Wooden constructors for children: pros and cons

Most modern people associate a construction set with a plastic block version of such a toy, something very similar to Lego. Someone still remembers the old Soviet metal construction set, and someone is already ready to endow their children with ultra-modern magnetic sets.

However, the good old classics in the form of wooden constructors have also been on the market all this time. The demand for it cannot be called transcendental, but on the other hand, unlike all other varieties, it does not lose its relevance for decades and is suitable for any age, and not only for children. Experts say that such entertainment is also very useful, so more attention should be paid to such a toy.

Importance in child development

Toddlers devote much more time to design than adults. For them, this is almost an uncontested opportunity to develop versatile skills, while there are no other responsibilities at this stage. The benefits of wooden constructors should be considered first and foremost from the point of view of what they could give to every child. At different stages of growth, thanks to the assembly of wooden parts, children develop in several different directions.

Any constructor that looks more complicated than banal geometric shapes, allows the child to learn about the world around him. The outlook in childhood is hardly very wide - it is limited to home and kindergarten or school, as well as what is shown in children's films. The toy allows the kid to get acquainted with various techniques, for example, through the castle, you can better understand the features of the architecture. The "trick" of the constructor is that it allows you not only to see the model of an object, but also to better understand its internal structure.

Wooden constructors, many of which are focused on assembling architectural objects, give a clear idea of what parts the building should consist of.

The construction set is rightly considered one of the best exercises for developing a child's fine motor skills. The kid owns his hands and fingers, even from birth, but at first very conditionally - the parents probably noticed that the little one can easily drop an object held in his hand, it can be difficult for him to hold a spoon or pencil in the correct position. At the same time, the maximum accuracy of movements is fundamentally important for a modern person, because the sooner the baby learns to control his actions, the better for him.

Assembling the most complex wooden construction sets involves gluing thousands of small parts, so it would be more correct to call it art, not a game.

Memory, logic and imagination are other useful qualities that develop in the design process. Wooden constructors do not always contain detailed assembly instructions, suggesting the owner to come up with something like that. It is easy to understand that if a little man figured out how to assemble a toy house, in the future he will probably be able to reach the level when such tasks will be solved on an adult scale. Coming up with something really develops the brain and improves creative skills, which in the future can be used to build a career in the most unexpected areas.
It can be difficult for adults to understand this, however, childish inattention is also a banal lack of the skill to concentrate on solving a single problem. This skill, like any other, can be trained, but for this it is necessary to come up with an activity for the child that would really capture him and make him sit for hours in one place, thinking about specifics.

A wooden construction set made from a huge number of parts, created to assemble a large believable object, is an ideal task for such purposes, because the potential result captures the imagination, and it is not so easy to achieve it.

Perseverance and determination complement the list of advantages of design, since for an adult they will in any case be useful, regardless of what tasks he solves. Finally, psychologists also note a somewhat unusual effect called "the joy of achievement." A child who has independently assembled a toy for himself experiences not only the joy of receiving what he wants, but also pride in his achievements. This is an incentive for further development, because few kids will agree that already at this age he has reached the maximum of his capabilities.

Features and Benefits

Like any other product that has competitive counterparts, a wooden construction set for children has its own advantages and disadvantages, which do not allow it to become the only leader on the market or completely disappear. Now we see that wooden toys are significantly inferior in popularity to plastic ones, however, many prefer wood, and in recent years the number of such consumers has only been growing.

The first toys began to be made of wood, and there are many reasons for this.

Unlike so many alternative materials, wood is a natural product, not synthetic, because parts of such a constructor do not contain harmful chemicals. Even if it enters the body, there should be no significant problems - a small piece of the part can be digested in the child's body without much harm to him. Another thing is that poor-quality paint or varnish can cause harm, so you should at least check the quality certificates before buying.

It is advisable at the time of purchase to check the elements of the constructor for the presence of an unpleasant smell and leaving them prints on wet wipes. If at least one of these signs is observed, it is better to refuse to purchase.

Wood is considered a highly durable material, therefore, the child is unlikely to be able to break the constructor by simply dropping it or stepping on it from above. This not only increases the service life of the purchase, but also minimizes the risk of injury from contact with sharp fragments.
One-piece wooden construction set, like nothing else, helps to master the concepts of shape, volume, weight and color.

Contrary to popular belief, even wooden construction sets are sold in a very wide range. There are models for boys and girls, for children of any age and adults, as well as story sets for different interests.
The most expensive samples of wooden construction kits created specifically for modeling architectural structures, are incredibly believable. If the original is really built of wood, in the right hands, a set of faceless parts can turn into a real masterpiece that will not be ashamed to show to guests of the house, regardless of their age.

However, it is no coincidence that wooden designers do not lead the market - they, of course, also have drawbacks. It must be admitted that there are quite a few of them and they are essential, and in some cases even critical.

The naturalness of the material is both an advantage and a disadvantage, because the tree can be an excellent habitat for various microorganisms. Given the age-old desire of kids to pull everything into their mouths, this can become a huge problem, especially since sanitary care of the elements is almost impossible - water, when it comes into contact with a tree, has a negative effect on it. Consequently, any serious contamination will remain on the cubes forever.

Solid wood part is several times heavierthan a similarly sized hollow plastic element. Kids are not always inclined to discipline and understand the consequences of their actions, therefore, in the process of pampering, they can start throwing themselves at each other with a designer. Due to the significant weight of each part, such a hit can result in injury.
Children do not always like to swim, and if they do, they prefer to go to the bath with their favorite toys in order to diversify the process. Not only does wood not float, it also swells in the water, losing its original color, therefore, there will be no sense with such a designer either in the bathroom or after it.

For modern children, wooden toys may simply seem too primitive. It is worth starting at least with the fact that in many cases wood parts are not even painted, once again taking care of safety or giving him the opportunity to decorate the finished craft on his own. But these arguments are not interesting to so many children, who mostly want to play, and not work for a long time on the implementation of their own idea.
Even painted wooden constructors are predictably inferior in shade brightness to “poisonous” colors of plastic parts. Naturally, wooden constructors do not have other modern game bonuses in the form of musical or lighting effects, a clockwork motor or radio control.

Kinds

Like other types of constructors, wooden sets may differ from each other. The easiest way to classify them is by how exactly the parts are connected to each other.

No commit

It is generally accepted to call this type of constructor cubes, however, expensive modern kits may include more complex parts. Most often, such a toy is intended for assembling simple architectural structures in which each individual part is installed on top of the previous one without any fixation. You can even destroy a building with a random touch. But the child has the opportunity to endlessly collect and disassemble the craft, each time creating something new or adding parts from other sets.

Contrary to popular belief, not only a house can be built from wooden blocks. A simple car can also be assembled, however, "rolling" it will not work. Such constructors are usually bought for preschool children.

Cords or sticks for fastening

Such an organization of the constructor is somewhat reminiscent of ordinary beads. Despite the supposedly more complex design process, it is designed for the smallest children.

Stringing parts allows you to assemble a tower or train. The familiar pyramid can serve as a striking example of such a constructor, although such primitive puzzles are often made of bright plastic.

Magnets

Such an unusual method of connection is still quite rare even among plastic constructors. Wooden parts are not often equipped with magnets, but this still happens. There are no global differences from ordinary cubes, with the only difference that the connection of parts turns out to be much more reliable. The probability of accidental destruction of a building is reduced.

From magnetic parts, you can assemble a simple teremok or even a safe, which will require some effort to open.

Fasteners in the form of bolts and screws with nuts

This option is an analogue of the Soviet metal designer known to the older generation, which was wildly popular in its time. Thanks to this method, the most durable connection of the parts is achieved. Therefore, the manufacturer has the opportunity to make prefabricated toys from wood for active games. For example, it can be a train, plane or tank.

Usually, in such sets it is assumed that the toy is assembled once for constant play, however, there are also "transformer" type sets specially created for constant transformations. In this variety, the need for high strength of fasteners can be due to various reasons. For example, from parts of some sets, you can assemble a chair on which its owner may well sit.

Spikes and grooves

If the previous connection method copied metal constructors, then this one imitates plastic ones. Each part is equipped with grooves and protrusions, which, tightly fitting to each other, make it possible to build a fairly strong structure, which can be disassembled back into parts in the future.

This fixation method is ideal for both play building and teaching.

A striking example is the constructor called "Seasons". With its help, a child can get an idea of spring and summer, autumn and winter, and all you need to do here is to stick flowers, green and yellow leaves and fruits into plywood in the form of trees. At the same time, a child can be taught to count.

Glue

The most difficult way to join parts of a wooden construction set is gluing. In some cases, it is somewhat simplified, if the elements suggest the presence of spikes and grooves - then the glue serves as an additional fastener, and not the main one.

A completely different concept is presented by the so-called straws - a set in which all the details resemble ordinary matches of various shapes and sizes. There are no fasteners at all, except for the future glue, but the assembled model can strikingly resemble real objects from life, for example, cars and houses.

You can also glue more complex options, for example, a truck or an excavator. Due to the very high complexity of the assembly and the lack of the ability to play with such a craft - it is rather fragile - such modeling should be considered not child's play, but serious creativity. Usually adults or teenagers are fond of it.

Age restrictions

From the point of view of environmental friendliness, a high-quality wooden construction set, in the manufacture of which no chemical dyes were used, does not pose a danger to a child at any age.

Due to the significant weight of the parts and the risk of injury in the event of an element falling, it is recommended to use cubes no earlier than from 2-3 years old.

Somewhere from the same age, you can start using those wooden constructors that are connected by ropes, sticks, magnets and even spikes with grooves, if there are not too many parts in such a constructor.

However, the connection with spikes and grooves can also involve the number of parts in several hundred, and a preschooler may find such a gift uninteresting due to its excessive complexity. For this reason, large sets are usually given only to children who have reached school age.

"Straws", which involve complex work with glue, should not be given before the child shows certain tendencies for such modeling. By itself, working with glue requires a certain responsibility and accuracy, which appears in a child only at the age of 8-10.

However, a complete set can consist of hundreds of parts, so this is perhaps the only toy that will work well even for adults. It should be understood that such assembly is often carried out with subsequent staining. This is a very difficult and painstaking work, so someone will not like such a gift in principle, while someone will be disappointed to the core by the unimpressive result.

Manufacturers overview

As is often the case with the less popular types of designers, almost every brand offers its own design and assembly concept that are noticeably different from competitors.It is somewhat unusual that among the wooden constructors in our market the domestic manufacturer prevails, while the share of imports is relatively small. At least a few words should be said about every popular brand of such toys.

"Lesovichok"

The manufacturer proposes to collect three types of structures from believable logs with grooves and spikes, according to which the corresponding series are named - "Collapsible house", "Fortress" and "Solar farm".

The total number of models is about two dozen, all of them are assembled from parts of a natural shade, which allows you to combine elements in an unusual order. A 100% Russian company offers sets from 110 to almost a thousand parts at a price of 900 to 5 thousand rubles.

Lemmo

Contrary to the name, this brand is also Russian - its office is located in Kirov. Parts from this manufacturer look like ordinary crafts, cut out of plywood with a jigsaw and decorated with burning. In finished form, these constructors really impress with their believability.

A kind of firm's ridge is the release of sets for modeling all kinds of transport. However, the houses are also presented here. A family of any income can easily get acquainted with the products, because some simple construction sets can be bought within 250 rubles.

"Russian souvenir"

Another constructor for the assembly of architectural structures, only already specially sharpened for houses in the best traditions of old Russian architecture. The details here mimic the logs as much as possible (Lesovichk had boards). They are even specially rounded for this.

The names of the sets like "Terem" or "Svetlitsa" directly indicate what kind of finished craft will have. Any toys can be put into it.

Lory "Gardarika"

A specialized series of constructors of this brand may interest only older children - such an assembly is too difficult for them. But such a gift can capture all the thoughts of an adult who is fond of antiquity and legends, as well as, of course, construction.

This is a typical "straw", so the owner of such a constructor will have to try a lot to glue an object of an ancient marketable city out of it. A feature of the series is that each set mutually complements all the others - thus, having collected all the crafts of the series, you can get a real old Russian city with all the required elements.

Opinion of mothers and children

For many decades, designers have been considered an absolutely indispensable toy for the development of any child, but not everyone decides to use wooden ones. Those mothers who are nevertheless ready to buy such a toy appreciate the naturalness of the material, which will definitely not harm the child, and the minimum care for the designer who is afraid of water is advised to be carried out using microfiber or flannel.

Children usually accept such gifts well only if they are not spoiled by brighter plastic sets, but the same Lemmo or "Lesovichok" with their amazing believability usually do not go unnoticed. The beauty of wooden constructors is that the assembled house can be successfully used for "living" dolls, soldiers and other toys.

Many parents in their reviews sincerely write that they themselves sometimes find satisfaction in helping a child assemble a construction set from wood. When it comes to assembling serious buildings from "straw", even dads often lose their heads - such difficult work in one team with their son can be a tremendous incentive to create a favorable climate in the family.

Of course, there is also criticism. Many complain that the slightest contamination spoils the appearance of parts that cannot be humanly washed, otherwise it will get worse.

Other parents complain that the child simply "puts on the shelf" such a gift and forgets about it, preferring brighter modern toys that are not only beautiful, but also know how to talk, glow, and so on. Some children simply do not have enough perseverance to assemble such a constructor, which often has hundreds of parts, and therefore does not imply an instant full-fledged game.

Safety while playing

Although a wooden construction set can hardly be called a dangerous toy, experts still point out that they should not play somewhere, but in a specially designated place within the walls of the apartment. Such a place must meet a number of mandatory criteria:

Large and flat horizontal space. In the course of the game, the child will definitely get carried away and can hit the surrounding obstacles or accidentally destroy a structure created with such difficulty that it will inevitably lead to shed tears.
Distance from open flames, sockets, included electrical appliances... It must always be remembered that wood is a combustible material, and therefore parts can flare up from the slightest spark. It is almost impossible to predict the actions of the child in this situation, but they are unlikely to be effective for withstanding the beginning fire.
Distance from water... In the kitchen or in the bathroom, near pots of flowers or near an open window in rainy weather, you cannot assemble such a constructor. The ingress of water on the parts can ruin the toy, make it less beautiful, or even contribute to its drying out and final breakdown.

The presence of adults is a separate important factor.... If the designer is still at the assembly stage, the child may need the help of his elders, since assembling a house even from a hundred parts is not an easy task. So the game for the child will become more interesting and will not be perceived as a solution to a serious problem.

If at least two children play with a constructor, the presence of parents is necessary so that the kids do not throw constructor details at each other, which can be quite heavy. It is important to understand that children of primary school age are usually prone to such pampering, for whom parents often no longer consider it necessary to follow.