LEGO is destroying creative play according to this article.

[Trainmaster247]

If the presses can't make someone famous look bad they make a big company look bad it is the "circle of media"

[Deathleech]

If Lego offered nothing but licensed sets, I might be more inclined to agree with the article. Lego still offers their Classic sets though, which are boxes full of bricks with some small model ideas to spark creativity. They inspire kids to create whatever they can think up.

Lego has been making sets with instructions for decades. When I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s all the sets I had included instructions. that didn't stop me from making whatever I wanted. When I was younger I didn't even follow the instructions at all. When I got older I would usually build the model in them only to take it apart and make something else, or add on to it after it was completed. Even now, with licensed sets, I see kids doing the same.

A few weeks ago I was helping my friends six year old and three year old build the Avengers Hydra Showdown set. The smallest one was just building totally random things with the bricks. The six year old was trying to build the dune buggy, but he was adding his own twists. By the end he had taken parts from his Lego bin and made it into a three seat, dune buggy plane with firing lasers.

[THERIZE]

Greenpeace should just shut the **** up. What is the matter about lego advertising shell?

[General Magma]

The only thing they're destroying is my wallet.

[Kaanere]

The only thing they're destroying is my wallet.

Agree!

[Faefrost]

The only thing they're destroying is my wallet.

It's eating up my office real estate pretty quick

[MicroM]

I feel dirty just reading that article. What dribble .... and on a side note why all the hate for Shell. I'm sure almost all of those people signing that petition have used a Shell product in their time.

[CaptainToad]

A very poorly written article!

quote "But over the last few decades child’s play has been turned into big business. Marketers have learned how to exploit children’s emotional vulnerabilities in the name of profit. Instead of toys that benefit children, the industry has focused on creating quick-fix fun that makes money for shareholders. As a result, research tells us, modern children find it harder to maintain concentration, self-regulate behaviour and develop appropriate levels of empathy." unquote

How stupid does that sound? Why didnt the author provide any examples?

I could think of lots of reasons why children find it harder to maintain concentration etc. Imagine children whose parents dont do anything creative with them but leave them playing violent videogames all day long... (I know my examples sounds as stupid)

quote"As a specialist in child development, I’ve had growing concerns that now even Lego has lost its way. Its new products veer further away from its innocent beginnings. Increasingly Lego churns out lucrative but unimaginative lines of “must-have” sets to promote new movies, games and videos. These little boxes, which come with instructive pictures on the front, unlike the traditional Lego bricks, do not result in child-directed, open-ended “real play”. They do not promote imagination; they stifle it. They do not allow children to be creative and learn to think for themselves; they tell children what to think, instilling consumerist values that risk increasing rates of stress for parents and children alike." unquote

this one gets even more stupid - so this one is a specialist? :) right - so am I :)

what is the author talking about here? What are the innocent beginnings? is it the traditional brick? I think you can still buy some lego creative building sets (they resemble the traditional bricks). What is the authors problem here? Is it because lego creates a model and provides the bricks and pieces along with an instruction to build it? And gives the possibilty for the child to build something else? I guess playmobile is far worse in this regard - as it does not provide any creative possibilies at all - I mean if you buy a playmobile car it will always remain a car - a lego car can become an airplane or a dinosaur maybe... :).

If anyone doesnt allow children to be creative then its playmobile. Not allowing something, means not giving a choice - I think lego gives children the choice to do with the bricks what they think is best - maybe the authors children didnt inherit any creative genes and were simply not talented enough to do anything meanful with the bricks - so the author started to blame lego instead of herself.

I could talk more about this nonsense - but then again it is generally very easy to demonize something if you look hard enough, you could say all videogames lack creativity - all sports lack creativity because they have a set of rules that limit what are allowed to do and what not...

The guardian should really hire someone to read and check an article for its content before releasing garbage like that. And in regard to shell? if the author doesnt like shell then maybe she should go to BP or Statoil.

IMHO if you write an article like that and try to demonize a company that has provided the possibility for the children to be creative you should also provide examples of another company that does a better job at it - or provide alternatives how children can be creative :) but apparently the author was lacking in creativity here.

Ah, and in regard to the pink gender stereotypes - is it wrong for girls to like pink nowadays? Did the color make the sets ugly?

Edited August 2, 2015 by CaptainToad