What should toddlers play with at 18 months, two and three? LEGO DUPLO sets explained
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Toddler play changes surprisingly quickly. From stacking first bricks to inventing stories and experimenting with ramps, here’s how LEGO DUPLO sets are designed to grow with children from 18 months to three and beyond.
Anyone who has watched a toddler play knows how quickly things change. One minute they are fascinated by simply stacking two bricks together, and before long they are inventing characters, racing cars and creating entire imaginary worlds.
That is one reason LEGO® DUPLO sets cover several different preschool stages. The larger bricks are designed for little hands, while the type of play becomes more involved as children get older, from straightforward building and colour recognition to storytelling and problem-solving.
Very currently has selected LEGO DUPLO sets with savings of up to 25% until September 16, including sets aimed at children from 18 months through to three years and over.
From 18 months: starting to build
For younger toddlers, play does not need complicated rules. Picking things up, putting them down, stacking, sorting and discovering what happens when different pieces are put together can provide plenty of entertainment.
The LEGO DUPLO Classic Brick Box is designed for children aged 18 months and over and contains 65 pieces, including colourful bricks, a car with moving wheels, figures, flowers and numbered bricks.
There is no single model children are expected to make. Instead, the pieces can be combined in different ways, allowing an adult to start something before handing over to a toddler to decide what happens next. That makes it particularly suited to the kind of collaborative play where parents can get involved without having to direct everything.
From age two: pretend play takes over
By two, children may be increasingly interested in copying things they have seen, recognising familiar characters and creating their own simple stories.
That is where character sets can come into their own. The LEGO DUPLO Bluey Pizza Girls with Muffin and Bluey set, for example, is aimed at children aged two and over and recreates the make-believe pizza game from the TV series.
Children can make mud pizzas, use the toy car and play with the swing, but they do not have to follow the original Bluey story. Very says the set can encourage observation and imitation as well as taking turns, giving children the starting point before letting them make the play their own.
Other LEGO DUPLO sets featuring familiar characters including Disney’s Frozen and Marvel’s Spidey offer another way of turning something a toddler already recognises into hands-on creative play.
From age three: building becomes an experiment
Once children reach three, some LEGO DUPLO sets introduce an extra challenge: rather than simply building something, children can start investigating what happens when they change it.
The LEGO DUPLO Town 3 in 1 Creative Ramps with Vehicles set is a good example. Its bricks can be rebuilt into three different ramp configurations, with two cars that children can send down them.
That introduces ideas including colour matching, spatial awareness and problem-solving without turning playtime into a lesson. If a car does not make a jump, children can change the ramp and try again.
For children fascinated by animals, the LEGO DUPLO Discovery Forest with Wild Animals set takes a different approach. Aimed at ages three and over, it contains six animal figures, trees and special coloured lenses that reveal hidden details, encouraging children to investigate the woodland and talk about what they discover.
There isn't one 'right' LEGO DUPLO set for every age
Age recommendations are a useful starting point, but children develop different interests at different times. One three-year-old might be absorbed by cars and ramps while another wants to spend an afternoon making up stories about animals.
That is arguably the advantage of having such a broad range. Parents can start the activity, build alongside their child and then see where their imagination takes it.
With up to 25% off selected LEGO DUPLO sets at Very until September 16, it is also worth seeing what is available for your child's particular age and interests.
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