BRIO Magnetic Blocks

We got these for our 20 month old. The magnets were too weak. It was like getting regular blocks without magnets. Also, the magnets were only on 2 sides of each piece. So on a six-sided cube, only 2 sides had magnets and only one of those sides would attract with one side on another block, and the magnets were so weak, sometimes I couldn't tell if they were supposed to be repelling or attracting. This made it annoying to try to find the magnetic sides unless you looked at each surface of each block really closely. Plus, because our child didn't get that they were magnets (she has other magnetic toys she likes to play with) she just whacked the blocks together and the paint chipped off of a couple of the blocks. Within 5 minutes of having opened the package, I put the blocks back into the box and stuck them into the pile for stuff to go to good will. I would return them, but technically they are damaged now. I would give one star for this product, but I decided to give two because the concept was good.

I purchased the magnetic stacking blocks about 1 1/2 years ago for my child (now 2 1/2). I loved the idea of children having beginning blocks that could actually stick together and not immediately fall down. These are very well made. Because they are magnetic with one side "positive"/ one side "negative", I put a tiny permanent marker dot on the positive side of all the blocks. My daughter immediately picked up on this (at 12 months, they are more observant that we think sometimes) and that did the trick. She knew how to stick them together. They stick together well enough on the floor but if picked up too vigorously, or with too many stuck togetherthey come apartlots of fun for the child as well. Her main issue was that there were not enough blocks to really feel like she could build something as she gets older so I bought a second set and the train. It works great for us.

If you have an older child, the discovery of how the magnets repel or attract will be interesting, but if they are younger most likely just frustrating so I suggest the dot idea. It is a safe beginning magnet set because there is no way the child can access the magnetit is inside the shapes. Be sure to check out the train based on the same ideait might be a better fit for you or a good addition.

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I got these blocks for my son about four years ago, and they have spent the majority of the time being "trash" in the back of his toy garbage truck, not used as blocks. The magnets aren't very strong, and are only on two sides of the six-sided square blocks. The round blocks are useless, except for tripping over. Also, there aren't enough blocks to build much of anything. I generally love Brio products, but recommend going with another product unless you are using these for a baby or very young toddler. I prefer to get something that will be useful for a longer time.

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