Weird question

[marigirls]

I know LEGO is a building toy and can be taken apart and put back together again but does anyone ever glue certain sets? I ask because I have a 3 almost 4 year old who loves LEGO and I buy him small sets that I put together for him and glue them because I don't want pieces to fall off and have him keep asking me to put it back together. I don't glue the sets I build for myself, only the ones for him. Just curious if others out there actually glue any of their sets.

[hatcher]

No, I haven't done that, but I share you pain. My kids all had sets that they played with and the parts kept falling off. I refuse to glue though. I am not Lord Business after all. :)

[dr_spock]

I didn't glue their sets. Gluing may lead to problems later on when the children are older and want to MOC using those sets for parts. I have used glue to fix other types of toys they have broken.

[Brick & Blue]

Glueing LEGO.... I just died a little bit inside.

If he's not old enough for LEGO buy him another toy.

[vynsane]

I get the frustration of having to rebuild every time something gets knocked off or falls apart. By the same token, that's the beauty of LEGO - it doesn't break, it just may come apart and need to be rebuilt. Gluing definitely removes that aspect as well as the alternate building opportunity.

Obviously, if you are allowing a ~4 y/o to play with "normal" LEGO and not Duplo, you're not concerned about choking - my daughter was never one to put things in her mouth, so she got LEGO sets well before the recommended age as well. I'd say gluing would only come into play if that was a concern for me... But I probably my would have been more apt to give her Duplo until she was ready to "graduate".

If you and your son both have the patience, you could use the rebuilding as a lesson in dexterity and spacial relations - have him rebuild it with you instead of doing it for him. At that age I'm sure there's a lot of "I can do it myself" attitude already! Feed that independent spirit and challenge him at the same time. Its abquicker path to not having to rebuildnit for him at all, as he starts to have the ability and memory to put things back where they're supposed to be.

[condor]

My 3, almost 4 year old loves to take his small sets apart and rebuild it. If something falls off and he needs help with it, I put it back together for him. I wouldn't glue them for the reasons stated above.

[ammes7]

Nooo....do not use the Kragle!!!!

I have a 4 year old who likes the small Lego sets as well. If its a small set we help him build it the first time then let him play with it. Sometimes pieces fall off and he asks for help or rebuilds it his own way. If it is a larger, more expensive set we build it together, play with it for a few days then pack it back in the box to rebuild another time.

[Neo]

No.
Not as a child.
Not as an adult.
I like the idea that Lego parts are reusable and don't need glue to hold together.
I usually find a way to make the Lego parts hold together without glue

but....

While I have never glued two Lego parts together - I have used acetone to repair a Lego part. In this case, I was studying Lego remote control boat racing. The very front tip A 52 stud long top section of a unity boat hull had chipped off and I used acetone to glue this very small chip part back onto the main top section. Acetone is often the active ingredient in Hobbyist plastic modeler glues.

I have also used acetone as glue to build a custom Lego part. In this case, I was studying aeronautic engineering so I was building a custom experimental propeller on an experimental Aviation Lift Test Frame. I glue Lego Technic bushings in side of Radio Control Aircraft Props so they would be compatible with a Lego Technic axles. This allowed me to use different kinds of Radio Control Aircraft Props on Lego Technic Power Function Motors.

I've also experimented with using acetone to remove surface oxidation on some plastic Lego parts. Because Lego does not always use the same formula for its plastic parts - acetone does not always work.

Currently - I am researching how K-3 graders successfully handle Lego STEM and Science challenges at the local public Libraries in 2 hour sessions. The STEM-Science teacher-event host outlines the Lego STEM Science challenge, provide the rules to the challenge, introduces major STEM/Science concepts that are impact the challenge (e.g. gravity), and the material but he/she is still a often a distant authority figure -- who normally acts as an emergency help of last resort and as a emotional motivator. The major part of the responsibility of helping the child participants successfully navigate the challenge falls to the accompanying parent/caregiver -- who has already established a trusting relationship and communication link with that child. The accompanying parent/caregiver acts as the child's personal teaching assistant during the Lego design and building phase of the STEM and Science challenge which gives the child participant the extra cognitive emotional or/and intellectual push needed to succeed - even if it only to find a Lego part or help repair a Lego creation. So when your child ask you for help with building with Lego - it is an opportunity for you to reinforce an emotion bond and build a working relationship and communication link - people don't automatically love you or trust you - they learn to love you and trust you in little increments... in this case brick by brick.