Benefits of playing with Building Blocks

Little blond boy child kid preschooler playing with colorful building blocks toys interior. At home. Childhood and development.

Blocks are a classic toy that children have been playing with for generations. These ageless toys remain popular centuries later. Part of this is because children find blocks fun almost universally, but the other part is that building with blocks provides a lot of benefits to children.

Although playing with blocks might seem ordinary to you, here are 5 ways playing with blocks is anything but ordinary for children.

They Build Imagination

What are these blocks to you today? Will you build an enormous castle and fight dragons from the keep walls? Is it a busy city filled with cars? A robot? A pyramid? With blocks the possibilities are limitless. A good set of blocks can act as the backdrop for anything your child comes up with.

Develops Math and Logic Skills

As your child builds their latest creation, math skills are also at play. Measuring, symmetry, comparisons, and many other important math skills may be in use when your child builds something. With an assortment of different sized blocks, children will also quickly understand size difference and the role it plays in their buildings.

Block play early in life can go a long way to supporting your child’s math skills later in life, along with a number of other important life skills.

Social and Emotional Development

Although blocks can be played with alone, many times block play is also a team effort. Blocks are a wonderful way to bring children of all ages and abilities together on a project. Through block play, children can learn how to share resources, work together, and take turns.

One child may give another instructions to center the top of a castle, or ask for help from a taller student to make something better. The ability to ask for help, give directions, and cooperate can all help develop critical social and emotional skills.

Fine and Gross Motor Skill Development

Of course, playing with blocks also helps young children develop physically as well. Fine motor skills are needed to pick up blocks and move them around, and gross motor skills are needed to jump over a block bridge or stretch up high to make a tall tower.

A set of blocks can help build up strong bodies as well as strong minds, which makes them a great choice for daycares, schools, and the home too.

Improves vocabulary

When children work together to build a new creation, it often involves a lot of discussion. A teacher might ask kids at play what they are building, what made them decide to build that, or what would happen if a block was put somewhere else.

Some blocks have letters or colors written on them and talking about what they look like and how they are different can also help children learn new words and concepts. Building blocks are popular with children of all ages, whether they are just learning to play with wooden blocks, or building complicated sets out of legos. The benefits also go a long way for them. Blocks should be in every child’s toy box, so that all these benefits are at their fingertips.