Encourage Your Kids To Flex Their Imagination This Christmas

My husband and I introduced our children to building and construction toys at a young age, years later, hardly a day goes by that both our son and our daughter are not in the middle of a big construction projection. In fact, the evidence is everywhere, from our living room to their bedrooms-crafts and building toys are tucked away here and there, and rarely a day goes by that one of the kids don’t shout “Come see what I built,” and as a parent, it couldn’t make me happier.

Over the years I have seen first hand the benefits of providing my children access to construction toys:

1. They help reduce screen time exposure, by offering a fun alternative to watching movies, tv, or playing video games.
2. They help develop patience and focus (when things get too rambunctious I know it’s time to pull our tactile toys).
3. They build skills and confidence in problem-solving skills. Witnessing their joy at accomplishing something that started off difficult makes me so proud.
4. They foster artistic, creative, and engineering capabilities; whether it’s following an instruction or making a design from their imagination, construction toys allow my children to have a hands-on approach to developing those essential skills. I love how happy they become when they’re able to finish a challenging model or when they are able to create exactly what they pictured in their mind.
5. They help develop spatial intelligence, which will help them in everything from math to playing sports.

This is why we love MagnaFlex! It offers a play option that has so many wonderful takeaways, including a great activity that’s lots of fun for the whole family. After school, when our kiddos want to hang out with mom and dad, we plunk ourselves on the floor with them and have a blast making different models and stories to go with them.

With the holiday season around the corner, MagnaFlex is a wonderful gift idea or activity to keep children ages 3-9 busy and playing for hours! My kids were surprised with an early present this year to put MagnaFlex to the test. I can tell you first hand, this educational and imaginative toy meets all the right criteria!

So what is MagnaFlex exactly? MagnaFlex is a toy from WowWee that consists of magnetic strips that bend, connect and snap together; the building kit includes colourful magnetic strips, connector pieces, and an inspirational, easy-to-follow instruction guide. When we opened up the kits our kids immediately wanted to build a ladybug and beach ball (models shown in the guide), and later in the day they asked my husband to help them take on the task of making big tarantulaI! It wasn’t long before my little ones were completing some of the models in the guide and making new, fantastical creations using their beautiful imagination!

To learn more about this toy and others from Wowee visit their website, wowee.com

 This piece is in partnership with MagnaFlex. As always, all opinions are personal. Thank you for supporting my efforts to bring you exciting, new content. /

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Emily Smith

Emily Smith is the Editor of The Best of This Life who has been writing in the lifestyle niche and creating delicious recipes for over 10 years. Her work has been featured on BRIT + CO, Today's Parent, Chatelaine, Huffington Post, The Pioneer Woman, and Food Bloggers of Canada. She writes about family, food, entertaining, home decor, wellness, travel and a litany of other topics. She loves sharing her three core values - love life, live well, share the beauty - and encourages her readers to enjoy the best of their lives every day. She lives in Ottawa with her loving husband, two darling children, and dreams of one day owning a puppy. 

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