3 pocket-friendly ways to help boost your child’s social skills

When you become a parent, along with supersonic hearing, ninja reflexes and the ability to soldier through a full day on 3 hours of sleep, you discover another skill you may not have had before — the power of planning. How else to make sure your little genius balances school homework, guitar lessons and karate classes while clocking in the required REM?

Managing all this is no mean feat, for child or parent. And in our race to raise the next PV Sindhu or Narayan Murty, we often ignore an important truth. That kids learn through play. The LEGO® Play report demonstrated that 88% of parents think that play helps children learn almost as much as traditional schooling. If you needed more proof, 95% of children say that it helps them try new ideas. Play is also integral to building children’s ability to socialise, as they learn to cooperate, share and bond with others.

The beauty of this concept is that you don’t need to live near a giant playground or spend on memberships to fancy clubs. With the right tools and a little parental encouragement, you can gift your children a world with unlimited possibilities, where they run free in unfettered play. Those small hands have big dreams, and we know just the way to make those come true.

3 pocket-friendly ways to help kids build social skills through play

LEGO®Friends Mobile Bubble Tea Shop

Give your kid’s entrepreneurial spirit a boost with this bubble tea cart building set for kids aged 6+. Watch them spin endless stories around the two main characters, Matilde and Nova, with their friends, and even feel like mini tycoons as they handle the cash register. Just remember to ask for your ‘friends and family’ bubble tea discount.

Buy the Mobile Bubble Tea Shop here

LEGO® Friends Cat Hotel

Ok, so we’re partial to feline-related everything here at Tweak, and this cat hotel is everything we wish we had when we were kids. Talk about small hands, big dreams and you can imagine your child creating a whole series out of the adventures of LEGO® Friends mini-dolls Olly and Naomi, along with their 3 cat buddies. If your child has been clamouring for a pet of their own, this set has cat food and a litter box with a shovel to give them plenty of practice. Talking about learning through play.

Buy the Friends Cat Hotel here

LEGO® City Penguin Slushy Van

Remember when you’d seek respite from a punishing summer afternoon by making a beeline for the golawalla with your best friends (despite multiple stern warnings from your mom). Consider this the 2023 upgrade, where your child gets to cosplay as a slushy savant, and create new flavours with their best friends. One side of the van can be opened to access a prep area with 4 toy slushy machines and a sliding window for serving customers. Follow this up with an afternoon of DIY popsicles and you’ll have the best playdate activity on your hands.

Buy the Penguin Slushy Van here

To know more about the LEGO Sets, head to Amazon.in, Hamelys and @shbdlego_India.