The Benefits Of Building Toys For Children – Parenthood

Creating walls, houses, buildings, bridges or any architectural work is both a challenge and fun for children. Construction games are not the same for all ages. They vary in size and difficulty, but all contribute to a child’s development. What are the advantages of construction games?

Everyone remembers having used this or that object to build a house, a fort or even a small castle when they were small. Even though it seems like a simple hobby, building is actually a very rewarding activity for children on an intellectual and motor level. Indeed, we will see in this article that the advantages of construction games are numerous.

Children can be interested in construction games from their first year, when they become able to coordinate their movements well. At first, of course, they just stack things up and then demolish their buildings. But they learn little by little.

After a while, however, children become building masters, whether they play with the eternal Lego bricks or with similar toys available on the market.

The advantages of construction games for children

The benefits of building games are endless. Here are a few :

• Construction games help children develop coordination and fine motor skills. As they play, children become more skilled with their hands, especially girls, who often develop these functions better.
• Construction games help children understand geometric shapes, colors, sizes and orientation in space, such as up and down, being narrow, wide, short, long, etc.
• These games stimulate certain skills in children, such as attention, concentration, creativity and imagination.
• They also often require following a pre-established plan, diagram or model. In addition, if children play in groups, they need to dialogue, cooperate and work as a team.

• Construction games help children to better identify and understand reality, especially the concepts of function or role. This is especially true when the children are working in groups on the same project.
• These games also help children become familiar with the laws of physics, such as gravity or the concept of balance. They learn to use levers, inclines or pulleys.
• They promote the development of self-esteem and self-esteem in children. The accomplishment of their goals and the recognition of their efforts on the part of their parents (something fundamental) will make them proud and all the more motivated.

• Finally, building games can get kids used to living in an orderly space, especially if parents ask and show them how to put small parts away at the end of play time.

Where should these construction games be taken out?

Usually children play at home. Construction sets are therefore particularly suitable. In addition to the benefits we have already discussed, these games can keep children occupied when they are forced to stay at home, because they are sick or it is raining outside, for example.

Construction games offer endless possibilities. In addition, it is possible to find videos online to learn new techniques.

Construction games are also an ideal activity to do in the classroom, especially for the little ones. In this case, the presence of an educator who guides the game by giving instructions or advice can be very useful.

According to a report by Unicef ​​and OEI, the participation of an educator or a parent can enrich the game and learning dynamics. In fact, adults can introduce the notion of roles, models and choice of construction material.

Types of construction games for children

As we said before, Lego bricks aren’t the only building sets on the market. There is a wide variety of models available to us. Here are a few :

• Cubes to build characters and scenarios. You can find boxes with colorful pieces that allow you to build a robot, a princess castle with walls and a door, etc.
• Cubes to build animals. These games come with all the parts needed to build barns, barns and stables, in addition to the animals that live there.
• Games that imitate a working environment. They are ideal for children who like to “pretend”. There are all the parts to build a police car, a fire truck, a helicopter and machines for any type of profession.
• Circuits for small cars. These games bring together two great passions of children: construction and racing cars. In addition to cars, children can design circuits and build garages and mechanical workshops.

Now that you know the many advantages of construction games, we remind you that the size and quantity of the pieces, as well as the difficulty of the models, vary according to the age of the children. At any age, our little ones can spend hours and hours playing with these construction games that never go out of style.