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Even with the presence of many other shiny, flashy and fantastic toys, Lego remains one of the most purchased toys in the world.
Every second, at least seven Lego sets are sold around the world.
The Lego bricks sold every year are enough to circle the world five times.
Isn’t this surprising?
Well, children love to play with these old-time toys more than you could ever imagine.
But how exactly does Lego help a child’s development?
By Lilian.
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What Skills Does Lego Develop?
Lego Improves the Fine Motor Skills
Have you watched your child manipulate the Lego blocks? They work with their hands and fingers to pick up, connect and build the Lego pieces with precision.
While doing this, they are exercising their ability to make movements using the muscles on their hands and fingers – referred to as the fine motor skills.
Fine motor skills are very important in daily activities.
For instance, grasping objects, writing, feeding on their own, dressing up, etc.
Lego Nurtures Problem-Solving Skills
You must have noted that “problem-solving skills’ come up in almost all job advertisements, right? Well, you can give your child a head-start for their future by getting them some Lego!
Playing with Lego helps your child identify problems before they even occur, and come up with ways of solving them before they escalate to disasters.
Lego play makes children appreciate that problems don’t always have to be solved in one way.
They learn that you could employ different approaches and end up with the same result.
With better problem-solving skills, your child will also be more self-confident!
I recently watched my son play Lego with his friend in the backyard. I was particularly fascinated by how the two young fellows shared the Lego pieces, taking turns to achieve the intended design.
Lego play makes children appreciate that they can come together as a team and work in harmony to achieve a common objective.
It also helps them learn to share with their peers. So, if your child detests sharing, schedule that Lego play date ASAP!
Fortunately, even when building Lego alone, your child also develops social skills through pretend play.
Pretend play involves taking on roles, assigning action to symbolic objects.
This fosters social skills such as cognitive flexibility, creativity, communication and empathy.
Lego Fosters STEM Skills
A recent survey found that 90% of parents would encourage their children to pursue a STEM Career.
Well, the high demand and high pay of these careers explains this statistic.
But how would you, as a parent, foster your child’s interest in STEM? Get them Lego!
Lego is a Foundation for Science
Lego play involves coming up with an idea and then developing it (making it a reality).
This is the basic idea in science.
Lego Boosts a Technology Mindset
Technology involves employing new techniques to complete a task.
Lego teaches your child to utilize the materials around them to complete the task they embark on.
For instance, using Lego pieces to build a spaceship.
Lego Introduces Engineering
While building a tall tower using Lego, your little one will probably use one column and the tower will crumble down.
This makes them understand that if they want to build a strong/stable tower, they need to use more columns. Isn’t that what engineers do?
Lego as the Earliest Math Lesson
Stacking Lego pieces is one of the first math lessons. It involves counting, adding and subtracting Lego pieces.
So, as your child plays Lego, they are actually doing math without even realizing it!
It is no wonder that 7-year-olds who build complex Lego structures were found to have higher math scores.
Lego Play Grows Patience, Perseverance and Resilience Skills
Have you observed how hurtful it is for your child when the tower they built so patiently accidentally crumbles down?
They get so devastated, but often immediately get back up and start building the tower again.
This is what resilience and perseverance is all about!
Lego play teaches children to persevere when terrible things happen to them, and get back up. It might sound outrageous, but this is very important for their future.
In fact, adulting requires so much of this!
Why is Lego Good for the Brain?
Lego is probably the number one toy for your child’s brain development.
Besides the benefits described above, Lego play also helps your child’s brain by building their concentration span.
The more your child is immersed in a world of his own building that tower or spaceship, the more their brain develops an ability to concentrate on issues.
This could explain why therapists encourage Lego play for children with ADHD.
Also, Lego play exercises your child’s brain in ways no other toys can. It makes the child understand that the only boundary between them and their dream is their brain.
So, they exercise their brain to come up with more creativity.
Lego Benefits for Adults
You thought that Legos are solely for your child? No. Legos aren’t just for kids.
They’re also good for you!
Companies have actually invented Lego Play Workshops for employees. They boost problem solving, creativity and innovation skills.
A recent survey found that 91% of adults felt noticeably better after Lego play, and 86% were more relaxed.
Lego play gives adults a relaxing, calming experience – especially after that long, stressful day at work.
Because of the concentration, Lego play also improves mindfulness. Mindfulness is one of the approaches psychologists propose for reducing stress levels.
It’s time to get you some Legos!
Why Legos are Bad
Everything has a good side and a bad one, right? Well, Legos too have a bad side.
Individual, tiny Lego pieces could be a choking hazard for children who are going through the everything-must-be-tasted phase.
So, it is advisable to keep an eye on your child during Lego play and choose Legos for kids by age recommendations on the sets.
Stepping on a lost piece in the carpet at night is not the most pleasant experience either.
In terms of the environment, Lego have more adverse impacts during production compared to wooden toys.
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