Constructive proposal: how to choose a constructor for children of different ages

Don't know what to buy as a gift for a child? Buy a designer and you definitely can't go wrong. The main criterion for choosing is the recommended age, which is usually indicated on each package. As for the theme of the designers, there are a great many of them — there is plenty to choose from.

For children under 3 years old

To explore the world in all its manifestations is the main occupation for a baby at this age. He is interested in all, without exception, objects that can be reached. And the more diverse these objects are in shape, colour and feel, the better for the development of the child. Therefore, the designer, consisting of bright multi-coloured elements of various shapes and surface textures, will bring a lot of joy to the baby. It is important at the same time that the size of the details of the designer is large — at least 5 centimeters. Such details will be convenient to manipulate with small hands, and the risk of swallowing is reduced to zero.

Hape Organeco Blocks — this is how the designer for the little ones looks like

It is better that there are few details in the designer. The kid will be interested in the designer with one dozen elements, and it will be easier for parents to assemble ten parts around the apartment than, for example, fifty. As for the material of manufacture, it is, of course, desirable that the designer be made of natural material — wood, fabric, etc. An example is Hape Organeco Blocks — a set of bright bamboo blocks for constructing various figures. However in the case of natural materials, you need to pay attention to the quality of surface treatment, the presence of glue and paint, etc. However, most designers are made of plastic, and well-known toy manufacturers who value their reputation monitor the quality and safety of materials.

Finally, pay attention to the fastening of the parts to each other. Everything should be connected easily, without any extra effort, so that the child can independently assemble the designer. As for the varieties of designers for kids, there are a lot of them. It’s worth starting with ordinary cubes, and as you approach the age of three, move on to more complex (and interesting) things.

For the youngest children, who are just starting to get acquainted with the designers, we can recommend sets such as the Fun Brick Roller from the Lego Duplo series. Boys will like construction sets with cars, trains and other vehicles (for example, Lego Duplo "My First Tractor"), girls — designers with princesses, horses, etc. (see Ecoiffier Horse Club). Pay attention to whether there is a storage box included with the designer — it will help keep all the details safe.

For children 3-6 years old

Many models, such as the Ecoiffier Rescue Fire 3080, are a set of toys

When it comes to preschoolers, the choice of designers is expanding significantly. Fine motor skills of the fingers are already quite developed, spatial and logical thinking too — the child is ready for new achievements in the design field. So the details of the designer can be smaller in size and more in quantity.

A 3-4-year-old boy will be interested in building a fire station (as in the Ecoiffier "Fire Station" set) or a service station ( Ecoiffier "Workshop"), and a girl will be interested in furnishing a princess's room or, for example, playing a trip to the beach (in the Lego series Juniors have a corresponding set). Also, universal constructors with numerous elements that can be assembled differently each time will go with a bang (for example, Wader Mini Blocks with a storage container). By the age of six, the child will be less attracted to bright, cartoony details, and there will be a stronger desire to make something himself, to try different assembly options. The principle already applies here: the more details, the better. Moreover, it is time to teach the child to collect his toys.

For preschool girls, all sorts of pizzeria cafes and fabulous sets are available, for boys — a huge number of prefabricated models of vehicles from hundreds of parts (for example, Lego Auto Transporter). There are even sets with over a thousand pieces, such as Ban Bao "Railway".

At this age, the child can also try magnetic constructors. You can make a wide variety of designs from them, and magnetic mounts will surely cause delight.

For younger students

As practice shows, many designers with a recommended age of 5+ and 6+ are also suitable for children of primary school age. At the same time, as the child develops, expands his horizons and acquires new skills, he will like more and more complex designers.

When a child grows up, he has a growing desire to model the surrounding reality, and not some fictional things. For example, when the kid was smaller, he was happy to collect bright multi-coloured cars or airplanes that looked a little like real technology. Now he would rather want to construct a realistic model of a car, tank or aircraft. And there are plenty of such designers on the market.

Girls will be happy with construction sets that allow you to act out life situations (cafe, beach, house in the forest, shopping, etc.) or episodes from your favorite movies and cartoons. However, the designers based on movies are popular at any age. For younger students, for example, we can recommend sets such as the Lego Star Wars war machine or the Disney Little Mermaid Palace.

Strike Fighter by Mega Bloks for fans of the popular Call of Duty game series

Another category, to which children "ripen" by the age of seven or eight, is the classic metal constructors, which must be assembled using specially adapted tools (screwdriver, wrench). For example, from such a constructor you can assemble a car, the wheels of which can be turned using the steering wheel.

For teenagers

Paraphrasing the classic, we can say that all ages are submissive to love for designers. Therefore, if a set of several hundred or thousands of parts is marked “12+”, you can be sure that it will be interesting for a teenager to assemble such a designer not only on his own, but also together with his parents.

For example, if we are talking about dad and son, then they will get a lot of pleasure by assembling an auto-constructor for one and a half to two thousand parts, for example, such a truck crane. If you want to spend an interesting evening with the whole family, then there is a suitable designer for this. The Simpsons' house of two and a half thousand parts is just such an option. For the same purpose, 3D constructors are perfect, allowing you to assemble scale models of famous buildings (for example, the Eiffel Tower).

Lego Mobile Crane MK II 42009 — complex and expensive, but fascinating and developing designer

A good gift for a boy who is interested in technology from a young age will be an electronic designer. He will introduce the teenager to the basics of electronics and allow him to assemble interesting working circuits: a real radio, a musical bell, a burglar alarm, a fan, etc. The circuits are easy to assemble (no need to solder), and the designer himself may well give impetus to an in-depth study of the natural sciences.

You can choose a designer for every taste in our extensive catalog.