Bloks: Fostering Cognitive Skills in Children Through Playful Building Toys
If you’re searching for building block toys that can provide endless hours of play for children aged 4-6, while keeping their enthusiasm intact and nurturing their imagination and creativity, then the Bloks Master Series is the ultimate choice for you.
Though you might not be familiar with this brand, Bloks has achieved remarkable success within just three years of its launch, selling over 500,000 sets and earning an impressive rating of 4.9. It has become the go-to building block toy for families with children in this age group across China.
The Bloks Master Series is purposefully designed and developed for children aged 4-6, taking into account their unique abilities and cognitive development. It boasts three key attributes: effortless construction of lifelike scenes in just 20 simple steps, three captivating amusement park settings, seven vibrant daily life scenes, and the ability to transform 250 blocks into nearly a hundred different shapes. These features allow children to fully experience the joy of play, ensuring their love for the toy and their willingness to engage with it repeatedly, all while seamlessly incorporating their developmental growth into the realm of play.
When my daughter Nina was three and a half years old, I purchased this set of building blocks for her. It wasn’t until I penned this article that I realized Bloks has been a constant companion for Nina for over a year, occupying a prominent place in our play area. Throughout this journey, Nina has helped me discover the multitude of benefits this building block toy offers across various aspects, and I am thrilled to share them with you.
Brief Review of Bloks: Is Bloks Worth Buying?
Overall, Bloks offers numerous advantages, including easy scene construction, versatile block shapes, engaging themes, and long-term play value. The only drawback is the absence of a Chinese instruction manual, but an English PDF version can be downloaded instead.
Bloks is the most frequently played and longest-lasting building block toy for Nina. There are two main reasons for this:
- Gradual progression from simple to complex and the freedom to build: Bloks stimulates a sense of achievement and interest in Nina by providing a step-by-step advancement in building complexity. This approach allows children to develop a fondness for playing with building blocks.
- Real-life scenarios and role-playing: Bloks incorporates scenes that are relatable to daily life, enabling a combination of parent-child interaction, role-playing, and imaginative play. The blocks become tools for nurturing a child’s creativity.
Now, as a father and an observer of my child’s experience, I will provide a detailed evaluation of this toy.
Gradual progression from simple to complex to free-building
Bloks is specifically designed for children aged 4-6 with a guided step-by-step approach. Each step brings joy to the child, guiding and nurturing various abilities while gradually increasing the level of difficulty. This approach ensures that children do not lose interest due to feeling overwhelmed by complexity.
Step-by-step building
The instruction manual of Bloks provides a step-by-step guide for children to build simple scenes. Within just 20 steps, they can complete a beautifully designed scene that closely resembles real-life settings. For children aged 3-6, this process greatly enhances their sense of achievement and confidence when playing with building blocks. Following the steps allows children to establish a connection between the building process and the final result, helping them understand the relationship between rules and outcomes. Starting with simpler scenes sparks children's sense of achievement, fosters their sense of order, and cultivates their self-confidence and interest in building blocks.
Versatile creations, fun challenges
Bloks provides children with various design references, where they can see most of the required parts and stacking methods from the provided images, although not in their entirety. The ages of 4-6 are a developmental stage where children enjoy the challenge of proving themselves. When faced with challenges, children are prompted to think and reason, thus exercising their spatial awareness and problem-solving abilities. Upon completing these designs, children experience a significant reinforcement of their interest and confidence in building blocks, laying a foundation for free-building activities.
Free DIY, Unleashing Imagination and Creativity
Bloks' building block designs are inspired by the two main settings that are most familiar to children aged 3-6: the amusement park and the home (family and community). The amusement park represents playfulness and joy in a child's mind, while the home and community symbolize safety. These two settings are deeply ingrained in children's memories and are conducive to nurturing their imagination.
The use of diverse parts in constructing scenes closely mirrors real-life elements. Bloks has designed many parts that resemble items found in homes and amusement parks. Building this furniture and items with individual bricks can be quite challenging. Examples include cabinets, wheels, slides, and even toilets and sinks. These realistic and detailed parts allow children to construct home-like scenes quickly. The authenticity and richness of these parts make the scenes more realistic and tangible. Children can experience the joy, sense of accomplishment, and confidence that come with building blocks. As they continue to engage in this process, it further stimulates and develops their various abilities, creating a positive feedback loop.
Parent-Child Interaction and Social Skills Development through Role-Playing
Role-playing is an engaging and enjoyable way for children to learn about the world around them. It helps them learn how to express their emotions and feelings, which is an important aspect of social and emotional development. Using building blocks to create scenes and characters can aid in the development of social skills such as communication, cooperation, and sharing.
The scenes constructed with Bloks building blocks are closely related to children's everyday lives, and the items within the scenes are realistically depicted. After building with the blocks, children can further engage in imaginative play through role-playing, which helps cultivate their social skills. My daughter's favorite activity after building with the blocks is to engage in role-playing games based on the constructed scenes.
Parents and children can build different scenes together, such as going to the doctor, visiting a park, or going on a trip, helping children understand different life experiences in various settings. Role-playing games also enhance the parent-child relationship as parents can join in the fun and experience the joy of play together. During this process, parents can share their thoughts and experiences, and children can express their questions and ideas, fostering communication and interaction between parents and children. Furthermore, since these games involve learning through play, children can absorb knowledge more easily without feeling bored. This helps expand their perspectives, enrich their knowledge and experiences, and strengthen the parent-child bond. Throughout this process, children not only enhance their social skills but also improve their creativity, imagination, and self-confidence.
Colorful Large Blocks, Smooth Edges, Easy Assembly, Convenient Storage
- Colorful large blocks for easy and safe building Children can easily pick up and assemble the blocks without hurting their fingers. This design allows them to focus more on building and encourages longer periods of play. The colorful large blocks also stimulate their creativity and imagination, fostering more engaging and creative play.
- Smooth edges for safety The blocks are designed with smooth edges, ensuring the safety of children during play and preventing any potential injuries from sharp corners.
- Designed with storage in mind The design of the block container encourages children to develop good habits of tidying up and organizing their toys, promoting a sense of responsibility and neatness. The storage box provides a convenient and dedicated space for keeping the blocks neatly organized when not in use.
These features of colorful large blocks, smooth edges, easy assembly, and convenient storage not only make Bloks enjoyable to play with but also contribute to a safe and organized play experience for children.
Market Evaluation & User Feedback
Won a number of awards, including the 2021 Golden Object Award and Top1 Hot Selling Single Product in the Toy Category;
Accumulated sales of more than 500,000 sets and user rating of 4.9 stars;
Review of Bloks Building Blocks: Is it worth buying?
Bloks may not offer the extensive themed scenes and collectible value that Lego does, nor is it designed for display purposes. However, what Bloks provides is a pure and enjoyable toy experience for children, truly allowing them to engage in long-lasting play.
If you are looking for building blocks that children find fun and are willing to play with repeatedly, while gradually developing various skills through a relaxed and enjoyable gaming process, Bloks is an excellent choice.
In terms of safety, Bloks has done a commendable job. The blocks have rounded edges and are designed to eliminate sharp corners, offering parents peace of mind when their children play independently.
Therefore, we rate Bloks with a score of 8.4 and gladly recommend it to parents of children aged 3-6.
By purchasing through the link provided below, you can enjoy a 10% discount.