Advice and News

Great Toys: Building Blocks
By Katie, Resident Toy Expert and Mama

The classic block set! Every library, day care center, waiting room, and home needs at least one set. Often people forgo them as gifts because "surely they already have one." Likewise, parents sometimes forget about them because they're so ubiquitous.

Some include viaducts and fancy bridge supports, others sport brightly colored, incised alphabets, and some plastic varieties house wiggly bugs and other moving shapes. Letters and numbers are often added to make blocks seem more "educational." In reality, children who are old enough to learn and enjoy letters need more than one block with each letter on it, and those who are not old enough don't care about the letters on them.

Although some features can be nice as children grow, there should still be enough basic squares and rectangles for children to stack together for a tower or spread out for a road. The best ones, in my opinion, are simple, wooden, ultimately versatile, and sized for the age of the child. Children who tend to put small toys in their mouths, or those under the age of 2 to 3 years, should have a larger set, and those over 2 to 3 years should have a smaller, more challenging set. Either way, all the blocks in a set should use the same base dimensions so that they can be stacked together easily.

What Children Can Do With Blocks:

• Stacking (Gross Motor Control; Balance)
• Knocking Down (Cause and Effect; Gravity)
• Banging Together (Cause and Effect; Sound)
• Sorting (Shapes; Sizes)
• Fitting Them Together (Spatial Relationships)
• Counting (Basic Math)

Choosing a Block Set:
Children who tend to put small toys in their mouths should have a set of larger-size blocks, such as this one by Montgomery Schoolhouse: Junior Builder Block Set

Children over the age of 2-3 will delight in this set by Plan Toys: 60 Block Set

More good information about blocks:
www.parentingweb.com/dev_edu/blockplay.htm
www.littledreamers.com/blocks.htm

With a background in educational psychology, including a masters from Columbia University in Instructional Technology, I spent nearly a decade creating learning materials for school children. But when my daughter was born, I was shocked at the number of technology-based toys aimed at infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Young children need toys that foster creativity, imagination, and emotional development. Finding it difficult to locate toys that were child-centric, eco-friendly, and affordable, I decided to start Wee to Three. I'm Katie, the resident toy expert/Mama. Welcome to my store!