Do Legos Help Your Brain (Why Lego Are Great For Your Childs Brain)

Any parent that is looking for the best brain-building activities has probably come across building blocks or Lego in their search for new toys.

Lots of parents and educators are now recognizing the learning opportunities that are present throughout the process of building Lego, and it can be really beneficial for children.

Researchers have discovered that construction block play, including with LEGO Bricks, offers a full spectrum of benefits to the developing minds of children.

Some of these benefits are the more common ones, like math, spatial activities and early engineering skills. However, it can also help with social skills and other more unusual areas.

The benefits of construction play can be utilized by anyone, and we are going to tell you exactly how beneficial building Lego can be in this article. Just keep reading to find out more about the brain-building benefits of Lego.

Do Legos Help Your Brain?

Yes, Legos do help your brain, and they are a great tool for developing children to utilize due to this. They can help children to work on various different skills, and we are going to explain more on this below.

Building Social And Problem Solving Skills

When your child is playing with other children, they are going to be developing their social skills when they are playing with Lego. When more than one child is working on a task, they tend to take on different roles.

For example, the one that is monitoring the structure in comparison to the design is the engineer. Those that are gathering pieces are the suppliers, and those that are fitting the pieces together are the builders.

However, the chances are that the children will switch up these roles and take on multiple roles throughout the project.

This is all an important part of learning how to collaborate. Working together is a great way to learn new skills and pass along their own knowledge to others.

Although, in any situation where teamwork is going on, there is potential for encountering problems.

If your child is excited about the project and has the drive to complete it, then they will be able to find the motivation to solve any problems that they face, which will help them to develop their problem solving skills.

Pretend Play And The Imagination

Your child doesn’t have to be building with others to reap the benefits that Lego has to offer. Even if they are building alone, there is still an opportunity for social development.

When the finished piece has been completed, some children will proudly display it on a shelf, but others will want to play with it. Some children will even create their own fantasy world that revolves around their creation.

Playing make-believe is actually a really important part of child development, and studies show that pretend play leads to better cognitive flexibility, empathy, communication, and problem solving.

Spatial Skills

As children are manipulating and testing the different blocks, there will be lots of other things going on in their minds.

During this time, they will be working on their spatial abilities, which is the ability to visualize and plan 3D objects. As their understanding of the space around them grows, so do their spatial abilities.

Spatial skills can be improved with training, and there are lots of studies that have shown that children show improvement on spatial reasoning tests after spending time with Lego bricks and other types of construction play.

Engineering Skills

When a child is paying with Lego, they aren’t just building. They are planning, designing, creating a world, and changing it to suit their needs. These are things that an engineer does.

When a child is building with blocks, there is usually a lot of engineering involved. There are lots of small pieces and varying parts that go into building a structure, and your child is learning the purpose of each one.

As time goes on, with each structure attempted and completed, children will usually start to become more experimental with their designs.

Once something works, they will learn or discover new solutions to make it better! Engineers spend a lifetime doing this.

Perspective

The ability to look at things from different angles is a quality that is important for a lot of reasons. It is really important to be able to understand another person’s perspective, and it is just as important to be able to view problems from different angles.

Lego is something that is highly versatile, and it encourages children to think outside of the box.

If one thing that your child is doing is not working, then there may be another way to try it. This is a key skill that will be helpful as they grow and later in life.

If the path towards a solution is not working out, they may have to view the problem from different angles in order to find a better solution. LEGO trains your brain to see things in different ways, not just a singular way.

Concentration

Building Lego is something that you can’t really do without concentration and effort in equal measures. This helps to improve a child’s will to concentrate on tasks in order to complete them to the best of their ability.

Creativity

Playing with Lego can spark creativity in so many different ways. It helps you to think outside of the box, allows you to use your imagination, and much more.

Creativity is a skill that children can practice and flourish when they are building Lego. The more that they channel their creativity, the easier it will be for them to express it.

Summary

As children stack, create, interlock and try and try again, they aren’t simply building a simple structure, they are also building their minds.

There is lots of research that shows that children are increasing their brain function by playing with Lego, and it can be really beneficial for their overall development.

So, if you are looking for ways for them to practice key skills, then you might want to consider getting your hands on some Lego.