Is 3 too old for duplo?

[Onlyhappywhenitrains]

I am looking at the duplo hospital for ds (3.5), he'd like a hospital but the Lego one is much much too complicated. The Playmobil one is very expensive and has thousands of tiny pieces.

Is he too old for duplo? We have never had any before. He is not a massive fan of building stuff really, never liked mega bloks but thought he might like the hospital.

[ChiefOwl]

I think it would be fine now, but it might not last that long. Is it expensive and do you have other dc to pass it onto after?

My ds is 4.5 and loves Lego we have to help him build but he's actually very good.

[Sossiges]

We have Lego and Duplo and my 3.5 year old prefers the Duplo atm

[Onlyhappywhenitrains]

See, my ds lacks the patience to build anything. I think once it was built he would just play with it as a hospital and not bother rebuilding it again. The Playmobil one is nice but apparently takes five hours to build and is about £140.

[RandomMess]

Erm call me mean but my 10, 9 and 7 year old still have duplo (loads of it) and still play with it regularly! I'd look out for it 2nd hand though.

[Onlyhappywhenitrains]

When I was teaching I'm pretty sure they were still happy to build with it in year 3 or 4.
I suppose I want a toy hospital and it seems quite a nice one and he can build with it if he chooses too. The Lego one would frustrate us both, I'm wondering if the playmobil would be better value if I can get it second hand.

[Sossiges]

Mines not really a builder either but she's starting to cobble bricks together, tbh Lego is just too complicated for her. Anyway the whole point of having kids is that you get to play with their toys so choose the one that you prefer

[Sossiges]

Ah, I see you are thinking along those lines already - and you obviously like the Duplo more, so go for it!

[catkind]

my 3 yr old has finally started to play with megabloks!
think it depends on the child, sorry.

[tutu100]

I think it is perfect for a 3 year old. My ds2 is nearly 4 and loves his duplo. His brother who is 7 now has lego which they both play with, but the 7 year old still loves playing with the duplo train set so I think you would have several years of play with the duplo.

[tutu100]

I love playmobil and ds2 has some of that as well, but I do get a bit annoyed with all the little pieces whereas the duplo is a bit easier to keep all together IYSWIM. I'm off to look up the hospital now as I'd love one of those but had only seen the playmobil one and I don't think I could take all those pieces atm!

[halloweeneyqueeney]

mine lost interest in duplo by then and prefered real lego

[RandomMess]

I love the duplo as it builds quicker and there are no little annoying bricks to stand on and REALLY hurt your foot on

[Meglet]

I don't think so. DS got most of his Duplo at age 3.

He's almost 6 and will still happily play with it when it's out. Although these days he's mainly obsessed with Lego.

[neolara]

No, not too old. My dd played with duplo until she was 6 or 7 even though by that stage we had plenty of lego.

[stillsmilingafteralltheseyears]

3 is perfect for Duplo, IMO they get rushed onto Lego too soon, some kids get Lego easily but some don't get into it til 7 or older.

Here we have a 9yo and 3yo, the 9yo has Lego and the 3yo has Duplo - but in reality, they both play with both and the Duplo is more popular with both of them because they can just get on and play instead of fannying about looking for teeny tiny pieces.

[Onlyhappywhenitrains]

I mean it says 2-5 so he's actually still towards the lower end of that age group. Sod it, I'll get the duplo I think, unless I can get Playmobil cheaper on eBay. But I think all the little pieces might be too much for him and me!

[Wallace]

ds was given some duplo as a present when he was 5 - I had already put all ours in the attic.

However he loved it - it was a JCB set and he played with it so much. So did his 12 year old brother!

[5madthings]

Not too old at all. My boys are 13, 10, 7 and 4. We have loads of lego but we still have two massive baskets of duplo and the 10 and 7 yr olds still.play with it quite a bit to make 'bases' etc. I think duplo.lasts through the ages tbh. Def look out for stuff second hand if you can but worth the money imo.

[tutu100]

Can I ask where you are thinking of getting the duplo hospital from, it's just I googled it and it looks great, but I can't find anywhere to buy it from that I recognise IYSWIM.

[olibeansmummy]

Ds is 3.4 and loves lego but has never liked Duplo. I guess it just depends on the child.

[Onlyhappywhenitrains]

Amazon. :-). It is still about £70 though, so not cheap. Duplo isn't though really I suppose.

[Babyrabbits]

Duplo is so loved in this house, 3 year old plays for hours with it! Its fast to build and open ended play.
Legos so fiddly.

[izzywizzyisbizzy]

DD is coming up to 3 and we have loads as have ds 2 years older.

She has only just started to play with it "properly" although agencies prefer ds playmobil - but I find she has almost "skipped" her age appropriate toys - she always wants what ds has.

I have just picked up loads of cars stuff (mega bloks duplo size) and a princess castle for Christmas - eBay/netmums nearly new are your friend.

I never buy new too pricey

[tutu100]

Thanks onlyhappywhenitrains (are you a garbage fan?), it's ds2's birthday at the beginning of december, I'm wondering about asking my dad to get if for him as a joint birthday/christmas present.

[MegBusset]

My 3 and 5yos still play with Duplo just as often as they do with proper Lego. The only reason I won't buy any more new is a) cost and b) storage as we have a fair amount already. The supermarket was a big hit.