Karyn Wellhousen, Ph.D., University of New Orleans

Block play has been a favorite pastime for generations of children. For more than a century, blocks have been introduced as both toys and learning materials. Airblox share the many benefits of traditional block play with a contemporary twist on design and materials.

Airblox offer a new array of experiences for young children today. This is due to their size, weight, and ability to adapt to the age and interest of individual children. The lightweight plastic material, oversized dimensions, and the clipping feature of Airblox enable children to build structures that are relative to their own size. Unlike traditional blocks, this makes it possible to actually interact with and play inside the structures they build. The versatility of Airblox provide endless possibilities for play limited only by children’s unique imaginations. The more children play with them, the more creativity they exhibit in the structures they build and the uses they discover for the various shapes. Finally, Airblox successfully accommodate the different ways children play as they grow.

As in other areas of children’s development, the way in which they interact with play materials evolves with time and experience. At three years of age, a child will delight in simply carrying and depositing objects. Airblox offer new challenges and a great sense of accomplishment as a child successfully picks up and moves the large, yet lightweight pieces from one place to another. Parents can take advantage of the various colors, shapes, and sizes, to introduce new vocabulary in the context of their child’s play; “You carried that big, red, square all by yourself!”  During the preschool years, children’s play is dominated by the world of make-believe. Airblox provide a perfect outlet for pretending as children climb in and out of houses and tunnels, fly jumbo jets, or navigate a tug boat. When pairs or small groups of preschoolers play together with Airblox, they are learning important social skills such as negotiating pretend play scenarios and working cooperatively to build. School age children have reached the stage in which they enjoy demonstrating their newfound abilities. Because of the lightweight pieces and unique connecting system, older children can independently construct large, complex building using Airblox. A school-age child can carefully replicate one of the many structures pictured in the manual or she may use her own imagination to build and reconfigure a unique creation.

At each of these stages, from age 3 and up, Airblox offer endless opportunities for developing large and small muscles. Carrying blocks and climbing through tunnels requires physical coordination while clipping blocks together to create a secure structure demands dexterity. Regardless of the child ’s age, Airblox offer limitless opportunities for learning and development.

The National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval program is an independent testing procedure conducted to judge a variety of products introduced and marketed to the parent/child consumer market.

The testing involves a multi-step process conducted over an 8-week period. Staffed by volunteers, the testing facility of The National Parenting Center gives parents, children, and educators the opportunity to examine a variety of submitted products. The testers are encouraged to play with, build, read about, and judge by the reactions of the children, each product's quality.

Evaluated are each product's level of desirability, sturdiness, interactive stimulation and other ingredients essential in the make-up of a quality product. Test results are based on both statistical averaging and comments received from the parent/testers.