Legos are probably the most popular toys among kids. There’s also a lot of advocacy among early childhood educators for parents to encourage their kids to play with Lego blocks.
But have you ever considered what impact these iconic toys have on a child’s development? Let me fill you in on how Lego helps a child’s development.
By Lilian.
Legos Grow Fine Motor Skills
Playing with Lego blocks is the perfect opportunity for children to exercise the muscles on their little hands and fingers!
Whether they’re infants less than a year old, even simply holding on to a single Lego block exercises their grasping abilities.
The same case applies to older kids holding a Lego piece, stacking it onto another piece and building a structure.
Fine motor skills will come in handy when brushing their teeth, tying shoelaces, turning a door knob, holding onto the swing in the outdoor slides, etc.
Legos Hone Spatial Awareness
As our little tots play with Legos, they start to appreciate objects being under/below, above, on the side, etc., and other spatial vocabularies.
They exercise their ability to visualize stuff in the environment around them.
Spatial skills are very important for careers in the STEM fields.
For instance, Engineering requires building bridges and road designs that accommodate different vehicle heights, etc. All these activities employ spatial skills!
Legos Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
When playing with Lego sets, a child has to identify a certain block using their eyes, and pick it up using their hands.
This is what hand-eye coordination is all about! The hands and the eyes working together.
Legos Build Creativity and Imagination
If you want to be amazed at how creative or imaginative your little one can be, just get them Lego sets.
If you didn’t know, just 6 Lego pieces can build more than 1 million designs!
Let your child manipulate the Lego sets and come up with the various designs. Let them make that space ship, that bridge, high tower, apartment with a parking space, etc.
They’ll be exercising their creativity and imagination skills!
Legos Improve Problem-Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills are top on the list of requirements in almost all job advertisements, right?
Lego puts kids at an advantaged position for getting that dream job by exercising their problem-solving skills from early on!
As kids play with Lego sets, they’re trying to figure out how they can make each piece fit onto the next piece to come up with a structure that looks exactly like what they have in mind.
Legos Facilitate Emotional Growth
When kids play with Lego blocks, they sometimes face situations when they’re not able to achieve what they want. They get frustrated, but often stick to the task.
This way, that child is learning how to acknowledge their feelings, but still soldier on until they make/achieve what’s on their mind.
This is very important for their emotional development.
It teaches them fundamental life skills such as perseverance, consistency, and persistence.
Before you complain that your little one is anti-social, try getting them to play with Lego sets with peers.
They’re most likely going to have little conversations with playmates, and with time, you’ll find them communicating so well.
They will also learn more vocabulary for everyday use.
Don’t forget that they’ll also learn how to function in a team, skills they’ll need for life!
Benefits of Lego for Kids’ Brain Development
Legos Improve Concentration
Most kids are not keen on focusing on stuff for quite long. If yours does, then you’re surely among the lucky few!
But when building with Lego sets, you find most kids concentrating more than they usually do in other tasks. They look away from all distractions until they’re done making what they want.
This is training their brains to concentrate just a little longer!
Legos Make Kids Smarter
There’s evidence that children who play with Legos solve more complex puzzles than those who don’t play with Legos.
Considering that puzzle-solving is the keystone of assessing brain development, then it goes without saying that kids who play with Legos enjoy better brain abilities than their peers who don’t.
Oh, and they’re also great for Alzheimer’s patients – Legos slow the cognitive decline!
Photo by Scott McNiel.
