Clear Colors 16pc Rectangle

Endless possibilities for construction.

I know I got the cheap set, so I suppose it's my fault as much as the product's. I thought that it would be a self-contained box of fun, but it's just boring & frustrating for my 4 year-old. Since there are only rectangles (which is clearly labeled), he can't really make any fun shapes. Also, since magnets work by having some positive & some negative, not all parts of one rectangle can connect with all parts of another rectangle. It seems obvious now, and I might not be explaining it well, but sometimes if he wants to make a particular shape, he can't because the two positives repel each other. Since there's only one shape in this kit, and all are identical, if he has trouble with one, he has trouble with all. At 4 he doesn't quite get why, so he gets frustrated and quits.Since my son is 4, he's still trying to figure out how to make 2D shapes and doesn't have the gentle touch required for making 3D shapes - when he tries doing something 3D because his 2D designs aren't working, everything just collapses into a frustrated heap.These are durable & big enough that I wouldn't be worried about any younger kids choking. So, they seem safe & sturdy. However, because of the limited shape, they're not fun for my 4 year old. I'd recommend a kit with different color shapes.This isn't related, so I don't know if it's appropriate, but we also got something called "Crystal Climbers" to use on his Crayola Light Tracing pad (our cheap version of a light table that works really well.) Again he's not dexterous enough to do 3D shapes, but for making 2D designs on a light table, Crystal Climbers & the Crayola Light up Tracing Pad were what he preferred doing instead.

These are fun, but a little frustrating for toddlers. (Maybe he's simply too young). The pieces don't really want to stay put and tend to collapse back onto themselves. But, it definitely has potential.

These have very weak magnets, and the polarity is a bit off, so there is really not much we can do with this shape, except stack them, or lay them side-by-side. They don't really seem to work with the other shapes either. On the plus side, my son hasn't noticed any of this and he loves them.