Marble Runs

I used to be a professional registered childminder. (For those of you reading in the states this is a bit like running a day-care centre in your own home!) This means lots of people consider me an authority on toys. Whatever the truth of that is, there is one toy I am always happy to recommend and that is a marble run.

I would say marble runs are probably suitable for children from the age of five and up. And up and up and up! Yes, I know quite a few adults who are also smitten by marble runs. They can have quite a mesmeric effect upon you! I bought a marble run for my eldest daughter when she was five, she is now ten and still gets it out on a regular basis. I think that is pretty good value for a toy. I can't think of many toys that hold a child's interest for that long. Possible Lego is the only real contender. And like Lego the marble run appeals as much to girls as it does to boys - and I certainly think there is an argument for encouraging girls in the field of engineering.

So why do marble runs hold the interest of kids (and adults) so well?

Firstly, the marble run encourages children to use their own ideas and imagination. In effect, the toy doesn't exist until they have created it. And while watching the marbles shoot down the tubes is exciting, I think the real appeal lies within the constructing and creating. With a good marble run set there are endless permutations and configurations. Children set their own challenges and this motivates them to seek solutions to problems and it motivates creative thinking.

In the picture here, my daughter had set herself the challenge of making the marble run as tall as she could. Obviously tall structures require the child to think about stability - the challenge with the marble run is to use elements to provide that stability but at the same time still be functioning parts of the run. In this instance using the 'gutters' as stabilising cross braces was the solution. On another occasion the self appointed challenge was to use all the spirals and funnels in quick succession, again there were issues of stability but also the challenge of releasing the marbles from different parts of the run so that they didn't all end up in the funnels at once and clog them! As I type, (it's the Easter holidays) I know that the longest marble run yet is under construction and will stretch from the hall, across the living room and into the kitchen. Most inconvenient!

As an open ended toy then, the marble run, continues to grow with your child as they set themselves ever more complex challenges.

Marble runs aid child development in many ways, both fine motor skills are used to construct the toy, but acutally gross motor skills are brought into play as construction involves a little fancy footwork if you are not going to knock the whole thing down before you've stabilised it! Problem solving, logic and sequential thinking are all encouraged by marble runs. And when children play in groups, which they do quite happily, it really fosters good communication and negotiation skills as well as cooperative, team work.

I think it is also important that adults find these appealing. I say this, because I think the most important gift we can give to our children is our time. Getting down on the carpet and playing with your children is so important to their development and their sense of well-being. Not all children's games are thrilling to adults so finding a toy that the whole family can enjoy really makes marble runs a winner.