Let’s talk more about how building blocks can hasten your child’s development.

Alphabet blocks, in addition to being fun to chew on, also aid in intellectual development. Toddlers and twosies will naturally begin to sort their blocks based on the characters. This piques their interest in letters, numbers, and colors, providing easy and ample opportunities for parents to teach them what everything is called.

This same natural learning method is great for introducing math, too. Numbered blocks can help with counting, and eventually impromptu lessons on addition and subtraction are possible.

For babies, learning really is fun. Many new parents are surprised how voracious their baby’s appetite is for soaking up information. The old cliche that their minds are like sponges is readily seen during a simple activity like playing with blocks.

Later down the road, a child’s natural aptitude for building blocks will explode once Legos or other smaller blocks are introduced. Although many Lego-type sets are now marketed to build a specific robot or vehicle, it is recommended that you get a basic set of the building blocks. These often come in a bucket which can also be useful on its own.

These smaller blocks are popular up to age 12 or 13 usually, so it’s possible to get more than half a dozen years of use out of them. Don’t throw them out when your child leaves home though; there’s bound to be another Lego-lover just around the ...