Building & Construction Toys

Construction toys here mean wooden blocks, stackers and arches that let children build, knock down and start again, from the first two-block tower at around one to the castles and bridges of the preschool years.

Building toys for the very first towers

Between one and two, building is mostly stacking and toppling. The rainbow stacker, its giant XXL version and the stacking arches teach balance with a few large pieces. The baby walker wagon comes loaded with blocks, so a toddler can push the load across the room, tip it out and pile it up again; the handyman walker carries a set of tools instead.

Tip out six blocks rather than the whole box. A child with six blocks tends to build; a child facing a heap often just sweeps them about. For other ideas at this age, see our pick of the best toys for 1 year olds.

Construction toys for 3 year olds and beyond

From about three, children start planning: a garage for a car, a bridge high enough for a train, a tower taller than themselves. That is when a bigger box earns its place among their wooden Montessori toys: themed sets of 50 in safari, savannah, ice floe or pastel colours, a classic box of 100 shapes or the walnut-oil heirloom set of 75. From two, the pastel stacking clown adds a playful balancing game.

How many pieces for children's construction toys?

Match the number of pieces to the builder: 50 pieces fill a toddler's play mat, while 100 let two children build side by side. Solid wood blocks from different sets mix well, so a second box simply widens the possibilities.

Blocks have no single right answer: the same arch is a tunnel one day and a rocking boat the next.