For many decades, the construction set has been considered one of the best educational toys for children of all ages. Initially, its beneficial effect was not considered obvious. Therefore, the models of constructors were produced primarily for boys.
Even today, a designer set specifically for a girl is a comparative rarity, but in the age of mass online shopping, finding the perfect option is not a problem. The only thing left to do is to choose a suitable set for children.
Why does a girl need a designer?
Some parents still believe that the designer is intended to give an idea of the construction and assembly of equipment. Therefore, the girl is unlikely to be interested in such an activity. At the same time, teachers around the world insist that a superficial understanding of the structure of a house or a car is far from the maximum that a designer can give a child. The benefits of assembly for boys and girls are the same, it consists of five points.
Improving fine motor skills of hands
At the moment of birth, a child can practically do nothing. And just as he does not own his legs to walk, so his hands or fingers cannot yet perform complex actions. It takes a lot of training to learn how to do difficult tasks with your hands. You can gain finger skills by playing with the constructor.
Development of imagination and creative thinking
In society, the person who can learn everything by heart is rightly valued higher. Valuable is someone who is able to come up with something new on his own, for example, a way out of a situation that seems hopeless to most people.
At school, such a student is able to get out in class due to her own logical reasoning, having only a superficial idea of the topic being studied. But this skill also requires training. And the designer, which allows the assembly of the most unexpected things from standard parts, contributes a lot to this.
Mastering the concepts of shape and color
This advantage applies to the youngest children. You can ask the child to put aside only the blue or round details to understand how much he has mastered this concept. If not, you can fix it, because the baby is always interested in working with bright objects.
Teamwork and microclimate adjustment
The more complex the constructor, the more help the child will need to assemble. In a kindergarten or school environment, this can be peers, in fact, potential friends. At home, parents can help with assembly.
Due to the time spent together, parents and children develop a relationship.
Harmless entertainment
The constructor is interesting. Today, many children devote too much time to computers, smartphones and other gadgets that negatively affect their eyesight and can give a dubious message. Playing with a constructor can become a worthy competitor to technology. Moreover, it is harmless.
Criterias of choice
Despite the fact that many parents are not familiar with girls' designers, manufacturers have managed to create a fairly wide range of such products. This allows you to find the best option, but complicates the selection task. In order not to be mistaken in choosing a designer for a girl, you should check a number of criteria. Let's consider the main aspects.
The versatility of parts in a set
The gift may involve the assembly of one conditional castle with a princess. However, such a set will quickly get bored because of the monotony. It would be more logical to invest in such a kit, from which you can assemble many different products.
Easy to assemble and disassemble
Some manufacturers make their designs so unsuccessful that even an adult can find it difficult to connect or disconnect two fastened parts. For a small child, such a task is not at all feasible. It is clear that such a disadvantage will discourage the child from working with the designer.
It is advisable to check before buying how simple the process will be from a physical point of view.
Required level of development
Even a smart baby at 3 years old finds it difficult to assemble a model with hundreds of parts. Conversely, a 10-year-old girl is unlikely to be interested in assembling a set for a 3-year-old child, because the whole process will take a few minutes. The age marking on the box is rather arbitrary, because all children develop at different rates. If the discrepancy is obvious, you should not take such a constructor.
Hobbies
Even the most versatile designer has a specific focus, meeting the needs of the future owner. If the parents want the girl to like the gift and not sit in vain, you need to choose it taking into account the interests of the daughter. For example, a constructor is considered a popular option, from which you can assemble a fairy-tale castle. Many parents consider such a solution to be almost the only possible option for a constructor for a girl, but there are babies who like boyish games.
It happens that the girl likes puzzles more, which can also be considered a constructor, as well as a metal constructor with a screwdriver and a key. It is necessary to take into account which of her toys the girl loves more, and only then choose.
Safety
When buying baby products, it is important to check quality certificates. In large stores, sellers are required to have them; buying toys on the market is risky. If possible, it is worth checking the designer for the presence of unpleasant odors: they indicate the low quality of the raw materials or dye used.
Colors
The number of colors matters. For example, little girls like bright colors. Experts advise avoiding acidic shades, since there are no such dyes in nature, and chemistry can be harmful to the baby's health. For children, a designer is chosen bright, but with a relatively poor palette (5 colors are enough). Over time, you can diversify the palette of shades, add believable details to the set. There are no color restrictions for girls aged 7 and over.
Packaging
A designer is a collapsible thing, if at least one part is lost, then it will no longer be possible to assemble a full-fledged model. At the same time, a little girl will probably want to take her favorite toy with her to a visit or kindergarten. Reliable and durable packaging will teach the child to keep his things in order, help him to always have his adored hobby at hand. Some manufacturers are releasing constructors in plastic cases to solve this problem. Judging by the reviews, this is very convenient.
Manufacturers
It is far from always possible to evaluate all the above criteria in advance. In such a situation, it remains to buy a set at random or trust the reputation of a trusted manufacturer, which has been famous for the quality of its products for many years. To do this, you can study the reviews and ratings of manufacturers on the Internet in advance. If you single out the popular brands involved in the production of sets for girls, the Danish (world-wide) Lego constructor, the American Magformers, or the domestic brand "City of Craftsmen" should be noted.
For every age
Although it should be written on each box what age this constructor is suitable for, this does not allow parents to look at the entire assortment systematically. To do this, you need to understand what criteria a good designer should meet for each age group.
Yaselny
Some experts claim that the first types of construction set can be bought for a child from 6 months. However, it is better to wait until at least 1.5-2 years. At this stage, the game will be, albeit primitive, but fully conscious. The details should not yet be particularly connected with each other, otherwise the child will not master them. Cubes, beads, pyramids, Velcro - that's all that is worth purchasing.
The parts of the constructor for this age must be large enough so that they cannot be swallowed or shoved into the nose and ears.
Preschool
At this stage of development, the girl lives in the world of fairies and fairy tales, from the designer she already needs a certain plot that would captivate her. Do not expect outstanding design skills from a child. The kit should consist of a relatively small number of parts. Three-dimensional models may still be too difficult to assemble, but it's time for puzzles, although it's worth starting with relatively small pictures.
Elementary School
At the age of 8-9 years, children sincerely believe in fairy tales, this remains the main theme of the games. The gameplay becomes more complex, includes more elements of fantasy. At this age, the child often imitates the behavior of adults while playing. This requires the necessary entourage. This assumes the presence of not only characters that can be controlled, but also various places where they could go (home, shop, park).
Toy vehicles and various household items would perfectly complement the game. Although the girl can make up for the lack of all these accessories with her own imagination, it is much more interesting to play with visible things. Therefore, now a constructor will be relevant, allowing you to assemble a real town. Only Lego has no competitors in this area.
Adolescence and older
At this stage, the game gradually begins to fade into the background, giving way to a hobby. The girl may no longer be interested in playing with princess figures. But she can assemble a castle from Lego with pleasure, since this is an element of creativity that allows her to relax, escape from problems and once again increase her own self-esteem. It is modeling that is considered the main motivation for buying a construction kit. However, some girls may also be interested in an electronic kit that allows you to visually study the basics of physics and electricity.
In the next video, little Nicole assembles a LEGO flower shop for girls.
