4 Skills Your Child Can Develop By Playing With LEGO

4 Skills Your Child Can Develop By Playing With LEGO

It’s no secret that many children LOVE playing with Lego and building blocks like Duplo. Put a new Lego set in front of your child and they’ll soon be occupied for hours.

But fun aside, Lego and Duplo are perhaps the essential toys for toddlers and babies. Your child can develop key skills from playing with Lego. Here we take a closer look at the science behind this, and the surprising reasons why these toys are widely understood to benefit a growing child’s development.

1. Develop fine motor skills

We’ve all heard of motor skills. Gross motor skills refer to the ability to control larger body movements. Jumping, nodding, standing and walking are just some examples of these skills.

Fine motor skills, however, refer to more refined bodily actions like hand to eye coordination. An example of this could be the grasping of a carer’s hand.

Fine motor skills usually begin developing very early on in life, around 0-6 months. When a child reaches 1 to 2 years of age the development of fine motor skills really starts to develop.

Playing with blocks like Lego and Duplo encourages a strong focus on these skills. This type of play builds the tiny muscles in their hands and the ability to control the smaller dextrous movements with their fingers. These skills are highly important, and benefit a child in many other areas from getting dressed to eating with cutlery.

2. Encourages cooperative play

At around age 2, children reach a milestone when they begin to engage in cooperative rather than parallel play. Up until this age they are so busy learning and focusing on their own hands and their own minds. The use of lego and blocks acts as a bridge to playing together with other children.

A child might be attempting to figure out how a pair of blocks fit together. They then look up at another child and see the same scene being mirrored across from them, and naturally, the inquisitive and inclusive mind is encouraged to ‘join forces’.

3. Mirrors technology of the adult world

Many children are obsessed with all things construction based, from diggers to Bob the Builder. This is because the desire to do, create, and construct is in our nature.

Lego and Duplo create an opportunity for your little ones to mirror what they see the adult world on a smaller scale, hence giving them a sense of inclusivity and achievement which is great for building confidence!

4. Encourages a sense of accomplishment

Playing with Lego and Duplo encourages a strong sense of accomplishment. Realising they can put two blocks together to form a larger block, or that they can match colours, gives them the same sense of accomplishment that we get when we achieve something in the physical world.

As the child grows and continues to learn via play, the sense of accomplishment continues to grow. When they started they could put two or three blocks together, but with a little persistence and growth, soon enough they’re able to build a small house for his teddy.

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Choosing the right bottle for your baby takes more thought than most people expect. Below we've answered the questions Kiwi parents ask us most often about Tommee Tippee. If you need more help, our team at Babies.co.nz is always happy to assist — call us on 09 274 3099 or visit our Auckland showroom in East Tamaki.

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Both use the same wide, breast-shaped teat design — the difference is in how they handle air reduction. Closer to Nature has a built-in anti-colic valve in the teat that reduces air ingestion during feeds. Advanced Anti-Colic goes further, with a heat-sensing tube at the bottom of the bottle that actively vents air out of the milk before it reaches your baby. For most babies, Closer to Nature is plenty. For babies with more significant colic, wind, or reflux, Advanced Anti-Colic is the better choice.

Yes — the Closer to Nature range is one of the most recommended bottles for combination feeding. The wide, breast-shaped teat encourages the same broad latch breastfed babies use at the breast, reducing the risk of nipple confusion. Always start with a slow flow teat for a breastfed baby regardless of age, and introduce the bottle around three to four weeks once breastfeeding is well established.

For many parents, yes. The Natural Start glass bottle is made from premium borosilicate glass — odour-free, heat resistant, and very easy to sterilise. It's particularly practical in the newborn period when you're sterilising frequently and mostly feeding at home. The main trade-offs are weight and the risk of breakage. Many parents use glass at home and plastic when out and about.

Start with slow flow for all newborns — whether breastfed or formula fed. Move up to variable flow when your baby shows signs of frustration, takes too long to finish feeds, or falls asleep before finishing. Fast flow suits confident, efficient feeders from around six months. Always let your baby's cues guide the decision rather than age alone.

Yes — both ranges include anti-colic features. Closer to Nature has a built-in anti-colic valve that reduces air ingestion. Advanced Anti-Colic takes this further with an active venting system that removes air bubbles from the milk during the feed. For babies with significant colic, the Advanced Anti-Colic bottle is the stronger solution. For a more powerful anti-colic system, Dr Brown's bottles use a fully internal vent system that is clinically proven to reduce colic.

The Perfect Prep Machine makes a fresh, perfectly mixed, body-temperature formula bottle in under two minutes — safely. It delivers a shot of hot water (over 70°C) to kill bacteria in the formula powder, then tops the bottle up to the correct volume with filtered water at room temperature. The result is a safe, correctly mixed bottle at the ideal feeding temperature, every time. The Day and Night version adds a quiet pump and soft night light for night feeds. It requires replacement filters every three months — available at Babies.co.nz.

As a guide: 2–3 bottles for occasional bottle feeding of a breastfed baby; 4–6 for combination feeding; 6–8 for exclusive formula feeding. The Closer to Nature 260ml 3-pack is the most practical starting point as it gives you enough bottles for a full day without constant washing.

Yes — all Closer to Nature, Advanced Anti-Colic, and Natural Start glass bottles and teats are dishwasher safe on the top rack. Replace teats every two to three months or sooner if you notice any thinning, stickiness, or discolouration.

Shop the full Tommee Tippee range online at Babies.co.nz with nationwide delivery, or visit our Auckland showroom in East Tamaki. We stock bottles, teats, the Perfect Prep Machine, sterilisers, breast pumps, and the full Tommee Tippee range. Price Match available and 5% back in Rewards on every purchase.

Both are excellent, widely trusted brands. Tommee Tippee's Closer to Nature teat is slightly softer and more flexible, which some babies find easier to latch onto. Philips AVENT's Natural Response teat uses a unique J-shape that releases milk only when your baby actively drinks — a more precise mimicry of breastfeeding. AVENT also offers more granular teat flow options (six levels vs Tommee Tippee's three). If you're combination feeding and want the most breast-like bottle experience, AVENT Natural Response is worth comparing. If you want a trusted, simple bottle with strong anti-colic performance, Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature is hard to beat. Read our full Philips AVENT buying guide →

The key difference is anti-colic power. Dr Brown's internal vent system is clinically proven to reduce colic and is the stronger solution for babies with significant wind or reflux. Tommee Tippee's anti-colic valve (Closer to Nature) and heat-sensing tube (Advanced Anti-Colic) are effective for most babies but less comprehensive than Dr Brown's approach. On the other hand, Tommee Tippee is simpler to clean — fewer parts, no internal vent tube to wash — and the breast-shaped teat is widely regarded as one of the best for combination feeding. Read our full Dr Brown's buying guide →

Most paediatric guidance recommends transitioning from a bottle to a cup around 12 months. Tommee Tippee makes this easy with their integrated cup and sippy range. The transition from bottle to sippy cup is smoother when you stay within the same brand — the familiar Tommee Tippee feel and quality helps babies accept the change more readily.