Lego® Buying Guide for Parents living in USA

LEGO® Buying Guide (US residents)

This page has links to US online buying sites. Customers from India, visit this page for links to buying from India.

Do you feel that your child knows more about Lego than you do?
Are your Lego purchase decisions largely based on the recommendations of your child, rather than a careful consideration of their developmental needs? Do you feel lost when it comes to buying Lego, given the vast variety of options out there? Do you largely use price as a guiding factor to buy Lego? If the answers to any of these questions is yes, you have come to the right place.

Lego is an investment, so you have to be smart about your purchase. We hope to help you plan and buy Lego not just as a toy to keep your child busy with, but as an important tool to develop creativity and 21st century skills in them.

Buying Lego to Develop Creativity in Your Child

We receive lots of requests from parents asking which LEGO sets to buy for the Lego contest or in general. To help you we have classified Lego sets into two broad categories: open-ended sets and close-ended sets.

The most commonly bought Lego sets are the close-ended sets which represent a specific model on the box. These come with detailed building instructions and have parts that are suited to build a specific model. Many children do not feel encouraged to dismantle that model and build something else. These sets are good for children to pick-up different building techniques and the ability to follow instructions, and develop spatial skills. But, they are not ideal for stimulating creative thinking in your child.

For the purpose of developing creativity, we recommend buying open-ended Lego sets like the Classic series. These sets encourage children to think beyond one model and beyond one way of building. It offers the child flexibility to build anything from their imagination. This 'free-building' opens up a world of possibilities for the child. It helps develop divergent thinking and creativity in the child.

To help you choose from the overwhelming options available in the market, we have shortlisted sets that are currently available on Amazon. Click on any of the Lego set images below and it will take you to Amazon India website, from where you could purchase these sets.

For 18 months - 4 years of age

Great beginners building set for pre-schools, with 120 pieces, to develop fine motor, Early Math and Language skills

LEGO DUPLO Classic Creative Fun 10887 Building Kit, New 2020

Great sets for Social & Emotional Development of pre-schoolers, especially in these pandemic times

Lego Duplo Build Me Emotions Set

Great sets for Vocabulary Development, Early Math, Social & Emotional Development of pre-schoolers.

Lego Duplo Café Plus Set

Its amazing how a simple thing like a base plate can trigger story telling & vocabulary development in kids

LEGO DUPLO Creative Play Large Green Building Plate 2304 Building Kit

The best Lego sets for Learning STEM & Robotics

Great start to making movable machines, using a variety of Technic pieces. Best for Ages 6+ as their first machines set.
Here's what the 9689 kit contains.

LEGO 9689 Simple Machines Set

We call this kit the "grammar of Robotics", It has a motor and many more Technic pieces than the Simple Machines 9689 kit.

Here's what the 9686 kit contains.

Lego Simple & Powered Machines Set

Great set for getting 6-8 years old into Robotics. It will last them for at least 2 years, so much can be done with it.

Here's what the WeDo 2.0 kit contains.

LEGO WeDo 2.0 Set

For age 9 years & above. This Robotics kit will last through high school, hundreds of projects can be made with it.

Here's what the EV3 Retail kit contains.

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 31313 Robot Kit with Remote Control

Lego Bricks for Creative Builders of 4-99 years

This 1000-piece LEGO brick set is a great 1st Lego purchase to build your collection. It comes with instructions.

Creative LEGO Brick Set by LEGO Education 45020

This box has the perfect mix of LEGO bricks and pieces like eyes, wheels, windows doors and hinges. 900 pieces.

LEGO Classic Creative Fun 11005 Building Kit, New 2020 (900 Pieces)

Great starter bricks set with Gears & Axles to make movable machines and mechanisms. The set contains 244 pieces.

LEGO Classic Bricks and Gears 10712 Building Kit (244 Pieces)

Great starter bricks set with Wheels to make different types of cars and vehicles. The set contains 442 pieces.

LEGO Classic - Bricks On A Roll 10715 Building Kit (442 pieces)

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