them improving their critical thinking and analysis skills, so take advantage of it and incorporate this into your building blocks play.
Social skills
A great thing about playing with building blocks, boards or shapes is the social aspect. Whether that’s with you, siblings or friends, your child will learn important skills about teamwork and communication with those around them. You just have to watch your child build with others to see that they naturally start working within a unit. Perhaps they are the naturally bossy leader, or the thoughtful engineer in the process, or maybe the conductor that shouts out instructions but does none of the work! Whatever part they play, their social skills be will developing as they go.
Concentration
As there are so many ways to construct towns or towers with building blocks and boards, one skill that is highly developed while playing is concentration. Your little one will learn that in order to build what they want to build they need to concentrate and take time to do the work. And what great skills to learn so early on! They will appreciate the amount of time that goes into building their town and focus hard on making sure everything is just right.
Whether your child likes building replicas of the Burj Khalifa – AKA the tallest tower they can possibly build – or builds road systems and bridges from their blocks and boards, they will be learning a set of skills that will serve them well for their future development. And one of the best things about playing with building blocks? It keeps them quiet and gives us parents some much needed peace!
To shop our gorgeous collection of building blocks, boards and shapes and stacking toys, click here.
