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The Best Building Blocks for Your Child

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Lubica Misevski

A question a lot of parents ask, is what are the best building blocks I can buy my child?

In today's article, we will share some of our ranges and also make recommendations on which set might be right for your child.

Building blocks, as you would know, are a foundation toy that no little one should be without. They are wonderful for developing motor skills, spatial awareness, and confidence for your children.

There are many to choose from. Including magnetic blocks, blocks that aren’t quite blocks, wooden, rubber and cardboard building blocks.

So let us start!

K’s Kids Knock Building Blocks. These beautiful little coloured soft blocks are made for babies and toddlers. There are little peek-a-boo windows and house type shapes, so your little one can have hours of fun.  

Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks - Suitable from baby to adult. Beautiful blocks let your child create some unique structures from little birds to weightlifters. Fun for any age. For our whole Tegu range, please click here.

                               Tegu Pocket Pouch Prism (Jungle) 

                                          Tegu 24 Piece (Tints)     

                                     Tegu 42 Piece (Jungle)

Kapla Planks - Suitable from three years + is a wonderful wooden construction toy encouraging children to learn about the inherent power of the mathematic ratio and its application to architecture.

                      Kapla Planks 200 Wooden Blocks 

            Kapla Planks Octocolour 100 Wooden Blocks 

Plan Toys 50 Blocks - Suitable for two years + this set is a combination of natural wood and colours. Great for stimulating your child's imagination.

Melissa and Doug Wooden ABC and 123 Building Blocks. Hand painted artwork, numbers, letters, and images on the one set. It just makes this set not only economical, but a wonderful learning toy.

Fatbrain Toys Tobbles Neo. We love this one. Your child can have the blocks wiggle, spin, stack, and balance even when the second block is bigger than the first. Not quite blocks, because they are not round. But they do everything blocks do and more.

We feel this is a wonderful way to show children there are many solutions to any problem and many options.

They are easy for Babies to hold, and we feel one of the best stacking toys on the market.

Hape Maple Building Block Set - Another beautiful little wooden and coloured block set.

Hape ABC Building Blocks - Ok so you caught us out, we have more than one Hape set of building blocks. Why? Well, value for money and quality these are great building blocks for your children.

Suitable from 2 years + they are great blocks to own.

Melissa and Doug Alphabet Truck - Yes an alphabet truck set. I mean who does not want a truck with so they can carry their building blocks from one room to another :)

Hape Fantasia Stacking Block Train. A train set that you can stack the colourful building blocks on also carries from room to room. These little blocks are also great at building fine motor skills for your child.

Fat Brain Toys Squigz. This colourful little set won “Best in Play International Toyfair 2013, Parenting Magazine.”

Not a classical set of building blocks, the variety of options and they way the stick together for your little one are amazing. For the lateral thinking little one. Suitable three years +

Hape Fantasy Castle - A 22 piece building block set that you can make into a castle. Need we say more?

Hape Undersea Building Blocks - Want an octopus in your blocks? Ok. How about a starfish? You get the idea. Just a novel way for your child to have more fun with building blocks. Suitable from 2 years +

Now you know just how many blocks there are to choose from. Of course at the outset of the article we stated that we would also make recommendations.

Now the simplest way to do this is to let you know is what we have bought or own children, and what we wish we also had :)

Having a 2-year-old and four-year-old, we bought a couple of sets for each of them.

Our experience with building blocks and each of our children has been very different.

Our daughter gets the greatest sense of achievement by building towers. And once they were complete we would sit there either counting the numbers with her or explaining the letters and words.

The Melissa and Doug Wooden 123 Building Blocks, Hape ABC were the ones we initially used with Sienna. She loved them, and she still does today at the age of 4.

With our son, he was lucky because when he was born so was our toy store. For him, he got some of the latest building blocks as well as the benefit of using some of Sienna’s.

Little Zach loves his Tegu, which was perfect for him even as a one-year-old. They are beautiful little wooden blocks that connect via magnets and safe from baby right through the ages.

He also loves Fatbrain Tobbles Neo because of the shape and how easy they are for his little hand to hold.

But you know what he loves most of all, knocking them all down. A bit like his father when he was young.

We have personally hand selected every building block in our range like we were choosing them for our children.

No matter which one you decide on you will be happy. Whether learning the alphabet, numbers or how to stack. We have a building block for every occasion and every munchkin. For our whole range of blocks, please click here.

Why? Well, because learning should be fun.

Got more questions, ask away..

Posted in building blocks, fine motor skills, spatial smart toys, toddler toys, toys for babies, toys for babies and toddlers, toys for preschoolers, wooden building blocks, Wooden magnetic blocks, wooden toys

Hape Toys Made from Wood and Love

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

We are proud to stock an extensive range of Hape Wooden Toys. The craftsmanship that goes into each piece, there is no doubt that each and every one of the Hape Toys are made with love.

When we first bought our daughter the Hape Guitar, we were not sure what to expect. The beautiful little Guitar that turned up exceeded all our expectations. Not to mention that of our daughter's expectations.

Hape Guitar

The collection is not only musical, and these beautiful wooden toys also have a walk-a-long Puppy, push and pull Giraffe, and walk along Hedgehog.

Walk-a-long Puppy

Push and pull Giraffe

Walk along Hedgehog

One of my Husbands favourites in the range is the Hape Rock and Rhythm Band, and this is a Christmas present for our son and Dad :).

Rock and Rhythm Band

For the real little ones, the Hape little red rider is very popular and can be used as a car or as a walker. It is very versatile, and it will be the envy of every little kid. This little Hape Red Walker won the 2014 Toy of the Year Award in Finland.

Little red rider

Hape happens  to be a global leader in high-quality and bamboo toys. They are one of the largest producers of toys made from sustainable materials.

They are very particular about design, production, and packaging. This shows in their workmanship.

Our collection of Hape Wooden Toys is building every day, and we currently carry over 100 of their products.

So whether it is a Hape Fridge, Marble run Quadrilla Autobahn or Quadrilla Cyclone set or Hape Little Plane you are after we will have them in stock.

Fridge

Quadrilla Autobahn

Quadrilla Cyclone set

Little Plane

As you are probably aware, all of the Hape toys are brilliant for child development. Dependent, of course, on the product you select will depend on the area they impact most.

This can range from developing motor skills, math skill, cognitive skills, through to social skills.

For us at KidzInc it is not only critical that the toys we sell are of the highest quality, but they must also add something to the child’s life skills.

We feel learning should be fun, not one time, but every single day. Even as adults, because when it enjoyable we all learn quicker.

Our little one’s are little sponges, and the absorb everything so quickly that is why having the right toys is critical.

We know Hape toys fit this ideal, and we are proud to sell them. For the complete range please click here.

Posted in educational toys, Hape Toys, toddler toys, toys for babies, toys for babies and toddlers, toys for preschoolers, wooden toys

Tegu Baby and Toddler Wooden Magnetic Blocks

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

Tegu wooden blocks must honestly be the most beautiful wooden magnetic blocks in the market. To see them, first hand is like receiving a gift from Apple.

From the packaging to the product every millimetre has been made with the utmost care. Tegu is clearly a company that creates products with the baby, toddler, preschooler and older child in mind.

The finish is smooth, and the colours are magical, taking nothing away from the fact they are wooden blocks. Everything is very natural.

All the Tegu blocks are magnetic which means your little one will have hours of fun playing with them, and help them learn cause and effect as they go.

They have taken the concept of toy block to another level. Whether you are after wooden baby blocks or wooden blocks for your toddler, or even older child these will not disappoint.

The Tegu magnetic wooden blocks are painted with water based colours leaving that natural wooden block look. These magnetic blocks are a lovely to hold and for baby or toddlers blocks; they are just ideal for little hands.

Tegu have made these blocks as heirloom quality blocks. So you can tell by this statement they have been made to last, and they are actually fun to play with regardless of age. But just perfect as baby blocks.

They come in a range of different options so you can start out small and build from there.

There is the Tegu 24 piece, where your baby or toddler is starting to build some interesting structures.

Tegu 24 Piece (Tint)

The Tegu Travel Tote for those trips were you want to bring something fun along for your toddler or baby (blocks sold separately).

Tegu Travel Tote

The Tegu Pocket Pouch which is perfect for keeping your child entertained when eating out.

Tegu Pocket Pouch Jungle

Or the Tegu 42 piece if you want your little one to have them all.

Tegu 42 piece (Jungle)

Tegu 42 piece (blues)

Tegu Sticky Monsters Beans and Tum Tum

New in 2017 is the Tegu Sticky Monster range, with the above Beans and Tum Tum winning the Spielwarenmesse Toy of The Year Award 2017 for the Baby and Infant Category. 

And finally, the Classroom Kit for those families with more than one child, or if you want to create amazing and large structures.

Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Classroom Kit

There are some other options in between, and this link will take you to the full range. We have the entire range available in Australia for you to chose from. 

The Tegu magnetic blocks are great for babies or toddlers to develop fine motor skills. They learn cause and effect, patience and are awarded for the achievement. They can look back and be proud of their magnetic wooden block structures. Even if it is only 2 blocks sticking together.  

So you have no doubt how much we love this product; we bought it ourselves. We bought this one for our son, as he loved his sisters Magna Tiles, but he is too young for that toy at the moment. That one will have to be a hand me down.

If we knew when our daughter was born this was such a good product we would have bought her Tegu magnetic blocks. As they have two Tegu colour designs.

One is very natural with earthy colours, whilst the other has pink in the collections, which most would suggest suits females more?

These magnetic blocks are first class, and if you are looking for that beautiful present for your baby, toddler, preschooler and the older child you will be very happy.

Please click here through to the full collection available in Australia of the Tegu magnetic wooden blocks. 

Posted in baby toys, building blocks, buy tegu australia, Tegu, tegu 24, tegu 48, tegu australia, tegu blocks, tegu blocks australia, tegu online australia, tegu pocket, toddler toys, toys for babies and toddlers, wooden blocks, wooden building blocks, Wooden magnetic blocks, wooden toys

The Magical Music of Hape Wooden Toys

Posted on October 09, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

If you love the feel and look of well built and beautifully crafted wooden toys. Then you are likely to love Hape Toys, who make all the toys from wood or bamboo.

The craftsmanship in these toys are amazing, and we wanted to share just a few designs with you today.

Our very fist purchase was the Hape Guitar; we bought this for our daughter, and we could not be happier with it. Oh Yes, she likes it too. It comes in either blue or red; we went with red, and it is gorgeous little guitar. Given the quality of this product it is also a great price at $36.99.
 
We like it so much we bought this Hape Rock and Rhythm band for our son. As you can see below the Rock and Rhythm band by Hape is one of the funkiest little drum, cymbal and rhythm makers around. This one is a Christmas present and as such we have not unpacked it yet. But we have peeped at it as you do, and we think he is going to love it. Dad will probably play with it too.

Now this one we have not seen as yet, but the picture tells the story well. It is Hape Grand Piano, now who didn’t want a piano as a kid? In fact for some reason I still think I can play the piano, and I have never had a lesson. It is a 30 key small but Grand Piano, built just right for those little fingers, but still making big sounds. Hang on perhaps we should not say that :) We are sure they will be beautiful sounds.

It is a great size at a Length: 19.69, Width: 20.47 and Height 23.62 inch’s. So you can have a music recital almost anywhere.

But for the little musician there is also a wonderful Hape Early Melodies Xylophone. It has a beautiful rainbow design and is made with love. It is great for starting the love of music from an early age and wonderful for your little ones early development.

Next in the Hape Musical Range is the Melodies Pound and Tap Bench. Little wooden hammer included! This gorgeous little toy is constructed from wood and metal and is a combination hammer bench and the musical xylophone. When you place the balls over the Xylophone and pound them, they roll onto the Xylophone and music ensues.

What a wonderful way to learn about music and cause and effect at the same time.

We love music, and we are pretty sure everyone does?? The wonderful aspect about teaching music to our kids, is that it develops them in so many ways whilst also being enjoyable.

These musical wooden toys develop dexterity, hand-eye co-ordination, logic, and matching. Also spatial relationships and critical thinking, as well as an understanding of cause and effect.

It is hard to believe something that is so enjoyable can also be so beneficial. Then again maybe it is not?

We have just spoken about the Hape Musical Toys today, but there full range is just a lovely, and you can see it by clicking here.

We feel music is a wonderful gift, and if you are thinking about a Christmas or Birthday present for that special little one. Well, we know you and they will love Hape.

Posted in baby toys, educational toys, fine motor skills, Hape toys, music and children, music toys, preschooler toys, toddler toys

Building Blocks that Build Kids

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

Do you remember having building blocks as a kid? I do. They were probably one of my most enjoyable activities when I was younger. I used to spend hours building them up only to knock them down again.

Well, they have come a long way since I was a kid. We now have Hape Blocks, Melissa & Doug Blocks, and Plan Toys Blocks. All these blocks are slightly different and offer girls or boys a variety of choice.

In the range we selected we have the Hape Fantasy Castle blocks, which as you would expect builds a fantasy castle. A lovely one at that.

Hape also make a maple block set, which offers a little less structure. It leave’s your child to create a castle, house, building or whatever they may choose or create.

The last line in the Hape range is the Undersea Blocks. Yes, that is correct the undersea blocks. You can make turtles; it has starfish, and an Octopus to create. It is certainly something I would have enjoyed as a kid.

Lastly in the Hape range we also have the classic ABC blocks, the Hape City Planner Blocks, and the Fantasia Stacking Block Train. As you would expect they are all beautifully made, and durable.

One of our favourite ranges is the Melissa and Doug range. We like this range because of the quality of the craftsmanship. The are made to perfection down to the very last detail.

We have included the alphabet nesting and stacking blocks, the 100 wood block set, the classic ABC block cart which is always a popular seller. As it is nice for your children to have a trolley, they can pack the blocks into and pull around the house. Just try not to step on the odd stray later :).

To finish this range off, we have also included a beautiful ABC/123 range.

Last but not least is the Plan Toys selection, which includes the traditional blocks in a group of 50 and the Creative Blocks.

But we hate to say this, one of our favourites in their range is the Castle and the Fairy Tale Blocks. The fairy tale set includes two horse with a carriage and two figures.

The castle theme is just as wonderful and will provide your children with hours of fun and play.

   

As you would expect toy blocks promote;

• Fine motor skills
• Hand-eye coordination
• Spatial skills

They are also good for developing creative and lateral thinking skills. Will this go with that? Can I build this?

Additionally children are also learning cause and effect. If I build it too high, it might fall over. If the shapes do not match or logically belong together perhaps, I need to try another way?

They also learn patience and focus as they are engaged in the activity of building. This leads to enjoyment of them seeing what they have built. When our daughter or son stand there pointing to their structures, we are just as proud of them as they are proud of themselves.

We have selected a lovely range for you, and we know whatever you choose, you and your little one will have hours of fun.

Posted in educational toys, fine motor skills, preschooler toys, problem solving toys, social development toy, toddler toys, wooden building blocks

These Toys are like WOW!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

WOW Toys....I think the name says it all? These toys are amazing in so many ways. Now like most products we sell we like to test them out. Of course, this is for your benefit and in no way should our enjoyment be seen as anything else but work related.

Our little man gives these the once over to make sure they are durable for the most adventurous little boys and girls.

WOW Toys were first introduced at the London toy fair in 1997. Although they were up against some stiff competition and some very big brands. Their strength and designs caught the idea of many influential UK retailers.

Since this point in time WOW has expanded dramatically and is in over 900 UK retailers, and over 40 countries around the world.

WOW prides themselves on creating super cute, and super tough toys for little ones. Our very own Dudley dump truck can launch off the dining table and land in one piece on the floor :).

They have a ten year satisfaction guarantee and do not build with PVC. There are no small parts, and they do not use any toxic materials in WOW Toys. Best of all NO batteries because it is frictionless, but they work like they have them.

Ernie the Fire engine even has a magic button, to lift the crane and make the fireman turn.

The Wow toys are great for role playing games as they have:

Ronnie Rocket

Flip 'n' Tip Fred

Dudley Dump truck

Mini Wow Ace the Race Car

Mini WOW Blaze the Fire Buggy

Dynamite Daisy

Fireball Frankie

George’s Dragon Tail

Misty n Molly

Rosie’s Royal Ride

Lift-it Luke

Penny’s Pooch 'n' Ride

Sidney School Bus

Bumpety-Bump Bernie

Ernie Fire Engine

Harry Copter

Pippa's Princess Carriage

And Poppy’s Pony Adventure

So you can just imagine all the different ways you could role play and create games with the WOW Toys. What we also love is that they cater for girls. Normally lines that make tough knock about dump trucks like Dudley don’t have a WOW Dynamite Daisy. This is another reason we think this brand is cool.

They are also great for social development, fine motor skills, ideas and imagination and problem-solving.

The range is suitable for 18 months right up to 5 years. Even Dads and Mums can get some fun out with these.

We plan to take some action shots for Instagram and the Dudley Dump truck. So if you are not following us there have a look for Kidzinc8, and you will see our little friend in action soon enough.

Any questions let us know. You can view the full range here.

Posted in award winning toys, fine motor skills, imagination play, preschooler toys, problem solving toys, social development toys, toddler toys, toys for kids, WOW Toys