On the advice of friends, Dad bought a set of Magnatiles for Juliette’s birthday. They are basically geometric shapes (squares and triangles) with magnets embedded in the edges. As an adult, my first thought was that this didn’t seem like a very interesting toy — but my friends, and countless Amazon reviews — assured me that these would get plenty of play time.
And so they should. They’re bloody expensive, and Dad would have complained if they didn’t get used. Because he’s *that* kind of Dad.
They turned out to be the hit of the presents this year, and so far they’ve been played with every day. At first, Juliette started to make simple two-dimensional shapes, flat on the floor. Then, she moved onto creating simple walls in three-dimensions. By the fourth day of playing with them, she was building three-dimensional castles with a little help from Dad, and by day five she was building the castles all on her own.
Alex is technically too young for the toys (that’s a nod to the Magnatiles lawyers), we let him play with a few under close supervision, and he loves them as well. While he isn’t quite building the sophisticated models that Juliette is, he is very much enjoying sticking the shapes together and taking them apart again.
So, fellow parents — my recommendation to you? Magnatiles. Worth every penny… They’ll buy you hours of peace-and-quiet on a rainy afternoon.
An architect at work
