LEGO® DUPLO® New Range: Expert’s Review 2024
Raising a little human, you get hit with the reality of all the skills, qualities, and milestones there are to nurture and develop in them. Many of which you’ve forgotten that at some point, you had to learn too. Like how someone wearing glasses or having a different body than you is still totally awesome (just in their own way). Or understanding what emotions are, and the importance of communicating them without a tantrum.
And then there’s the seemingly obvious, like learning the ABCs, which you have no idea how to make even vaguely interesting to your child.
The best way to tackle all these overwhelming learning curves is through play. Letting your child revel in their creativity while building their skills and emotional development all at once.
LEGO DUPLO has a new 2024 range that covers these key growth areas with products that enthuse and engage your little one, and we’re delivering an expert review to show you why we love it.
LEGO DUPLO range in-depth review by Kiindred
Trying to teach your child everything from motor skills to social-emotional development and navigating routine can be totally overwhelming. Especially when you consider the limited windows of time you have to get into it, and how long until your kid loses concentration completely.
So when a playset covers multiple learning bases at once, and still promises plenty of fun, it’s enough to make you send a little “thank you” prayer up above.
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About LEGO DUPLO
Known for its bright colours, playful sets, and easy-to-handle bricks, LEGO DUPLO uses building bricks to cultivate learning through play for toddlers aged 18 months and over. It’s designed for tiny fingers and growing minds, focusing on nurturing early development brick-by-brick.
Why you should buy their new range: Product benefits
Letters and numbers learning
LEGO DUPLO’s Alphabet Truck set encourages preschoolers to creatively embark on learning their ABCs, with stackable and colour-coded letter bricks. They can build their own words or group the letters by colour, before clicking them onto a driveable truck.
It also comes with a toy LEGO DUPLO stereo element so kids can sing their ABCs, or read them through the included book feature. It makes tackling this essential, but usually pretty boring, information an entertaining adventure with loads of creative ways to play.
Problem-solving skills
By following construction cards in the LEGO DUPLO Animal Train set, your little one can grow their critical thinking abilities as they try to match the buildable animals to the pictures. Then, they can match the adorable animals to their colour co-ordinated carriage. So that with every click, they’re making a brand new connection.
There’s also a few extra bricks that open up the gates for creativity, letting your child make their own unique animals too (did someone say flying giraffe?)
Social-emotional development
Tiny people have very big emotions, so helping them understand how to regulate and express their feelings is major.
The LEGO DUPLO Big Feelings & Emotions set features buildable characters with different options for expressions, helping toddlers understand their own emotions.
While playing, you can talk to them about why they chose certain expressions, describe those emotions, and how that character might be feeling. It’s a great prompt to also encourage empathy in your little one and ways that we might make that character feel a bit better.
Embracing diversity
We want our kids to be ready to treat everyone with respect and kindness, no matter how different they may look.
Help your child realise that “everyone is different, but everyone is awesome” with the LEGO DUPLO Buildable People with Big Emotions set. It features 71 bricks and pieces to make 5 buildable characters that can be created any which way, showing your child all the different ways a person can be built. Whether that’s with glasses, birthmarks, or curly hair.
It breaks down the idea of “normal” as they mix and match their own unique people. You can open up conversations about how we all look very different, we can still be great friends!
Understanding routine
Navigating routines can result in all sorts of scary emotions for your child, especially when transitioning from one activity to the next. Playing through these steps and how they make us feel is a great way to prepare them (and minimise meltdowns).
LEGO DUPLO has two Daily Routines sets that explore distinct scenarios to play out. LEGO DUPLO’s Daily Routines: Bath Time toy features two adorable elephant characters, with different expressions for the baby to communicate how they feel about bathroom routines. It comes with a bath, shower, and toilet (which is great for prompting potty training talk), so your little one can play out these steps in a safe space.
If bedtime gives your entire family gray hairs, the LEGO DUPLO’s Daily Routines: Eating & Bedtime set delves into wind-town routines and mealtime. With a cat, kitten, bear and its cub (plus different expressions) you and your child can communicate about these daily moments in a fun way.
Fine motor skills
All LEGO DUPLO sets are focused on fine-tuning your little one’s motor skills as they play with the bricks and click together their creations. The range of textures give plenty for their tiny fingers to explore – smooth, hard, bumps, hollows, and all the corners and edges. As they press and pull, their motor control and strength build even stronger.
LEGO DUPLO range specs and features
Alphabet Truck:
- Educational construction toy focusing on letter learning for ages 2 and up
- Features a drivable truck, detachable trailer, 2 LEGO DUPLO figures, and 26 ABC bricks
- Imaginative accessories include a LEGO DUPLO stereo for ABC singalongs and a book for letter recognition
- This 36-piece set features a truck toy measuring over 4.5 in. (11 cm) high, 5.5 in. (14 cm) long, and 2.5 in. (7 cm) wide.
H3: Animal Train:
- Showcases four buildable animals and three detachable carriages for pull-along, imaginative role play.
- Follow the provided cards to construct the animal toys or use the extra bricks to unleash your child’s creativity
- The train toy features fun functions, such as connecting carriages and the rooster’s wobbling neck, fostering the development of fine motor skills in young learners.
- When fully assembled, this 19-piece animal train toy measures over 6.5 in. (17 cm) high, 16.5 in. (43 cm) long, and 2.5 in. (6 cm) wide, providing big fun for little hands.
Big Feelings & Emotions:
- Includes 4 expressive characters for preschool kids aged 18 months and up to understand different moods.
- Comes with 23 bricks, featuring 8 facial expressions and 4 wig bricks, ensuring endless customization for fresh and exciting playtimes.
- Coloured wigs with interesting shapes engage curious fingers, contributing to the development of fine motor skills in young children.
- This 23-piece set includes figures standing over 5 in. (12 cm) high, providing a substantial and interactive learning experience for your little ones.
Buildable People with Big Emotions:
- Toddlers understand their own feelings while building and rebuilding 5 toy people.
- The inclusion of a wheelbase adds an extra layer of imaginative play, enabling kids to give their characters wheels instead of feet.
- Build and rebuild these characters in many different ways, so it’s literally the gift that keeps on giving!
- Perfect for small hands: This 36-piece set features a truck toy measuring over 4.5 in. (11 cm) high, 5.5 in. (14 cm) long, and 2.5 in. (7 cm) wide.
Daily Routines: Bath Time
- Featuring two elephant toys, a toilet, bath, and shower made from durable LEGO® DUPLO® bricks, this set provides a sturdy foundation for imaginative bath time play.
- The baby elephant figure with interchangeable expressions allows toddlers to explore and express their emotions
- Once assembled, the bath time playset measures over 5.5 in. (14 cm) high, 11 in. (28 cm) wide, and 3 in. (8 cm) deep.
Daily Routines: Eating & Bedtime
- With 4 animal family figures, this playset is an excellent toy for preschoolers to understand and express their feelings through imaginative play
- The puppy and kitten animal toys feature happy and sad faces, allowing non-verbal toddlers to easily convey their emotions.
- This 28-piece set measures over 7 in. (17 cm) high, 20.5 in. (53 cm) wide, and 5 in. (13 cm) deep, providing a substantial and engaging play experience.
In conclusion: Why we love it
The best way for kids to learn is when it’s woven within play. These LEGO DUPLO sets are expertly made to guide your child through all areas of their development (physical, social, emotional, and cognitive) whilst keeping it fun and light. With so many ways to play and create, they can build their understanding of language, animals, people, routines, and feelings.
That’s what makes these sets so great. They set your child up in so many ways for a really rounded playtime and learning experience. So our verdict is, you can’t go without them.
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