Your toddler may be learning these 6 things while they play with LEGO DUPLO
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Building, storytelling and experimenting can all help toddlers develop new skills. Here are six things children may be learning while they think they’re simply playing.
Toddlers rarely need much encouragement to play. Give them something colourful to build, knock down, move around or turn into an imaginary world and they will usually take it from there.
But LEGO® DUPLO play can involve considerably more than simply keeping little hands occupied. The oversized bricks are designed to be toddler-friendly, while different sets can encourage everything from fine motor skills and imagination to problem-solving and curiosity.
Very currently has up to 25% off selected LEGO DUPLO sets until September 16, including toys aimed at children from 18 months through to three years and over. Parents can browse the wider LEGO DUPLO range at Very to find sets suited to different ages and interests.
1. Fine motor skills
Picking up bricks, positioning them and pressing them together requires children to use their hands and fingers in increasingly precise ways.
A simple starting point is the LEGO DUPLO Classic Brick Box, which is suitable from 18 months and combines colourful bricks with figures, numbered pieces and a wheeled car.
There is no complicated end result required. Children can stack, separate and rebuild the pieces repeatedly, helping turn basic hand movements into part of the game.
2. Imagination and storytelling
A pile of bricks can become almost anything, but familiar characters can give toddlers an easy starting point.
The LEGO DUPLO Bluey Pizza Girls with Muffin and Bluey set recreates a familiar play scenario from the TV series, allowing children to make pretend pizzas before taking the story in whatever direction they choose.
That move from copying something familiar to inventing something new is an important part of creative play.
3. Social skills
Pretend play can also help children explore situations involving other people.
The LEGO DUPLO Marvel Team Spidey Webquarters set, for example, provides characters and scenarios that can encourage children to create stories involving helping others, working together and taking turns.
Parents can start the story before allowing their child to decide what happens next, turning play into a shared activity without controlling it.
4. Problem-solving
One of the clever things about building toys is that something going wrong can become part of the fun.
The LEGO DUPLO Town 3 in 1 Creative Ramps with Vehicles set allows children to create different ramp layouts and send vehicles down them.
If a car does not travel where they expect, they can change the construction and try again. That introduces ideas such as spatial awareness, cause and effect and perseverance without making it feel like a lesson.
5. Curiosity
Some children are fascinated by animals, nature and discovering things for themselves.
The LEGO DUPLO Discovery Forest with Wild Animals set includes woodland scenery, animal figures and coloured lenses that reveal hidden details.
It gives adults plenty of opportunities to ask questions about animals, colours and what children can see, while still allowing them to explore independently.
6. Confidence to create something of their own
Perhaps the biggest benefit is that there often isn't one correct way to play.
Sets such as the LEGO DUPLO Creative Box with Elsa and Olaf provide familiar Disney characters alongside bricks that children can arrange, rebuild and turn into their own creations.
A parent might start by showing their child how pieces fit together, but the child can then decide what to build next.
And that is really the point. The learning does not need to be obvious to the child at all. To them, they are simply building, experimenting and making up stories.
Parents looking for something suited to their child's particular interests can browse the LEGO DUPLO range at Very, where selected sets are currently reduced by up to 25% until September 16.
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