Toddler Building Blocks
~ Which Ones Are the Best ?
Looking for toddler building blocks ?
Then keep on reading. Here you'll find a buying guide and recommendation on the best toddler play blocks.
Toddler Building Blocks for Young Toddlers (up to 15 months)
Toddler blocks are wonderful toys for a toddler to have, even for the young ones. The ideal toddler play blocks for very young toddlers are
soft blocks, because they are usually big and are therefore easy to stack. They are also soft enough, so they are safer for young children to play
with.
Therefore, for this age group, I suggest soft blocks of different shapes. I like IQ Baby Knock Knock Blocks (which are currently offered at 20%
OFF here
) because they are soft, well-made, colorful, contain different shapes, safe, developmental and have different things in each block. Some blocks can give
rattling sound, some have peek-a-boo flaps, and so forth. Your toddlers will be busy exploring these toddler play blocks as well as stacking them, and will continue
to play with these blocks in different ways even until preschool age (yes, you read it correcly - preschool age).
I'm continually surprised by my children with the way they play. Although two of them are no longer preschooler, they still play with preschooler and toddler toys
, but they play them in different ways. For instance, I thought that they would no longer be interested in playing with the baby stacking rings. But
they do use those rings to play pretend-donuts and other things (depending on their imagination). So investment in good quality, safe and developmental toys
is worth it, in my opinion.
Toddler Building Blocks for Toddlers Older Than 15 Months.
Toddler ABC blocks
At around 15 months, your toddler should be ready for ABC blocks. Some are made of wood, some are from plastic, and some are made of cardboard
paper. I highly recommend you to get the wooden ABC blocks instead of the plastic ones, even if they are more expensive compared to the plastic
ones. I found that the plastic ones are just not up to my expectation. Not only they are too light, but also some of them have non-even surfaces
which make them hard to stack. Plastic building blocks, in my opinion, will only frustate your tots and a complete waste of money. Wooden building
blocks, in contrary, are heavier and have smooth surface. They are easy to stack and durable.
If you want to buy toddler wooden blocks, be aware that there are some manufacturers of such blocks today. The price and quality vary, though. For
toddlers, I suggest to get the Uncle Goose ABC blocks by Lindenwood. These toddler building blocks won't chip when chewed. In addition, the
blocks have non-toxic paint which won't come off even when chewed and licked. The only drawback is that they are not the cheapest ones. However,
in my opinion, they are the safest ones for toddlers.
These ABC blocks also have numbers, pictures and symbols on the side. So you can use these toddler wooden blocks to introduce numbers,
alphabets and name of things to your toddlers. They are available at 20%
OFF here.
Toddler Wooden Blocks (Unit Blocks)
Older toddlers may like the challenge of making a structure other than tower made of cube-shaped (alphabet) blocks. That's where toddler wooden blocks come in.
For toddlers, chunky unit blocks are the best ones since they're just perfect for toddler's hands and are not difficult to stack.
Since
most toddlers still like to chew and lick their toys a lot, unfinished blocks or blocks painted with non-toxic paint are preferable. Additionally,
when buying toddler wooden unit blocks, pay attention to the edge as well, since you don't want your toddlers to hurt their hands because of the wood splinters.
Toddler wooden blocks which I recommend is Melissa and Doug 60 unit blocks because these toddler building blocks have the right size, of high quality
(smooth edge and surface) and finished by natural non-toxic oil. They're rather expensive compared to other wooden blocks, but their quality and size is very suitable
for toddlers. You can get them 25% OFF here.
Magnetic Building Toys for Toddlers.
Magnetic building toys are another type of building toys you can get for your toddlers. To prevent the choking hazard, it's best to get the
jumbo magnetic building toys. Besides, the jumbo size of these toddler building toys make them easy for toddler to grab and play with. There are two makers of such
toddler building toys, namely: Jumbonetics and Magneatos. Of those two, Magneatos products were preferred because they have strong enough magnets
to enable the magnetic pieces to stick together and form a kind of building/tower. Magneatos is currently available at her
e.
Interlocking Toddler Building Blocks.
In choosing interlocking blocks for your tots, one thing you should always remember is your toddlers developmental stage. For instance :
- Since they do not have good fine motor skills yet, you should buy interlocking blocks which are big and forgiving. This means that the
pieces have to be able to be shunted easily, rather than to be fitted. Lego Duplo and Megablok make these kind of block.
- Since toddlers do not have capability to produce something resembling 'a building' or 'an object' of some sort yet, it is a good idea to
buy blocks which has a 'base' resembling an object. For instance: a ship or car. This way, a toddler does not need to build 'a ship'. Instead,
they can just 'shunt' the pieces to the existing 'ship'.
What kind of toddler interlocking blocks available nowadays ?
Other than the famous jumbo plastic interlocking blocks made by either
MEGA BLOK
and Lego (LEGO DUPLO
), you can try interlocking blocks made from other materials for your toddlers. Here are interlocking toddler blocks made from other materials:
- Foam interlocking blocks.
These blocks are soft and light, so that it won't hurt anybody if thrown around. However, my biggest
reservation for getting foam building blocks for toddlers is that children at this age group still like to chew toys. Soft foam interlocking blocks
can chip easily when chewed or bitten. So this toy can present a choking hazard. Another drawback is that it's best played on the floor which has
no thick carpet since the foam block structures topple more easily than structures made of wood or plastic blocks. Other than those, foam
interlocking blocks made by Edushape (currently at 27% OFF)
seems to be decent and of high quality.
- Wooden interlocking blocks.
HABA
makes such blocks, and their products seem to be of high quality, safe and age appropriate. The only drawback is that these wooden interlocking
blocks are expensive (we're talking about $31 for 13 block pieces).
Toddler Cardboard Building Blocks.
Your older toddlers may like giant building blocks made from cardboard. These toddler building blocks are made of corrugated cardboard and are best
to make real life size structures. They are light enough for toddlers to handle, but sturdy and stable. YOu can get either a set with mixed size
of cardboard building blocks (i.e. red, yellow and blue bricks), or a set with the biggest bricks (red brick blocks only). The most stable ones of
course the biggest bricks (the red ones).
Finding a place to buy cardboard toddler building blocks locally can be tricky. Since these large cardboard blocks are ones of the staple toys in day cares and preschools you may be able to buy these from the local day care suppliers. However, if you are willing to buy these online, there are ample of online stores which carry them.
Here are the links for your shopping convenience:
(UPDATE: Before shopping, please note that Kazootoys is currently offering
20% OFF all toys storewide at checkout and is therefore, for the time being, cheaper than Amazon. To claim the discount, click on Kazoo Toy link below)
- Mixed cardboard brick blocks (consisting of 3-size brick blocks):
- Red brick (the largest) cardboard blocks only from:
Kazoo Toy store
or Amazon
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