DUPLOs vs. LEGOs for nearly 4 year old

[ShyDaisi]

Micah is 3.5, and I am working on compiling a Christmas wish list. He has some DUPLOs and loves playing with them. I wanted to add to his collection so he can build more, but at this stage, I am wondering if we should go ahead and make the switch to LEGOs. Thoughts?

[omelette]

I'd vote for Lego, he can start to use it now and grow into.  My son is 4.5 and has just started getting into lego in the last couple of months.  We've had lego since he was 3.5 but it was too frustrating for him at that stage.  He still uses his duplo too but can build much cooler stuff with Lego.

[MJB]

Lego for sure. 

[mainemommy1]

Lego was too frustrating for my son at 3.5. he is 5.5 and still plays with his Duplos-he has legos now too and both the Duplo and Lego sets get a lot of use. I personally would go for the Duplo for now.

[Red Pajama]

My boys are 5.5, with a younger sister in the house. We've decided not to do lego for another year a least. Many sets say 7+, and when it comes to lego, I want them to do it, not me.  I don't want to be the one putting it all together and them do the deconstruction.  Also, in our house, we fight the "pick up your toys" battle. Legos are not something I want to start until they have a bit more of a personal desire to keep their own stuff neater than they do currently.

So my vote is Duplo, or something completely different, like playmobil.

[mamadelbosque]

IDK, my ds is 3.5 too and thus far he only has duplos. We were at friends recently and he was playing with their legos and so I've thought about pulling out my old legos (have a TON - seriously a huge plastic tote *FULL*). But I think for now we're going to hold off, though more because of ds2 (15 months) than ds1's ability level. If you don't have younger sibs, I'd probably go for lego just because he'll play with them for *YEARS* 

[LoveMyTwoBoys]

We got the Legos out (our old ones from when we were kids) in February of this year.  DS1 was almost 5 and DS2 was 2.5.  They both loved them right away.  DS2 needed more help with them at the time but now at 39 months he builds almost as well as his brother..  DS2 got Duplo for his 3rd birthday and never plays with them.  He much prefers the Legos.  That said, I'd go with Legos.  He will get much more use out of them and they last FOREVER!!!

[LaughingHyena]

If I could find some cheep/used duplo I would probably go for it but expect it to be grown out of pretty quickly. If I were paying full price I'd go for lego.

FWIW we currently have both.

Both children (6 & 4) still play with the duplo, the 4yo especially seems to get a kick out of building BIG towers. DD has been playing with lego since about 3.5, at first she mostly made patterns on a base board but now she builds bigger structures.

[AllisonR]

Legos for sure. We have both. DS is 6 and makes very complex stuff out of legos - star wars kits.... DH helps the 1st time, then DS eventually takes the themed sets apart and makes totally cool new stuff out of it. He combines several things into his own spaceships, race cars... along with the regular bricks. DD is 4 and also uses the legos. The duplos are still in the room, but it must be 6 months or more since she last used them. When she was 3.5 she used to switch between them a bit, I think because the duplos larger size was more comfortable. But you can't build much out of them. 

[KyleAnn]

I think it depends on the child.  Ds has always been a Legomaniac so Duplos didn't do it for him very early on.  That being said, he only had the basic tubs of random Legos and when he was younger he just built his own creations.  As he got a little older he started recieving a lot of the sets as gifts and that was...eh.  We would work together to build them but then he would want to play with the ship/car/etc...it would fall apart...he would get upset...we would rebuild.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.

Even so, I would vote Legos for an almost 4 y/o.  But just the basic tubs!

[bobandjess99]

WOW??

REALLY?

We are just now moving INTO duplos...my kids are 3 and 6, and we've been using the giant Lego primo/megabloks maxi blocks, and just got a set of duplos.  I imagine we will use duplos for another few years, at least. 

[Needle in the Hay]

My son played with duplos a lot and for a long time (we had a lot of them though, including two big castle sets).

He didn't start really getting into legos until he was 7 and then went right into building the sets himself. I see no reason not to have some legos handy (we did), but wouldn't switch over unless your son clearly has a preference for the legos. At 3.5 legos were too difficult to build with for my son.

Anyway, he's 9 now and a lego maniac. He has lots and lots of legos but he also plays with them everyday.

[Oceanone]

Duplo's a hit, even in my kid's school Kindergarten and First class. They build faster and they are still really versatile.  My six year old still loves them.  My 9 year old mostly uses lego, but he was using duplo for a long time.

[MariaMadly]

If you're undecided, maybe it'll help to consider where and how you see your DC focus his energy.  My two were both definitely Lego by that age.  They were (are!) really detail-oriented, and also stronger in fine motor rather than gross.  We had about ten years of Lego skyscrapers filling the the living room floor.  That was fun!

My hugest yard sale score ever was a Hefty bag full of mixed basic Lego bricks for $15.00.  Picked it up in July and set it aside for February vacation.  Very well-received.

[Marsupialmom]

I would get a small box of Lego and see how my child responds 

http://shop.lego.com/ByAge/Product.aspx?p=5574&cn=100003&d=100001

[PatchChild]

DS is 3.5 and adores his Duplos.  That said, preschool tried out the little Legos and he ADORED them.  Sat and built for about 2 hours straight.  I'm holding off getting them for home though because of all the mess.  Once the Duplos are on their way out, I'll happily replace them with Legos.

[sewaneecook]

I'd go for the Legos.  If I didn't have a young one around, we'd get some for our 4YO DS.  He plays with Legos at a cousin's house and really likes how much more he can do with them. 

[Redheaded_Momma]

I'd vote Duplo DS likes to play with them independently. He builds tall towers and pyramids. I think he also likes the feeling of being able to build things by himself. For Legos DH usually has to help him with. DS likes to build with Legos if its a small set ie cherry picker or buzz lightyear but they end up falling apart and the small pieces get lost.

[JudiAU]

My DS is also 3.5 . I'd vote for the duplo for sure. DS is independent with Duplo but the lego really require a lot more effort and supervision on my part and frusteration on his part. I don't think we'll be moving to lego anytime soon. Also, I feel like Duplo are less kit dependent than legos which have more of "buy this kit and make it once and then shop for another." 

You probably know this but duplo hold their resale value you well so you can sell them at some point in the future. You can buy interesting lots on ebay.