Have you ever watched in wonder as a child played with bricks, creating all kinds of fabulous builds, seemingly without much effort on their part? Brick play is fabulous for gross motor development, problem-solving, creative thinking, and more. But the benefits don’t end there; free-flowing brick play offers many more lessons, even for adults.
Kids build freely, mixing colors, ignoring the instruction books, and not getting flustered, and adults can learn a great deal from this freedom. We’re here to uncover and discuss the lessons this form of free play offers.
Some Rule Books Can Be Thrown Out
In life, it can feel like there is a rule book for everything. Part of this is to make things easier on yourself and others, but in other cases, this rule book can feel a bit unnecessary. Looking at kids playing with bricks, it’s clear they aren’t concerned with rules. When they are free building, they are creating on the go and not concerned with following pre-determined steps.
This can be a big life lesson for adults. The idea that some rule books can be thrown out is both freeing and exciting. It means you are giving yourself permission to live in the moment and choose your path as you go.
For those who consider themselves planners and obsess about to-do lists and schedules, this won’t be easy to achieve. Living without those rules and parameters can feel scary. It’s like an acrobat performing a tightrope act without a safety net. You have big hopes and dreams, but what if you fall?
The fact is that falling is part of life. It’s how you pick up the pieces, change courses, and move forward that counts. If a child dislikes how a build is going, do they give up? No, they simply reshape their idea and continue moving forward.
Patience Helps Your Creativity and Skills Shine
This lesson can be a little harder to master, including for kids who enjoy free brick play. As the saying goes, patience is a virtue. It doesn’t always come quickly or easily. As mentioned earlier, when things don’t go as planned, it’s easy to get stressed. The problem with these negative emotions is that they can cloud your creativity.
You can get so caught up in being angry that you don’t put the energy into coming up with Plan B. Your creativity takes a beating, and you’re left floundering. If you can get into the habit of brushing these challenges off and instead seeing them as opportunities, you’ll be shocked at what you can accomplish.
A great example is a young child who has set out to build a particular thing and then discovered they don’t have the right pieces or that it doesn’t really appeal to them. If they can quickly shift focus to a new task, their creativity kicks into gear.
Overthinking Each Decision and Move Can Be a Disadvantage
When adults are given a task, job, chore, or problem, it’s common for them to start analyzing the options and data. Critical thinking skills are important and something to be celebrated. Even so, you can take analysis and research too far. Decision-making can become so overwhelming that you feel frozen, unable to choose. Depending on the situation, slow decision-making can be a major disadvantage.
While too much agonizing over a decision can be a negative thing, it doesn’t mean that all research is pointless. Doing a little digital digging and research is likely to benefit you. Researching has probably become a natural habit, so there’s no need to resist it too much. It’s common for adults to make quick “pit-stops”—for example, they may watch multiple videos before making a new dish or visit this section or that section of a website to check the latest promo codes before signing up for something. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a stark difference from how kids approach play.
As you can see, it’s about finding a balance between overthinking, doing too much digging, and giving yourself the grace to at least conduct a little pit-stop research. Finding balance in life is a pursuit many spend years trying to achieve.
Look at Situations and Challenges from a Different Angle
Another valuable lesson adults can learn is to look at situations and challenges from a different angle. Picture a child dumping out a box of bricks on the floor. They spread out all the pieces and start to shape things in their minds. You can do the same thing in life.
It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in a routine. If that sounds familiar, you may want to shake up all the “pieces” and put them in a different pattern or order. This can be an eye-opening exercise that shows you a new way of doing things. That can lead to a less stressful routine.
It’s Amazing How Many Lessons Adults Can Learn from Kids
Parents are meant to protect their children, love them, and teach them life lessons. All of that is true, but it’s also amazing how many lessons parents can learn from their kids along the way. Taking the time to watch a young child free play with bricks is not just fun; it can open your eyes to all kinds of valuable life lessons. Letting your child’s creativity, zest for life, and resilience rub off on you can be transformative.
is an experienced contributor at Play Briks Construction, where he specializes in exploring the educational potential of construction toys in early childhood development. His work emphasizes the importance of hands-on play in fostering creativity, problem-solving skills, and spatial awareness among children. Patrick is dedicated to providing parents and educators with practical insights and strategies for integrating construction play into learning environments. He also focuses on the latest trends and innovations in the toy industry, ensuring that his audience stays informed and engaged.
