Valuable Christmas presents Building blocks are good for the child development

As a Christmas present, building blocks are especially recommended

Physicians recommend building blocks as a Christmas present for children. Building blocks promote many areas of child development like no other toy, such as the development of fine motor skills and the development of social, linguistic and cognitive skills, reports the Association of Pediatricians (BVKJ), citing a technical contribution by Professor Kym Simoncini from the University in Canberra and dr. Kevin Larkin from Griffith University.

Building blocks are, according to the experts, a particularly suitable gift for children. By creating the structures, children develop problem-solving skills, creativity and imagination, reports the BVKJ. Also, the children train their patience in the attempts to build a tower or other structures. The building blocks also stimulate spatial thinking, ie the ability to mentally imagine objects and their changes in space, explain the experts.

Playing with blocks is especially good for the child development. Different variants of building blocks are suitable for the children of different age levels. (Image: BillionPhotos.com/fotolia.com)

Spatial imagination benefits

The spatial imagination is used in everyday life, "when we read maps, pack up the car for the holidays, assemble furniture or divide a cake into equal pieces," reports the BVKJ. In addition, spatial thinking is associated with mathematical skills. Thus, children who have a good spatial imagination tend to have a better mathematical understanding. Moreover, early mathematical skills are associated with a better later school success, which does not apply to early reading or social-emotional skills.

Advantages of playing with blocks

Playing with building blocks helps children to understand many mathematical concepts, such as number, dimensions and geometry, explain the experts. Spatial thinking also enables children to pursue a scientific, technical, mathematical career or career in mechanical engineering. The spatial imagination is important, for example, in occupations "in which people need to understand X-ray and ultrasound images, to create or read technical and architectural designs or plans of heating and sanitary systems," according to the BVKJ.

Linguistic skills are also increasing

According to the medical profession, playing with building blocks also influences the "spatial language". For example, by playing with building blocks, the children would hear and use more words related to spatial thinking. This also includes spatial reference designations (such as "under," "over," "beside," "behind,") words for properties of objects (such as "small," "wide," "large"), words for Shapes (for example, rectangle, circle, square) and other spatial properties (such as bent, pointed, curved). Earlier research has shown that playing with building blocks has more words for spatial dimensions than any other kind of game.

Recognition and attention

To maximize the positive impact of building play, parents should acknowledge and discuss their children's accomplishments in creating the structures, interview them, and describe what they built, reports the Association of Paediatricians. For the children of different ages, there is a wide selection of building blocks available, each adapted to the children's abilities. (Fp)