LEGO Bricks and Play

According to research, the happiest people on earth are the Danish! I guess it’s not surprising. They make LEGOs in Denmark. Who doesn’t like LEGOs?

Seriously, play is important business. A kids primary job is to play. Through play they learn and grow. One of my Child at Heart mantras is “Play More”. This is such an important life lesson. Making play out of your work can really help lower stress and make life more enjoyable.

One of the favorite toys I bought my daughters was a LEGO train set. There are so many possibilities and ways to put the track together. I figure, if I’m going to get them something to play with, I might as well enjoy playing with them. The results? Smiles, laughter, fun, and joy at seeing children delight in having you be with them.

The girls have had a lot of fun with new LEGO toys and I play alongside building some of the things we’d love to have, but that are a lot less expensive (and safer) in LEGO form like: a Jet Airplane, horse trailer, Beach House, Jet Ski and Off Road Vehicle, motorcycle, and finally a Secret Agent Mobile Command Center. (By the way, the price of many of these items may be inflated online as they are more difficult to get unless you can find them in stock at a store.)

LEGOs can be expensive, but they are very high quality toys that last for years and maintain their resale value. Look for LEGO deals on Craigslist or eBay. We got enough train track that way to run our train clear around the house! If you see a set you like, get it ASAP since LEGO regularly changes the toys it has available and once they are sold out they often do not make the set again.

Fun LEGO facts:

• LEGO is a combination of two Danish words “LEg GOdt” which means “Play Well”.
• There are 52 LEGO bricks for each of the world’s 6 billion inhabitants. Do you have yours?
• Children (and adults) spend more than 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks.
• Fortune magazine named LEGO the “Toy of the Century” in the year 2000.
• You can arrange six eight-studded LEGO bricks in 915,103,765 different positions! That should keep you busy.
• LEGO annual sales have exceeded $1.1 billion.
• When you enjoy LEGOs as an adult you’re known as an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGOs).
• More than 235 Billion Lego parts have been manufactured since 1949.
• LEGO is the 4th largest toy manufacturer in the world. LEGO Group employs more than 5,000 people.
• Lego bricks are very consistent, with only 18 bricks out of every 1,000,000 made being considered defective. The design and manufacture of bricks is also consistent enough to allow bricks manufactured today to interlock with those manufactured in 1958.
• A single Lego brick can support 430 kilograms before the onset of collapse.
• Lego is the largest tire manufacturer in the world.
•  Today LEGO produces not only toys but theme parks, video games, movies, robots, etc. We even have our own LEGO store in Minnesota at the Mall of America.

The LEGOs I keep on my desk remind me of fun and imagination! Here’s our family complete with RV, surf board, jet ski, bike, and private Island. I’ve also got a pontoon airplane, kayak, whale, and sports car nearby.

A recent book emphasizes those things you can learn from a kid and their toys. With LEGOs they talk about connecting relationally with others and building a foundation for leadership. Connections don’t happen by by accident. Just like a model built from LEGOs, connecting relationally requires design, intention, and work to build.

“Leadership is really child’s play. Forget the latest trends and theories! The most important leadership lessons are learned as kids, through the simplest sources – toys. In this fun and fresh book, authors Ron Hunter Jr. and Michael E. Waddell reveal how toys have already taught you the secrets of successful leadership.” Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons from the Toys You Loved as a Child