Building toys are some of the best toys to aid a child’s development. More than just fun, building toys help nurture creativity, imagination, dexterity, logic and reasoning skills from an early age.
As a parent looking for the ideal building toys for your kids, there is certainly no shortage of options. From classic blocks to modern construction kits, finding the right toys can be an overwhelming decision. This guide will explore the many benefits of building toys, the features to look for, and provide recommendations on the top-rated building sets for children of different ages and skill levels.
How Do Building Toys Benefit Early Childhood Development
Building activities provide the foundation for developing:
- Fine motor skills – Grasping, rotating, connecting pieces promotes dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
- Spatial thinking – Visualizing and analyzing shapes boosts spatial reasoning abilities.
- Problem-solving – Constructing structures encourages creative thinking and logic.
- Early engineering concepts – Foundations of design, balance, architecture and physics.
As your child stacks blocks into a tower or connects toy joints into a moving contraption, they are nurturing a multitude of cognitive and developmental skills that will provide lifelong benefits in education and beyond.
When shopping for the best building toys, opt for kits that are:
- Age-appropriate in terms of dexterity required and choking hazards
- Encourage imaginative play
- Align with your child’s interests
- Allow for open-ended building opportunities
The following building toys and kits fulfill the above criteria, making them the ideal toys for developing minds.
Best Building Toys for Ages 1-3 Years
Large Soft Building Blocks
For the youngest builders still developing fine motor control, large, soft building blocks are the ideal starter kits. With chunky blocks made of lightweight materials that easily interconnect, little hands can gain confidence in their building abilities.
Popular soft block kits include:
- ImagiBricksTM Giant Construction Blocks – 44 extra large blocks in bright colors for big building fun.
- Wayfair Building Blocks – 44 pieces including ramps, tunnels, and blocks with cutouts for endless configurations.
- Waloo Sports Antibacterial XL Soft Building Blocks – Built-in handles make carrying simple for little hands.
These jumbo-sized, soft building block sets build vital foundational skills. As your child advances, move onto more complex building toys listed in the next sections.
Key Benefits:
- Promote hand-eye coordination
- Lightweight for easy building
- Develop gross motor skills
- Built-in handles for carrying
- Encourage imaginative building
Average Price Range: $50-$100
Recommended Ages: 12 Months – 3 Years
Best Building Toys for Ages 3-6 Years
As preschoolers grow, switch gears to building kits that present new, engaging challenges including:
Interlocking Plastic Blocks
Move up to plastic interlocking blocks to spur your child’s blossoming building skills. Sturdy kits introduce concepts like symmetry, balance, patterns and sequencing critical for later STEM success.
Top interlocking block picks include:
- UNiPLAY builders with 85+ pieces – With chunky blocks for little hands and whimsical building cards for inspiration.
- Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! – Mesh bright plastic gears together while nurturing color and shape recognition.
- Lauri Tall Stacker Pegs – Build fine motor skills by stacking pegs, arranging puzzles, and lacing designs.
In addition to the developmental benefits already outlined, interlocking block sets build:
- Dexterity and strength to manipulate small pieces
- Understanding of patterns, sequences and spatial relationships
- Problem-solving abilities and creative expression
As young builders master these fundamental concepts, they will be primed for the more advanced building toys featured next.
Key Benefits:
- Develop pincer grasp
- Promote reasoning skills
- Teach patterns, spatial ability
- Encourage imaginative play
- Average Price Range: $15-$50
- Recommended Ages: 3-6 years
Wooden Building Blocks
Wooden blocks marked with numbers, letters and pictures add an academic element while still encouraging freeform building. Natural wooden blocks feel good in little hands, and improve skills like:
Recommended wooden block sets include:
- Edushape Alphabet Blocks – 62 pieces with letters, pictures & patterns
- Melissa & Doug Builder Blocks – 100+ wooden blocks in a reusable canvas bag
- Hape Country Critters Wooden Blocks – 30 handmade blocks with animal designs
As your child constructs a zoo with animal blocks or spells their name with alphabet blocks, they build literacy, cognitive and motor abilities in a fun, engaging way.
Open-ended wood block play allows unlimited room for your child to experiment and learn.
Key Benefits:
- Develop literacy skills
- Promote imagination and storytelling
- Hone fine motor skills
- Average Price Range: $25-$50
- Recommended Ages: 3-6 years
| Building Toy Type | Product Name | Key Developmental Skills | Average Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interlocking Plastic Blocks | UNiPLAY Builders | Patterns, spatial thinking, reasoning | $25 |
| Gears | Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! | Problem solving, fine motor, understanding mechanics | $15 |
| Wooden Blocks | Edushape Alphabet Blocks | Early literacy, imagination, dexterity | $30 |
Best Building Toys for Ages 6-9 Years
As young kids build confidence in their construction prowess, challenge their skills with more complex building kits featuring:
Construction & Engineering Building Toys
LEGO, K’NEX, Mega Bloks and other engineering-focused kits offer unlimited building opportunities. Follow intricate step-by-step guides or invent freely – either builds crucial STEM abilities.
We recommend:
- LEGO Classic Creative Building Set – 790 pieces for anything kids can imagine
- K’NEX 35 Model Building Set – Construct working models of planes, helicopters and motorcycles
- Mega Bloks Pro Builder – Includes blocks, wheels, doors, windows and people for architectural fun
- Magna-tiles – Innovative magnetic tiles spark creativity and math skills
These engineering building toys take constructive play to new levels – literally. Kids can build towering skyscrapers, intricate bridges, whirling Ferris wheels and everything in between while nurturing skills like:
- Spatial reasoning and geometric thinking
- Measuring, comparing and estimating
- Following multi-step directions
- Troubleshooting and creative problem-solving
Open-ended building options allow your child the creative freedom to construct anything they envision.
Key Benefits:
- Develop STEM abilities
- Encourage creative expression
- Promote strategic thinking
- Teach architectural concepts
Average Price Range: $40-$100
Recommended Ages: 6-9 years
Marble Runs
Another engaging building toy popular among elementary school kids are marble runs – contraptions that send marbles racing, looping and rolling every which way. Building these gravity-driven machines teaches concepts like:
- Velocity, energy transfer and cause-and-effect
- Structural design for stability and balance
- Trial-and-error iterative improvement
Our top picks for marble run building kits are:
- Quercetti Skyrail Twist & Fun Roller Coaster – Includes wheels, funnels and lifts to build epic tracks.
- Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Zoob – Invent climb and drop structures with uniquely shaped pieces.
- Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop – Combine tubes, funnels and bricks to experiment with physics concepts.
As your child constructs gravity-defying tracks, they gain first-hand insight into fundamental science principles. Allow mistakes as they reconfigure structures and let creativity lead the way.
Key Benefits:
- Gain understanding of physics concepts
- Develop structural engineering abilities
- Promote out-of-the-box thinking and problem solving
- Average Price Range: $25-$60
- Recommended Ages: 6-9 years
Best Building Toys for Ages 9-12 Years
By ages 9-12, kids possess the focus and building prowess for more immersive, solo construction projects. Robust robotics, electronics and 3D building kits provide the perfect challenge.
Robotics Building Kits
Programmable robot kits allow older kids to bring their constructions to life with coding. As they build bots piece-by-piece then program functions, children gain hands-on computer science and engineering skills.
Our recommended robotics building toys include:
- LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox Building Kit – Kids can build and program interactive robots with 1,000+ pieces
- KIWIco DIY Coding Kit – Invent anything from a guitar to Mars rover with electronic modules
- littleBits Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit – Build and customize a droid then complete interactive Star Wars missions
Watch your child’s creativity surge as they construct robots, gadgets and more that move, light up, make sounds and come alive through code. These tangible programming experiences nurture computational thinking and set kids up for future tech success.
Key Benefits:
- Introduce coding concepts through building
- Develop design thinking and iteration skills
- Promote computational thinking abilities
- Average Price Range: $100-$200
- Recommended Ages: 8-12 years
Architecture & 3D Model Building
Bring ideas off the page and into reality with incredible 3D building kits. From recreating world wonders to designing fantasy realms, these intricate model sets flex both creativity and technical skills.
We highly recommend:
- ALEX Toys Artist Studio Draw 3D Build Art Set – All supplies needed to draw then construct 3D buildings
- Talicraft 3D Metal Model Building Kits – Laser-cut steel sheets transform into famous structures through folding and slotting
- thames & kosmos Architecture: World’s Greatest Buildings – Recreate astonishing architectural feats across 30+ countries
As tweens build increasingly sophisticated structures, they gain appreciation for design principles, spatial relations and architectural aesthetics. Blending artistry with engineering provides well-rounded learning opportunities.
Key Benefits:
- Encourage artistic creativity through hands-on building
- Teach nuances of architectural design
- Strengthen spatial visualization aptitudes
- Average Price Range: $25-$70
- Recommended Ages: 8-12 years
What To Look For When Buying Building Toys
While the building kits described provide children excellent developmental benefits, keep the following features in mind while shopping:
Age-Appropriate Complexity
Ensure building toys match your child’s dexterity and cognitive abilities. Chunky pieces, soft materials, and simple structures provide ideal starting points for younger kids, while interlocking gears, intricate instructions and tiny components pose exciting challenges for older children.
Expandability & Versatility
Look for toys like LEGOs that allow combining separate kits for endless building opportunities. Open-ended play potential with various configurations prevents these toys from being quickly outgrown.
Durability
Building play can get boisterous, so prioritize durable components that withstand rough handling. Hard plastics, laminated cardboard and solid wood stand the test of toddler play time.
Educational Aspects
Developmental skills get a boost from building toys with numbers, letters and shapes integrated into parts. Or select programmable options like robot kits that build STEM and tech skills too.
By keeping these criteria in mind and referring to our age-specific recommendations, you are sure to find building toys to nurture your child’s abilities and spark big imagination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of interlocking building toys?
Interlocking building toys like LEGOs and Mega Bloks are great for improving fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness. Snaping pieces together fosters critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving as children build elaborate structures.
Should I choose wooden or plastic building blocks?
Both wooden and plastic block sets promote healthy development. Wooden blocks offer timeless, open-ended play with smooth, tactile surfaces. Plastic blocks often interlock or feature themes to spark imaginative stories. Choose blocks with colors, letters, and pictures to support early math and literacy skills.
How do building toys teach STEM concepts?
Building toys nurture early engineering, science, technology and math skills including spatial reasoning, shape analysis, balance, counting, measuring, grouping, and critical thinking. Kits like marble runs teach physics concepts like gravity, velocity, and kinetic energy.
What are the smallest pieces I should allow for a toddler?
For children under 3 years, choose large building pieces at least 2 inches in size and made of non-toxic materials. Prioritize chunky blocks, soft bricks, foam puzzles, and interlocking wood shapes with no detachable parts to prevent choking hazards.
Can model building improve motor coordination?
Yes, constructing intricate 3D models with LEGO, sand, or clay boosts hand strength, dexterity, and fine motor control. These toys develop pincer grasps needed for later writing tasks through squeezing, pressing, pouring and manipulating tiny pieces.
Should building toys align with my child’s passions?
Seeking building kits that tap into existing interests in topics like space, animals, or fantasy worlds motivates kids to play longer. This immersive play strengthens focus, imagination, and a sense of accomplishment when they complete exciting creations.
How can I use household items for building play?
Beyond store-bought sets, pillows, cardboard boxes, paper towel rolls, wooden spools, and recycled containers make great basic building materials. Simple enhancements like crayons, stickers, feathers, or pom poms bring these household items to life even more!