Evolution might have touched everything in its path — turning it into something better or more up-to-date — but it has surely not affected one children’s toy — Building Blocks. These toys have been around long before man thought of video games and electronic toys. Originally made from simple wood, building blocks now come in plastic as well as soft materials. It is generally considered not only the oldest toy around for babies and toddlers but also the cheapest toy any parent can get for their baby.
But do building blocks play a role in the mental development of babies? And if they do, what role do they play?
Building blocks have long been considered to be one of the various toys that can help a baby’s mental development. Soft blocks that come in different bright colors and that produces sound when squeezed help a baby of up to six months of age to differentiate between colors as well as respond to sound. Since this is also the stage when they begin to have memories, it also becomes a time when your baby would learn to relate effect with cause. At this early stage, your baby can also learn to differentiate textures and shapes. Building blocks that come in different shapes, therefore, give your baby a first-hand experience on these differences.
During the seventh to twelfth month of age, your baby would already have finer motor skills, be able to find hidden objects, and would already be able to reach for objects and transfer them from one hand to the other. It is during this stage that building blocks could help your baby put similar things together as well as help your little one fine tune his eye-hand coordination.
At twelve to fifteen months of age, your baby would already be able to show signs of visual-spatial skills. This is a great time for them to learn about making buildings and stacking block to form a tower. At this stage, blocks also form a way for your baby to learn more about planning and using their imagination. It is also at this stage that the building blocks can help develop your baby’s fine as well as gross motor skills. Playing the building type blocks can also be your child’s first introduction to counting as well as to the basic mathematical operations of addition and subtraction.
As your child progresses, you can introduce him or her to wooden and plastic building blocks. You can even give them more complicated ones in order to enhance their logical thinking skills aside from their visual-spatial skills. They can even use these building blocks to initiate games with their playmates as well as create a whole new game of their own based on the use of the said blocks. Today, one of the most famous “blocks” toys that have circled the earth is Lego, a plastic building block that children can use to widen their imagination. Other brands that have made their name in the manufacturing of building blocks include Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs.
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