Lego: Do we want to go there?

[MommyofAmaya]

DD had the opportunity to play with Legos for the first time the other day and loved them. I put some Duplo sets on her Amazon wish list, but now I am having second thoughts. We do not buy any toys with loads of pieces b/c we are terrible about keeping them together (we get enough as gifts). Pieces are always in different places in different rooms, making the toys/games useless. We also have a train set on the wish list and plan to buy a train table (probably the Circo one from the Target toy book). My intention was to be that Legos must be played on the table. Is that reasonable rule? Will Legos drive me crazy?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Legos are fabulous! Such open ended toys! We let ds play with them in his room or on a table. The random times I have stepped on them barefoot haven't been my favorite experiences but I would never dream of not having Legos!

Beth

[Piglet]

Yes, go there!!! They are the best toy ever! DH and his brothers played Legos for years and years and now my kids are playing with both DH's hand me downs and our new things. Forget the mess and let them go nuts - seriously, best toy ever!

[WatchingThemGrow]

We just got a new train set yesterday (birthday) and a Thomas Duplo set. Interestingly, we built the station thing with the Duplos, then DD wanted to make Tidmouth sheds for all the little trains, so she asked for help in building little ones for the Thomas, Percy, etc. It was fun to see her want to create her own ideas with duplos.

FWIW, DH is totally into the train thing. Totally not what I expected. I think his parents didn't let him get toys with lots of pieces b/c of the mess factor. I say GO FOR IT. Let her create and have fun!

I would buy the duplos 2nd hand though. The building plates are important, though, because they are good for building on the ground.

[hellokitty]

My kids love legos. With that said, I just got rid of our train table last wk, b/c my kids do NOT keep their legos in one room. They travel all over the house, it drives me nuts. Duplo are not too bad to keep track of. Wait until you get into the regular size legos and you have to keep track of itty bitt lego ppl hands and heads.

[vonfirmath]

A neat thing about Legos? it doesn't matter if some of the pieces get lost!

[MommyofAmaya]

Wow. Definitely a resounding YES. We'll keep them on the list then. Thanks for your responses.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Oops, misread. Duplos? Eh. I'd still get some but I would stick with a smaller set. Real Legos are the fun ones. :)

Beth

[vonfirmath]

Oops, misread. Duplos? Eh. I'd still get some but I would stick with a smaller set. Real Legos are the fun ones. :)

Beth

We find about 100 Duplos (enough to fill a Lego box) is just right for our 2 year old right now. Before he's ready for big Legos, though, I expect he's going to want to build buildings and leave them up, so I've got 100 more waiting in the wings for him to be ready.

My parents have TONS of Legos waiting for me to want them. I don't expect to graduate until at least age 4 and maybe age 5, depending on other factors.

Duplos are better for building larger buildings than regular Lego, so some Lego afficiondos keep playing with them even after they graduate.

[ett]

Definitely! Legos are one of our favorite toys here. DS1 is 6 and still plays with the duplos with DS2.

[nabigus]

Yes yes YES! Best. toy. ever.

But I second only getting a handful of the Duplos. Your dd might be ready for the little bitty ones sooner than you think. Ds started playing with the little ones before he turned 3.5, for sure.

And we keep Legos in the pull-out shallow toy drawers from Ikea, which minimizes the needing to dump the whole lot out to find something. We actually have very very little Lego migration.

[AnnieW625]

Big YES! DD got some Duplos for her 2nd Christmas I think (so 18 mos. old IIRC) and she loves them. I soo want to get her the Thomas legos too as she loves Thomas. FWIW I have also seen some lego Duplo sets in more girly colors.

[alirebco]

DS loves his legos. We keep them in our room and he plays with them while we're getting ready in the morning. We have one of the starter sets in the box and he puts them all back in there when he's done with them.

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Duplo-5380-Building-Set/dp/B000SI6JEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1257880710&sr=8-1

[MommyofAmaya]

Yes yes YES! Best. toy. ever.

But I second only getting a handful of the Duplos. Your dd might be ready for the little bitty ones sooner than you think. Ds sarted playing with the little ones before he turned 3.5, for sure.

And we keep Legos in the pull-out shallow toy drawers from Ikea, which minimizes the needing to dump the whole lot out to find something. We actually have very very little Lego migration.

I was wondering whether to just start with regular Lego, since we have some Mega Blocks and they haven't gotten played with often. I imagine they are a major choking hazard though and ds is still mouthing everything. Are there different sized regular Lego sets or are they all "teeny tiny"? :)

[alexsmommy]

Yes. I love the open ended play - even if it means the occasional sore foot because I step on an errant one while barefoot. DS1 still uses the duplos as well.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I was wondering whether to just start with regular Lego, since we have some Mega Blocks and they haven't gotten played with often. I imagine they are a major choking hazard though and ds is still mouthing everything. Are there different sized regular Lego sets or are they all "teeny tiny"? :)

See, that's why we didn't really get into Duplos. We had MegaBloks and some Duplos but they didn't get much play. Maybe it's because of the age we tried them. As soon as we gave ds real Legos he was off and running. Megabloks fit the bill for Duplos, imo, so if you have them don't get too many Duplos.

They are choking hazards which is why ds plays with them in his room or on the table/. It's been fine.

Beth

[o_mom]

I was wondering whether to just start with regular Lego, since we have some Mega Blocks and they haven't gotten played with often. I imagine they are a major choking hazard though and ds is still mouthing everything. Are there different sized regular Lego sets or are they all "teeny tiny"? :)

Most legos are choke-able, there really aren't many that aren't. The tiny ones actually go through easier ;).

I think it depends on the size of the MegaBloks you have if they replace Duplos. There are three sizes of MB - large ones are about 2 in high with the nubs on top. Then they have a medium sized one that is exactly the same as Duplos and a small one that is the same as Legos. If you have the medium ones, they are interchangable with Duplos so you wouldn't need Duplos. If you only have the really big ones, you might try some Duplos.

[GraceH]

DS got the MegaBloks (Maxis - the huge ones) for his first birthday - he loves those...
A month or so ago, we get a Nilo Basic Block Table on special (half size one, because we have a small house) - the Nilo tables have LEGO double-sided (Duplo/LEGO - but the Maxi blocks fit the Duplo side) inserts for block play, plus they remove for DS to play with other things (such as the trains he got for his 2nd bDay)
He also got a bucket of Duplos for his second bDay - so we'll be starting those soon. We plan on getting him LEGOs in a couple years, no doubt about that.

I would highly recommend considering a Nilo activity table ('train' table), so that you can add the LEGO inserts to it -- DS has loved both building things and playing with trains. http://www.nilotoys.com/at.htm

[swampnurse]

The kids will be getting legos for christmas and i am looking for ways to store them and play with them to minimize the mess. Please keep the suggestions coming!!!

[fivi2]

My girls are almost 4 and love Duplos - they got into them around 3 yo (a little before?). The Thomas set someone mentioned was our first and one of the biggest hits ever. They will actually get more Duplos this year at 4 yo (we have a ton). I am in no hurry to move up to regular Legos and they don't seem to care. Just wanted to mention that some kids do love Duplos! We store them in one of the train table bins, but they get played with most often on the floor.

[baileygirl]

We have tons of duplos for ds (3 this month), and he is getting more for his birthday/Christmas (including the 550 piece bulk set). I plan on pushing for Duplos as long as possible, especially since he has an 8 month old brother. His cousins (5, 6, 8) own more Legos, but I have noticed they tend to keep the sets together more instead of building them. Also, they are only just starting to get to the point where they can build the actual sets themselves (in the past a parent would build them, and they would watch/do minimal help). They all play with DS1's legos when they come over, and I have never heard them complain about them not being Legos or them being for babies or anything like that. We bought the bulk set because "I" want to be able to build larger structures. I do think it is a good idea to get a set with special pieces that you think might interest your child. For example, someone mentioned the Thomas set...my child likes the sets with vehicles/people. A lot of those sets have few bricks, so I would look at the box to see what you are actually getting.

We keep them in a big clear rubbermaid container (got a second one for Christmas). I don't find it difficult to pick them up (and ds picks them up) since they are just tossed into the same bin.