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My son absolutely loves these blocks.

You see, he’s two, which is a naturally destructive age. And he lives for hitting and throwing games, even more than the average two year old. When he gets tired, he doesn’t get crabby, but crazy, and objects just fly out of his hands. These blocks are great for when he goes into crazy mode — he can’t hurt anyone or anything, and they are encased in vinyl, so they stand up to rough handling.

It’s a great way for us both to get exercise in the winter. He throws them as hard as he can, and I kick them or hit them with a foam bat. He will play this for hours, off and on, in a single day.

Here’s my 2 year old playing with them at the Y on Family Fun Gym day:

I give these large foam blocks the official ELG stamp of approval. Though they may seem a bit expensive, I always advise saving up for the good toys, and not getting the cheap junk. If you have active children, these blocks are an excellent investment. I recommend them on several points:

• Eco friendliness (low waste, lasts for years.)
• Creativity enhancing! Not a ready-made, branded toy, but one that exercises the imagination.
• Easy to store — just stack them up in a corner.
• Flexibility: build houses, play games, get out nervous energy.
• Good for siblings to have constructive, competitive play without fighting or hurting each other.
• Quiet and doesn’t require batteries.
• Safe fun for all ages! Even my 24 year old brother has fun with these. We still pelt each other with various objects as adults.
• Instant exercise and occupation for restless people — you can always find something to do with them, whether it’s stacking, hiding, throwing, or knocking them down.

There are a lot of people who make them, but the best seems to be the Children’s Factory brand. Their foam blocks are really durable — my local YMCA uses them for classes for 2 – 4 year olds, so those take a serious beating.

There are foam blocks not covered in vinyl, but those will get ruined fast. You need the tough coating because these blocks just beg to be thrown and hit. You can get Children’s Factory ones from Amazon. Here are some different sets:

Big 21-piece set. Expensive, but great for multiple kids to use at the same time, especially if you have a basement playroom.

Twelve 9″ blocks — ideal for throwing and kicking:

This set has four cubes and four bigger blocks, good for building:

5 1/2″ block set for babies and young toddlers. Also good missiles for pelting your brothers and sisters…