A great way to improve creativity, problem solving, resilience and team work is with Lego.
The name Lego comes from a combination of two Danish words "LEG GODT" which translate to "play well". Lego was initially created in Denmark in 1932 and over the last ninety years has grown into one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world.
So what are the pros and cons of Lego for children. Lets begin with the positives.
- Building with a friend or family member helps to develop team work and communication.
- When trying to build that tall tower which topples over and smashes into pieces, you have the resilience to put it back together and using problem solving you manage to improve the initial model.
- Piecing together these intricate block helps to develop fine motor skills.
- Creative thinking is something that is commonly forgotten about. Most people get the instruction book out and begin to build the model step by step, like a piece of Ikea furniture. How about you remove the instruct book and get your child to build using their imagination.
Here are some of the negatives of Lego:
- The small pieces can be a choking hazard if you have a young child, however you can use Duplo which is design for very young children.
- The mess – having Lego in the house will lead to pieces everywhere, and if you’ve not stepped on a Lego brick with your bare foot, you wont know how painful it can be.
- Lego is made from plastic, which is not good for the environment. They are planning to have all their Lego made from sustainable sources by 2030.
- The Cost – this is a biggest drawback of Lego, it is very expensive. However there are cheap ways to get hold of Lego. Below I talk more about how you can reduce the cost of Lego.
Managing the Cost of Lego
- Most people buy the Lego sets which create a unique model, not only does this lack creativity, the price you pay per brick is much higher compared to the Lego classic creative sets (where you use your imagination). The unique model sets cost about 10-20p per brick whereas the classis sets cost about 3-5p per brick (approximately one fifth of the price)
- Buy second hand – do a quick search on eBay, check your local Gumtree page or Facebook Market place, parents are always looking to get rid of Lego when their children get older. You can pick up a massive box for a fraction of the price.
- Rent Lego – There are companies that rent Lego out for a week or two, these can be for use at home or for a Lego party where lots of children can make Lego models at the same time.
- The value of 2nd hand Lego increases by 11% annually which is a better return than Gold. If you own an old set that they no longer produce, check how much its worth on the website https://www.brickeconomy.com/ by submitted the 5 digit code in the search bar. I bought a Lego set (10704) a few years back for £15 normally £30, its now worth £47.31.
- Buying individual bricks - If you require a certain type of brick, why not purchase in bulk from https://www.brickowl.com/ prices start at 1p per brick.
I feel the positives definitely outweigh the negatives when it comes to Lego. The greatest drawback I feel is the cost but there are ways to reduce costs.
Something I am looking for which I cannot seem to find in the UK is a company that rents out large Lego Sets to make unique sets such as the Lego Titanic which costs £700 to buy. There are lots of companies in America that run this sort of rental service and many in Europe however I cannot find one in the UK. If you know of any companies in the UK, please share this with me.
