LEGO Duplo Building Set - 71 Pieces (5380)

As a father of ten, we've had a number of Duplo sets over the years.Whenever we need to replenish our supply (this year being one such time), we look for a new set based on three basic factors: wheels, people, and price.

Price is a general constraint for us.We're willing to spend $25-$30 for a set of Duplo blocks. They're tremendously durable, and you can even run them through the dishwasher (in one of those cages used for baby bottle accessories).Within that price range, we try to maximize the number of bricks we get.If wanting only bricks (no special pieces), then you should be able to get 80 or more bricks starting at $20 on sale.If you want those parts (wheels and a character)--and in our experience, they are some of the most used parts when the kids play--then you are looking in that $25-$30 range with at least 65 other blocks.

All of our kids, especially the boys, loved having the wheels.They would make cars and trucks, and eventually airplanes and rolling robots.Sure, they could make many of these things without the wheels, but they seemed to play longer when they were making wheeled things.

Both the boys and girls like the little characters, but the girls would often take the Duplo person away to play with other dolls or for other activities.The boys would almost always make the boy a driver, or some person who was running from (or fighting) the giant robot, tank, or whatever they built with the other blocks.

Many people might not think of Duplo blocks as educational, but they are a great tool for teaching little ones about colors, numbers, and matching.It also helps fine-motor coordination as they try to assemble the bricks (especially at the youngest ages).We have a special needs child who was grown very fond of the bricks, and really enjoys assembling and disaassembling small stacks of them (this year's purchase was targeted for him).

**A SPECIAL NOTE ON THEME SETS**

Unless you have a specific desire to get your kids the specially themed Duplo sets (e.g., Bob the Builder), I recommend skipping those and getting just a basic set like this one for these reasons:

1) Cost.Themed sets cost more for less.You end up paying for the name/theme, and little else.

2) You simply get more blocks with the non-themed sets, and more blocks means more fun play.

3) Themeed sets usually have more special (unique) bricks.They can be used with any set, but those specialized bricks often aren't used as much (based on our experiences) in general play.

4) Most kids don't keep the sets together as displayed on the box.They like to tear things apart and build new things.Knowing that they will do that anyway, it seems to decrease the value of the special theme sets.By the time they are old enough to care about keeping sets togehter (or restoring the set to its original layout after playing with the bricks), the kids are about ready for the first regular Lego set.

**ONE EXCEPTION ON THEME SETS (ANIMALS)**

The only theme sets my wife and I will occasionally purchase are the ones with the animal figures and extra people.These are a great gift for a child who already has a supply of Duplo blocks, as they add to the fun.

We got this Duplo set for our son, who is almost 21 months, for Christmas. He loves it! He's too young to make particularly complex creations, but he really loves snapping the blocks together and taking them apart, as well as playing with the stuff Mom and Dad make. (And we have tons of fun with these, too!) Heck, he even has a great time just dumping the blocks out of the bin and putting them back in ...

The set comes with a good assortment of rectangular and square blocks, and a few sloping and curved ones, as well as one small baseplate, a wheeled rectangular block (my son's favorite!) and a "guy" (he looks like a construction worker to me).

The blocks seem as durable as they were back when I was a kid, and they have just the right degree of "snappiness" -they're not too hard to snap together or take apart, but they don't come apart too easily, either.

A couple of notes:

* Be sure to check the prices carefully before you buy. A lot of third-party sellers on Amazon are jacking the price WAY up. You can find much better deals if you buy directly from Amazon or Lego, or at brick-and-mortar stores. This is NOT a hard-to-find item.

* Consider getting the big 15-by-15-inch baseplate, which you can buy separately. It definitely adds a lot of play value. (Again, check prices carefully, though!)

Buy LEGO Duplo Building Set - 71 Pieces (5380) Now

My three year old daughter loves these blocks. I like them because they are compatable with the Lego Quatro, which have been her favorites for the last two years. They won't build the big structures you are used to building with quatro, but they have more variety to spark the imagination. My only complaint is there doesn't seem to be enough, they could have put twice as many blocks in this bucket!

Read Best Reviews of LEGO Duplo Building Set - 71 Pieces (5380) Here

My son got this last Christmas when he was 15 months old, and loved it immediately.He didn't "build" much with it at first (I've heard from other parents that kids don't really have the hand strength and coordination at that age) but enjoyed sorting the blocks and taking apart things that I made for him.Now, at 23 months, he is more into both building things mostly towers or "helping" me build a houseas well as taking them apart.He likes naming all the colors of the blocks, and also puts the "car" in the garage and puts "George" (our name for the little guy) to bed in his house.I expect we'll get a lot of play out of this set for some years, though we may need to buy another set or two so he can build more complex things.

Want LEGO Duplo Building Set - 71 Pieces (5380) Discount?

This listing on Amazon does not give all the information about this set. This is the "Preschool Building" set. I thought I was buying a good mix and variety of blocks to form a basic foundation for building a lego collection and this is not a basic set as I wanted. It's to specifically build a preschool building, tree and some kind of vehicle. There are a ton of the tiny square blocks, and much fewer of the standard size blocks. Which makes it not so great for kids under 2 because the tiny square blocks can be choking hazards.