Customer Reviews

Soft & Sturdy Jumbo Blocks

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought these blocks for my 5 and 2 year old boys at Christmas and they have played with them every day since. Despite the blocks being foam, they are very durable and the only wear is a few teeth marks! The bright colors and soft texture seem to make them irresistible. The boys' imaginations never stop coming up with new ways to use them, and they delight in the tall towers they can make that are relatively stable because of the grippy surface of the foam. These are far superior than the wood type because they are so light they don't hurt or damage the furniture, and the scale and size of the pieces makes them the perfect ramps for little cars and houses for small stuffed animals. Hours of quiet, battery-free fun - probably the best toy purchase I have ever made. A safe bet if you don't know what to get a preschooler.

January 2009: I wrote the above part of this review back in May of 2006 and I am just adding that we are on kid#3 (a girl this time) and these are still in good shape and being played with almost daily.

I have very mixed feelings about these blocks. Along with the previous reviewer, I thought these would be a perfectly safe toy for my 2 year old to play with along-side her 4 year old brother. As it turns out, they are not firm enough to hold up to a still oral toddler. Our blocks, which have been used for just six months, are covered in tooth marks and have edges that are crumbling away. I definitely cannot fault Step2 for this, as they clearly advertise these blocks for 3 and up. However, I feel it's important to warn parents who view these as a safe alternative for their toddlers. I was one of those parents and now I only allow my toddler to play with these under my supervision.

As far as play value, blocks are wonderful. Blocks are a classic toy and I thought these would be a perfect alternative for the same reasons a lot of other parents will--inexpensive, pain-free if used as weapons or when they tumble down, etc. I liked the concept of blocks so much that, after I became aware that these are not a good option for younger kids I actually went all out and purchased a large set of solid maple unit blocks for my third child's first birthday. He will also enjoy block play but can't use the Step2 blocks for the reasons stated above, even with my supervision because, as all parents know, everything is floor to mouth at that age and for quite some time to come. Obviously, the maple blocks were more expensive than the foam but not nearly so much as people might think. Do a search for wooden unit blocks on-line and you will find some solid maple blocks at reasonable prices. They will prove their value as time passes because they will never deterioriate and can be used for years and then passed down for generations.

When I received the maple blocks, I was stunned at how inspiring they were to my 2 and 4 year olds. They watched as I unpacked their younger brother's gift (I refer to it as his leverage for encouraging his older siblings to share--ha ha) and fussed and howled for HOURS when I had to put them away. They clearly preferred the plain wooden blocks to the colorful foam ones. I have to admit that I definitely did as well. As you hold just one you think, "Yep, it's a piece of wood." But then you see and hold all the different shapes and it's beautiful to think of all the creative opportunities in front of your kids. Their weight alone makes building and balancing more interesting. Also, they follow unit sizing, which encourages the development of math and science skills. Finally, the variety of shapes is greater, which makes it more interesting to build.

Foam or wood, I encourage a gift of blocks for young children--just not foam for children who still mouth objects or are teething. Do investigate the prices on wooden blocks. Though they are initially a larger investment, they will prove their value long after the foam ones are dry and dusty in the corner. As far as the fear of injury from wooden ones, I will just say that I have baskets of toys that could be improperly used as weapons if a child has a mind for that. I have a Fisher-Price corn popper that could tell a few tales of sibling rivalry. Ugh!

I would grade this toy as follows, with the most important categories first:

SAFETY: A
These blocks are made of lightweight foam, so it's difficult to hurt anyone by throwing them. However, they're tough enough that toddlers cannot bite pieces out of them. None of the blocks are small enough to fit inside a kid's mouth, so there's no choking hazard. Amazon recommends waiting until 4-6 years of age, but I feel comfortable letting my 18-month-old play with these.

FUN: A-
The blocks come in a lot of different shapes and 4 bright colors. They're fun to stack. You can do whatever you do with normal wooden blocks. However, if you have 2 kids playing with them at once there aren't really enough blocks to do much with. I hope your kids like to cooperate.

VALUE: B-
I'd say a fair price for these would be about $25, tax/shipping included. You don't quite get enough blocks with one set. Ideally I would want 2 or 3 of these sets so that more kids could play at once, or so one kid could build some nice things. To make a dollhouse, for instance, you really need more of the large rectangular blocks than you get in a single set.

MISCELLANEOUS: The word "Jumbo" might be a little misleading to some people. When I think of jumbo foam blocks, I think of something a bit bigger; the largest block here is 8x4x2 in, while the smallest is 2x2x2 in. (Note that the product dimensions given by Amazon are wrong.) Also, these blocks do not "stack at angles"--I'm not sure what the manufacturer was thinking when it made this claim.

Overall, a decent value for really nice, safe blocks.

I purchased these blocks for my 15 month old grandson for Christmas. They are absolutely wonderful for quiet play. They stack well due to the very slight tackiness of the surface, which means that they don't slide apart or topple like wooden blocks do when not stacked directly on top of each other. He has been successful in building a stack 6-8 blocks high with the various shapes before it falls over. He enjoys kicking them and throwing them, and they will "bounce" rather than hurt furniture and other children. The large size makes them easy to pick up and hold; no more lost pieces under the couch! I liked the variety of shapes and sizes, and intend to purchase more. I wish that I had had these foam blocks when my children, neices and nephews were small; it would have made for much safer play time when all twenty-six of them were at my house or their grandmother's!

I bought this for my granddaughter. She just turned two. I figured she'd play with them for two days, and that would be that, but they've kept her interest -- off and on -- more than a week!

But I chose them because (1) she likes to put things into boxes, and she likes to put boxes in boxes; (2) these are soft so she won't "put an eye out" - not even after her baby brother arrives; (3) THEY DON'T MAKE NOISE.

You can't always think entirely of the kid when getting presents. Think of the poor parents! After you're gone and have already taken aspirin, think if you had gotten wood blocks in a house with two floors and a kid who already throws like a center fielder.

Hey it was better than clothes, and she does use her imagination. Her "buildings" are architecturally better than most of the stuff I've seen go up in metropolitan areas...and more colorful, too.

These are nice because they are a good size, colorful, soft, durable and they float in the tub!! We have all played with these. I would recommend these blocks to parents.

These blocks are the greatest! My 3 1/2 and 2 year old both play with them everyday. Comes with lots of blocks which all work great together. No complaints at all.

Cons

Would like to have more. Would like to have been able to buy larger quantity when we bought them. Would be nice if they had a nice storage case with them. Were a bit pricey.

Pros

They are blocks. What's not to like. They are colorful, they are soft yet sturdy. They don't hurt when thrown and getting hit by them. They are supposed to be non-toxic and as far as I know, this is the case. No one has died, and even though I discourage the kids from putting them in their mouth, several do have bite marks in them. However, none have been torn, cut, nor chunks bitten out of them.

They make little if any noise when knocked down so smaller siblings aren't starteled nor awaken. They have many different sizes and shapes for better imaginative building. They stack very well.

We bought these at least 4 if not 5 years ago, and have lasted through 4 kids and lots of visiting kids. The kids and I still build with them regularly.

Recieved them in a timely fashion, and the price through Amazon was either cheaper or comparable to other sites.

I bought these for my daughter's 3rd birthday. She just turned 4 and has played with these blocks nearly every day for a year. She builds houses, castles, roads, zoos for her Little People animals, etc. Great for imagination play.

This kind of toys people should be buying, not the stupidness that everybody do. They can use their brain to Build a lot of stuff. I always buy Educational toys