Top 5 Best Blocks For Toddlers!
There’s no better toy to give your toddler than one that’s educational. A set of building blocks, in particular, is the perfect toy to help your child develop his creativity and learning. Read along to find out the best blocks for toddlers today.
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| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood... | 1806 Reviews | from $15.62 | Buy on Amazon |
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42 Piece Tegu Magnetic Wooden... | 148 Reviews | from $86.09 | Buy on Amazon |
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Magz-Bricks 120 Piece Magnetic... | 25 Reviews | $49.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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LEGO DUPLO Deluxe Box of fun... | 472 Reviews | $179.88 | Buy on Amazon |
Top 5 Best Toy Blocks for Toddlers
There are hundreds of brands of toy blocks available on the market today, but as we always do, we picked five brands that we believe are the best for children 1 to 5 years old.
**Below, you'll find our more detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.
#5 Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set
Preview
Product
Rating
Price
Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood...
1806 Reviews
from $15.62
Buy on Amazon
Melissa & Doug stays faithful to the classic with their wooden building block set. It’s composed of 100 solid wooden blocks perfect for several hours of exciting play. The blocks come in four colors (red, yellow, blue, and green) and nine shapes (rectangle, cuboid, cylinder, and arc).
They’re the perfect tools for building toy castles, towers, and even dollhouses, and are designed to help kids develop fine motor skills. The diverse shapes and colors also allow your child to experiment with different construction projects, helping him sharpen his imagination. Painted with a smooth, non-toxic finish, these blocks will give you peace of mind that your child is safe with them.
What you will love about it:
- The number of blocks allows more opportunity for your child to think creatively
- The solid construction will make these blocks long-lasting
- The variety of size and shape of the blocks make them perfect for both younger and older toddlers
What you may not like about it
- You may need a separate storage box since its original container is made of cardboard, which apparently won’t last long
#4 Tegu Magnetic Wooden Block Set
Preview
Product
Rating
Price
42 Piece Tegu Magnetic Wooden...
148 Reviews
from $86.09
Buy on Amazon
A level up on your regular wooden blocks, Tegu offers a set of colorful blocks that uses magnetism for connecting one block to another. Just like any wooden block set, this set comes with colorful pieces. It also offers nine different shapes, plus four magnetic wheels.
The blocks are mostly columns and planks, but there are also short angles, cubes, and parallelograms that let your child add details to his construction. What makes the Tegu Wooden Block Set unique, though, is that the blocks are made to work as a system and not just individually. Through this system, your child will have endless possibilities in creating projects.
What you will love about it:
- This set gives your child the opportunity to learn about how magnets work
- The magnetism allows for effortless stacking
- The classic look of the wooden blocks doesn’t make these toys look like they’re adding clutter to the room
What you may not like about it
- You may need to guide younger children as the magnets are placed in specific locations and need to be positioned accurately for them to hold perfectly well
#3 Magz-Bricks Magnetic Building Set
Preview
Product
Rating
Price
Magz-Bricks 120 Piece Magnetic...
25 Reviews
$49.95
Buy on Amazon
Another magnetic block set on our list is this one from Magz. It’s not your conventional building block set not only because it operates using magnets, but because of its oddly-shaped pieces. Each piece is shaped like a miniature bench or telephone with magnets attached to both ends.
The pieces interlock when put together and are designed in such a way as to provide unlimited opportunities for stacking and connecting, and thus, endless ideas for projects.
What you will love about it:
- The unlimited projects you can create with these blocks make playtime very enjoyable
- The magnets are very strong and are able to hold very tall towers
- Stacking these blocks require little effort
What you may not like about it
- Since one set only provides 40 pieces, you may need to get at least two sets for your child to explore more construction ideas
#2 Mega Bloks Deluxe Building Bag
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Your little one will surely have endless ideas with the 150 pieces of blocks the Mega Blocks Deluxe Building Bag has to offer. This toy is perfect for children 1 to 5 years old and comes with colorful blocks of different shapes designed for creative and open-ended play.
From towers to houses, to robots, there’s just a lot of things your child can create with this bag of building blocks. You’ll also love the fact that it comes with a reusable plastic duffle bag for easy storage or relocation of the toys. If you’re a fan of LEGO, you’ll love how the Mega Bloks could be a more affordable alternative than the all-time classic.
What you will love about it:
- These blocks are great starter toys for very young children
- The set is designed in such a way that helps reinforce children’s knowledge about shapes and colors
- The size of the blocks makes them perfect for little hands
What you may not like about it
- There seems to be an overabundance of the single pieces and not enough of the longer pieces
#1 LEGO DUPLO Deluxe Box of Fun
Preview
Product
Rating
Price
LEGO DUPLO Deluxe Box of fun...
472 Reviews
$179.88
Buy on Amazon
Speaking of LEGO, last but not least on our list of the best toy blocks for toddlers is the LEGO Duplo Delux Box of Fun. It’s really good to know that there’s a version of this all-time favorite made available for smaller children. Designed for children ages 1 and 1/2 to 5 years, the Duplo carries the same quality that the classic LEGO blocks possess.
The only difference is that each piece is a lot bigger and made specifically for toddlers. The box of fun, in particular, includes shapes that let your child build houses with windows, as well as cars and robots. It also includes miniature people, animals, and flowers.
What you will love about it:
- The variety of the pieces makes this a perfect set for encouraging creativity and pretend play
- The storage box makes pack-away time quick and convenient
- It’s made by LEGO, so you can expect it to last for a very long time
What you may not like about it
- You’d wish there were more pieces for the price
Our Pick Of Toy Blocks
We were debating among ourselves between the Tegu and Duplo sets. Some of us loved how the Tegu is a nice diversion from the usual toy block, while others argued that Duplo is more flexible. In the end, we’ve decided to pick the LEGO DUPLO Deluxe Box of Fun as our winner for this selection.
Via: Amazon.com
We loved the innovativeness of Tegu, but if we’re looking for something more versatile, there’s no question that the Duplo fits the category best. And unlike magnetic blocks, LEGO blocks can be stacked securely since they interlock, so you can be sure that the tall tower your child worked on for hours won’t easily crumble down with a slight bump.
Finally, we loved the fact that the Duplo set comes with a brick-shaped storage box. After-play packing is essential for us parents, and with the presence of a storage box, it would be easier for us to teach our kids how to pack their stuff away once they’re done playing.
So, there you go. For those who say that the LEGO era is over, you might want to think again. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love Tegu, too. We actually do, so here’s a short video of its designer explaining how makes Tegu toys special in their own way:
And for those of you who want to see our top pick in action, here’s a video for you:
Top 4 Benefits Of Building Blocks
As your little one turns 16 months old, you’ll see him getting more and more curious about things. The reason is that he’s trying to establish himself as an individual around this age. The only problem is that he still doesn’t have the capacity at this time to express his thoughts and emotions and often throw temper tantrums when he doesn’t get what he wants.
This is where the importance of toy blocks comes in. The key to helping toddlers cope up with their emotions is by giving them the opportunity to express their thoughts in creative ways and letting them play with toy blocks is one of those ways.
Of course, toy blocks help kids develop their hand-eye coordination and motor skills, but what most people do not realize is that they also give children the opportunity to be more creative. Such toys stimulate the mind for toddlers to think imaginatively, especially since they allow for open-ended plays.
Moreover, compared to puzzle toys, toy blocks encourage the development of more and diverse problem-solving skills. This means they help toddlers try to find multiple solutions to a problem. Having said that, here are some other exciting reasons you should encourage your child to play with toy blocks.
Spatial Skills. Spatial ability is the ability of an individual to understand and remember spatial relations among objects. Construction play encourages a child to rotate objects in his mind, improving his spatial skill.
Math Skills. Toy blocks have also been found to help children develop their math skills. Several studies suggest that the more free time is given to kids in construction play, the better they perform on tests involving mathematics word problem.
Problem-Solving Skills. Not only do children learn how to solve problems efficiently by playing toy blocks, but they also find out how to solve them in different and creative ways.
Cooperative Play. Letting your child play with other kids in toy block construction projects help them become more socially-savvy. It even helps them build high-quality friendships later on in life.
Helping Your Child Get The Most From His Toy Blocks
While kids know how to play on their own, there are things you can do to help them get the most from construction play.
- Play with your child. Study states that children learn better from block play when an adult is present to teach them or demonstrate certain building tasks.
- Incorporate other toys. Encourage your child to use his imagination by combining other toys with his building blocks such as miniature cars and people. This will give him ideas for projects and pretend play.
- Integrate story time. Combining story time to construction play will not only make playtime more exciting but will also help increase pretend play. It will also give your child ideas on what to build when he’s playing on his own later on.
- Use specific building tasks. It’s important that you let your child express his creativity through free-wheeling play, but from time to time, try to challenge him with specific projects. You can do this by showing him pictures or diagrams as guides of what he can build.
How To Shop For Toy Blocks
Here are several things you should consider when shopping for toy blocks.
Age-Appropriate
Toy blocks are categorized according to age group. When choosing one for your child, make sure it’s the right type for his age.
If he’s too old for the kind of blocks you pick, he might get bored easily for the lack of challenge. If he’s too young for it, he might get frustrated due to the difficulty level of the toy. It could also pose a choking hazard since blocks for older children have smaller pieces.
Choking Hazard
Speaking of choking hazard, make sure your choice of toy blocks have pieces that are large enough to fit your child’s mouth, nose, or ears, especially if your child is below three and has a tendency to pick up objects and put them in his mouth.
Toxic Materials
Most toys nowadays are free from toxic materials, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Make sure your choice of toy blocks do not contain BPA, phthalates, lead paint, and other elements that may be harmful to your child.
Price
Toys blocks need not be too expensive as long as they are age-appropriate and are able to meet your child’s playtime and learning needs.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood... | 1806 Reviews | from $15.62 | Buy on Amazon |
|
|
42 Piece Tegu Magnetic Wooden... | 148 Reviews | from $86.09 | Buy on Amazon |
|
|
Magz-Bricks 120 Piece Magnetic... | 25 Reviews | $49.95 | Buy on Amazon |
|
|
LEGO DUPLO Deluxe Box of fun... | 472 Reviews | $179.88 | Buy on Amazon |
What did you think about this post? Do you agree with our top pick? Whether you do or not, lets us know in the comments section. And please feel free to share to let your loved ones know what the best brand of blocks for toddlers is nowadays! Thank you!