Wooden Blocks Never Get Old

I've been putting it off for ages, but with all my kids back at college and in school, I finally decided it was time to deal with the toys in our play area.

It took more fortitude than I expected to tackle the bins, shelves, and all the little things no one has touched in months, or sometimes years.

I donated some toys and passed others along. But, to be honest, much of it was packed away at my children's request. They aren't emotionally ready to let those things go yet, and I respect that. I had to remind myself that their attachment to these things doesn't need to make sense to me.

The one set of toys I didn't pack away was the wooden blocks, because even though my younger two are a tween and a teen, they still use them.

Not in the same way they did when they were little, of course. There are no more wobbly towers built just for the joy of knocking them over. Now they become scenery in stop-motion videos, supports for RC car ramps, and props for whatever project happens to be taking over the floor on any given day. Sometimes they are exactly what they have always been: simple wooden pieces waiting to become something else.

I think that's what gives blocks their staying power. A child can play with the same set at two, six, ten, or twelve, and the play simply changes along with them.

When kids are little, blocks are about stacking, sorting, balancing, and knocking things down. Later they become houses, roads, marble-run supports, movie sets, and pieces of much bigger ideas.

Now our play area is just a shelf of books, a few little collections of marbles, Nerf pellets, and dice...and those trusty wooden blocks I bought nearly 20 years ago.

I have a feeling they'll be around for a while longer.

If you're looking for toys with that same kind of staying power, explore Brimful's Stacking + Sorting collection.