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My Resolution on Legos
Whereas Lego bricks were created in 1949 by a Danish carpenter and have since been named one of the "Products of the Century” by Fortune magazine and " Toy of the Century” by the British Association of Toy Retailers, and whereas Legos are a member of the National Toy Hall of Fame; and
Whereas my 5-year-old son received his first set of Legos, Duplos, when he was 2 years old and started building towers and houses right away; and
Whereas he progressed to an intermediate set and then quickly to the standard size Legos with the blue Large Brick Box and started creating castles and towers and staircases and people transporters, be them cars or airplanes, with the help of his parents first and now on his own; and
Whereas Legos has spurned a new creative outlet for my son, even if some of his creations are a bit creepy, like the laboratory with the bodiless heads lined up in a row, with a chain connecting the first and last one, and a few imposing figures standing overtop; and
Whereas some complain that Legos have become too commercialized, with Star Wars or SpongeBob Squarepants Legos, and while I’d really like it if my son would be happy if I bought him the Golden Anniversary Set, I’m OK with the fact that he would rather have one of the new Power Miners or Agents sets; and
Whereas Santa Claus brought Guillermo a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Legos set that took him and my husband a good two hours to put together on Christmas Day so I had time to make our Christmas Mexican fiesta in peace; and
Whereas Lego sets are an easy, inexpensive gift for birthdays and Christmas and for Easter baskets, and though I will never buy the 3,803-piece Star Wars Death Star for $399.99, I will eagerly purchase the $9.99 sets on random occasion to surprise my son; and
Whereas Lego sets are a wonderful toy for my son to play with friends, with his family, or, most importantly, by himself, and whereas if he goes in his room and shuts the door, chances are he is playing Legos and will stay in there for at least 30 minutes, but sometimes for more than an hour, alone, without whining or asking for a snack or for me to play Star Wars or superhero with him; and
Whereas a new Legos store is opening in Raleigh soon, and we can’t wait because we’ve never been to such a store; and
Whereas Legos make my son so very happy and can cure nearly any of his blues, even if he steps on them with his bare feet because they usually are scattered all over his floor; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved that Natalie Gott, the mother to Guillermo, age 5, and Maya, age 2, hereby declares that Lego is the best toy to ever enter her home and will welcome more Legos as long as they shall continue to keep her children entertained and especially if they continue to provide her with short kid-free breaks throughout the day.
Natalie appears Sundays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Natalie at her blog A Day at the Park.
Natalie Gott
Natalie is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Sunday.
Natalie is a stay-at-home mom in Carrboro to castle- and super hero-loving Guillermo, 5, and puzzle- and big brother-adoring Maya, 2. Natalie was a wire service reporter for nine years, but stopped working after Maya was born in 2006. Most mornings you can now find her at the playgrounds chasing her kids, who frequently are wearing superhero capes. Natalie grew up in Iowa and Peoria, Ill. After college, she lived in St. Louis, Baton Rouge, La.,and Austin, Texas. In 2005, she and her husband moved to North Carolina and she proudly sings every word to the "It's Carrboro" rap. Natalie loves politics, reggae and grocery stores and readily admits she wastes too much time reading celebrity gossip, but just can't stop herself.
Comments
I agree. We used an old gift card to buy 2 agents set this weekend. How else to pass the time with this wet weather? My eight year old amazes me. There are times he gets stuck building something. He'll come to me for help, but it never fails....while I stare at it, and can't figure it out (it brings back memories of those "Spacial relations" tests in school) eventually, he says "nevermind, mom I've got it." and leave me in the dust.
My son likes the lego cars alot! He's been more into the Knex kits right now and his Kapla blocks (another GREAT toy), but I'm betting he'll get really hooked on the legos soon. The Knex kits drive me nuts because they have to be SO precise.
We went to the Lego store at Disney and it is VERY cool. I hadn't heard about the Raleigh store. Very cool!
I love Kapla blocks, too, but we don't own any. I think we've only played with them at the Museum of Life and Science. We haven't played with Knex though.
Although the Kapla blocks were expensive (I got a grandparent to give them as a present), they have been well worth the price on a per use basis. Plus, my husband and I like playing with them. I decided to get them the day I watched a 50 year old man, a 15 year old teenager, a 9 year old and my 4 year old son all play with a set of the blocks for OVER AN HOUR.
I find the Knex hard to put together and they have to be very precise.
I hadn't heard of those Kapla blocks before. Just had to do a Google search! But they look like fun. We have just plain wooden blocks that my daughter can play with for a long time.
We also had a gift card to spend this weekend at a toy store. My daughter got it for her birthday - great way to spend a rainy Saturday. But the store only had massive Lego sets. She ended up choosing another Playmobil set (AKA more tiny parts spread across the house).
Sarah - Next time you go to Marbles, check out the Kapla blocks they are upstairs near the racetrack and the giant lego blocks, along the long wall.
I love blocks (both kapla and regular) because they allow the kids to be creative and can be played with through the years. My daughter got a set of wooden blocks for her first birthday and they have been played with almost every day for the past 6 years.
LOL about the Playmobile set and the pieces. We have several sets with pieces throughout the house.