Building for children: what are the best?

The buildings are a timeless game, which allows you to refine the fine mobility and to give full space to the imagination of the little ones. Building and deconstructing is a great way to get to know itself and explore the world surrounding the little ones

The Children’s buildings They are a timeless game, a proposal that has always liked and all ages. But since when is it recommended to propose them to the little ones? What are the Best buildings To present to the boy or the girl?

Let’s start by saying that there is not a single type of construction for children, but different proposals that can be combined (both vertical and horizontal) and interlocking.
The built -in construction They foresee that one piece above or next to the other are positioned, they are often made of wood and offer the child a free interpretation to stack or put cubes, pyramids, parallelepipeds or cylinders with which they will be able to give shape to houses, streets, palaces, towers, railways, cities or who knows what else. The interlocking buildings Instead, as the term itself suggests, they foresee that the pieces available firmly fit together.

But what kind of preferably constructions? What are the best children’s buildings? Since when to propose this game? Let’s discover all the characteristics together and when it is recommended to propose them.

Children’s buildings: what material to choose?

Compared to the construction material for children, three different characteristics should be taken into account:

• High quality material: It would be good to opt for a durable and good workmanship material, in order to have a game resistant over time.
• Neutral color: prefer a neutral chromatic line in order not to bind the imagination of the child, a red pyramid, for example, can immediately recall a roof, while if the piece of the construction is without a specific color it can more easily transform into anything else. At this link you can find an excellent example.
• Size of the pieces compared to the age of the child: If the baby still brought most of the objects that want to manipulate to the mouth, it is good to prefer pieces that are not dangerous if put in the mouth, so that they can also leave the child the opportunity to play alone without a constant supervision of the adult. Here you can find a proposal with giant bricks, suitable from 3 years upwards, since being cardboard cannot be put in the mouth. Instead, these bricks are suitable for the little ones, excellent for being stacked and suitable for the little ones.

When and how to propose buildings to children?

How to propose buildings to children? For the use of this game I recommend you to:

• Make available to the child adequate number of pieces to its real possibility of use. In the event that the child plays by using no more than a dozen pieces, it will not be necessary to put a quantity of more than 15/20 pieces at his disposal, to prevent only confusion. The quantity of pieces of construction will increase parallel to its ability to master them.
• Remove the child: By proposing a few pieces, the baby will also help when tidying up the game. Choose a handling box in which to store all the pieces of the game. Initially, even to three years, the parent will show himself to the child in the act of ordering, allowing him to see “how to do it”. At a second half, around 4 years, the child himself will help the parent in the reorganization, and then do it alone when he is around 5 years old.
• Allow the child to play as he wants: initially (I think of a child of about 12 months) the baby could find satisfaction in the simple manipulation of the pieces, in their insertion inside the box and trying to change their position in space. The pieces of the constructions will then become the object for an abstract three -dimensional construction and then take an increasingly recognizable form and in the end in the construction of scenarios for the symbolic game.

Many children want to have A space for constructionan entirely dedicated area that can remain as a sort of construction site always open. In case if it had the possibility, it is good to satisfy this desire, delimiting an area entirely dedicated to this game with the help of a semi -rigid carpet for example, which allows the child to work with buildings on several occasions and at the same time within a confined space.

Destroying everything is part of the game

Not everyone knows that very small children, starting from 18 months of agebegin to know oneself through the deconstruction of the environment that surrounds them. Precisely for this reason, children find pleasure in “destroying” a tower, in the simple gesture of empty the box Construction are not spiteful, but they are simply testing their capacity for action on the environment.

The adult can then accompany the child building towers and scenarios that the child will have to cross. He will then arrive for all children, who first and who after, a day in which he will decide to perform a constructive act (Starting two cubes, support pieces), since it has reached the maturation necessary to perform this operation. Only at this point, will we be able to ask the child not to destroy the newly erected tower!

The best buildings for children

The market offers many different forms of interlocking construction. Initially, however, it is good to offer the boy or girl a material for the construction that is neutral: that is where It is not required to follow instructions and to build something specific. Proposing a neutral material allows you to become familiar with the technique of the inquiry and construction freely. In this phase they can therefore propose:

• A classic set of bricks of various shapes and sizes, as can be this, which allows you to discover various figures.
• A set of classic buildings colored with large bricks, easy to handle and above all to be joined. For children from a year and up we recommend this, which offers many game possibilities with large and easy to handle pieces.

Subsequently, if the child shows a strong interest in buildings, they can instead be offered different materials and shapescompared to the classic interlocking brick, which will allow you to experiment with new construction techniques. To give some examples of creative constructions I recommend those that follow:

• A set of constructions a Snowflake formwhich you can see at this link, which allows you to experiment with several interlocking, but without the classic cube structure. This type of set is also suitable for children aged 6 and over.
• A set to build many projects with the pipes Instead of the classic bricks (you can see it here), which allows children to develop any type of project and to create many three -dimensional figures in a few simple moves.
• A set of magnetic constructionslike these of the Geomag or these of Desire Deluxe, which can offer different ideas to create different forms, exploiting the strength of the magnet.

Constructions that follow a project

Follow a real project construction, proceeding according to precise instructions, which provide for pre -established passages can be an excellent opportunity for the child to work on the maturation of multiple skills:

• read and interpret construction instructions (even if only for images);
• increase one’s visual-spatial intelligence;
• develop patience and concentration to complete a complex project;
• refine the fine manual skills.

In this case, the choice of the material to be used is good that it is always orient towards thehigh quality And preferably avoiding gender stereotype (such as princesses or pink proposals for females or pirates and only blue proposals for boys), but perhaps heading towards a material that allows thescientific or historical investigation. We report a couple of examples, but there are really many! You can buy a set to build a pyramid, like this, a set that allows you to reconstruct a lighthouse (here you can see it built), or recreate the skyline of a European capital (such as with this set of London).

The possibility are many and you can find beautiful construction sets Suitable for adults and children Not only of the Lego note, but also of many other manufacturers equally attentive to details (you can see an example here).