Mega Bloks or Duplos?

[musicalgrl]

I am looking to get some blocks for DD (7 mos.) for Christmas and was wondering if anyone could share their preference of Mega Bloks, Duplos, or any others. I found a bag of Mega Bloks at Marshalls today for $14.99. Seemed like a good price. But I'd like to get something that she can use for a while that we also might be able to add on to. Thanks!!

[SAHMIL]

I am looking to get some blocks for DD (7 mos.) for Christmas and was wondering if anyone could share their preference of Mega Bloks, Duplos, or any others. I found a bag of Mega Bloks at Marshalls today for $14.99. Seemed like a good price. But I'd like to get something that she can use for a while that we also might be able to add on to. Thanks!!

I bought MegaBlocks for my son when he was 8 or 9 months old. He would crawl around with them and whatnot. He didn't start really looking to build or stack until later.

i would go with mega blocks just b/c the duplos are smaller and she desn't hve the fine motor sklls to go with them, plus some duplos could be choking hazard if she puts them in her mouth, etc. and $14.99 is a great price!

I started my son on Duplos around the age of 2. He likes them a lot now!

[lchang25000]

I bought the Mega Bloks big dump truck and a big bag of Mega bloks for really cheap at Ross. I plan to give them to DS for X-mas. He will be almost a year old at that time. I'll start him on the Duplos when he's around 2-3.

[bigsis]

I would go with Mega Bloks. Duplos may be too small, just like the PP said.

My 6yo DD and almost 4yo DS still play with theirs. I'm still looking to add to the collection.

[vonfirmath]

My son started playing with Duplos properly about 20 months. I gave them first to him to see what he would do at 13 months (They were a before-he-was-born gift.) And he never had any problems with them. Now, at barely 2 years old, they are his favorite toy.

[cestkaren]

The big mega bloks would probably be best for that age. 7 months is a bit young to do much with them, they have the big mega blocks at DS's daycare in the 12-24 month room. We have duplos at home and he likes to pull them apart, but he has occasionally put two together - he's 14.5 months old.

[Neatfreak]

Agreeing that Megabloks are easier for wee folk - my twelve month-old can actually stack them reasonably well.

[mnosky1]

I vote for the duplos. By the time they really enjoy these the duplos are plenty big enough. Also my toy buying theory is to not rebuy more of the same type- so I wouldn't buy mega blocks then duplos - it's one or the other. I think the duplos have more staying power - my 6 year old still likes them. I also like the new duplo people, and car sets with and DD loved her dora and diego add ons. I can't wait until the animal/zoo duplo sets come out (why in the world does lego wait to release new toys until Jan 1st)

[ett]

I vote for the duplos. By the time they really enjoy these the duplos are plenty big enough. Also my toy buying theory is to not rebuy more of the same type- so I wouldn't buy mega blocks then duplos - it's one or the other. I think the duplos have more staying power - my 6 year old still likes them. I also like the new duplo people, and car sets with and DD loved her dora and diego add ons. I can't wait until the animal/zoo duplo sets come out (why in the world does lego wait to release new toys until Jan 1st)

:yeahthat: We got some megablocks as gifts for DS1 and he never really took to them. By the time he could play with them, he just played with the duplos instead. Since they're both basically the same thing, I prefer to just stick with the duplos. DS1 is also 6 and still plays with the duplos with DS2.

So what new duplos sets are coming out Jan. 1? DS2 has a birthday end of January and I'm still looking for some gifts for him. :)

ETA: Before both DS's could play with the duplos, they liked stacking our wooden alphabet blocks. That's an easier skill than putting together duplo pieces.

[hellokitty]

Duplos, they are much higher quality than the megablocks. My kids played with them a LOT, it was well worth the $ and I know that after they are finished with them, I can sell off our set for a decent amt back. I got the town set and it was more than enough for my two boys.

[kerriowl]

There is also a Lego product called Quattro or Quatro (can't ever spell) that is basically the same size as mega blocks, but is exactly twice the size as Duplos and 4 times the size of legos, so they all interconnect. Could make adding to your stash easier as your child grows. I can't remember seeing them in the store, but our children's museum had them.

[hellokitty]

There is also a Lego product called Quattro or Quatro (can't ever spell) that is basically the same size as mega blocks, but is exactly twice the size as Duplos and 4 times the size of legos, so they all interconnect. Could make adding to your stash easier as your child grows. I can't remember seeing them in the store, but our children's museum had them.

We got rid of our quattro. They don't make them anymore. They were too big for my kids to hold comfortably with one hand and other than just stacking them into a tower, they did not build much of anything with them (they don't link together very well and fall over). Duplos were a lot more fun. If you buy quattro, get it used, it's not worth paying full price for it and they are space hogs.

[srhs]

...
i would go with mega blocks just b/c the duplos are smaller and she desn't hve the fine motor sklls to go with them, plus some duplos could be choking hazard if she puts them in her mouth, etc. and $14.99 is a great price!

I started my son on Duplos around the age of 2. He likes them a lot now!

In that case, since I'll have DS2 around DS1 with these, megablocks would be a better choice, right? Because they won't have smaller dangerous pieces?

[vonfirmath]

In that case, since I'll have DS2 around DS1 with these, megablocks would be a better choice, right? Because they won't have smaller dangerous pieces?

If you avoid the sets with "special" pieces, then duplos are no more of a choking hazard than anything else. We get just-bricks sets. No choking hazards there.

[ett]

We got rid of our quattro. They don't make them anymore. They were too big for my kids to hold comfortably with one hand and other than just stacking them into a tower, they did not build much of anything with them (they don't link together very well and fall over). Duplos were a lot more fun. If you buy quattro, get it used, it's not worth paying full price for it and they are space hogs.

:yeahthat: You took the words right out of my mouth. :) We still have ours but I really need to get rid of them. I can see why Legos does not make them anymore.

[GraceH]

We got the MegaBlocks Maxi blocks in a wagon when DS was under a year old -- he loved to push/pull it all over the house... the blocks also introduced him to the idea of building towers and such.
Now that DS is 2, he got actual Duplos for his second birthday -- we got the green bin with the car platform & guy in it... we can build slightly more complex things, but we use the Mega blocks to put in 'buildings' for the guy to drive around.
We have Legos on the shelf waiting for another 2 years or so...

We got a Nilo basic block table on special for $85 shipped at Nilo with 2 Lego/Duplo inserts -- it was a great investment, as both the Duplos and Mega blocks fit on the Duplo side -- the Mega blocks wagon fits underneath for storage -- the inserts also come out for DS to play with trains. :love-retry:

[deborah_r]

:yeahthat: You took the words right out of my mouth. :) We still have ours but I really need to get rid of them. I can see why Legos does not make them anymore.

My kid must be weird. He loves those Quattros, and has built some really interesting things with them. He has a massive amount of Duplos but still loves those Quattros!