duplo or playmobil?

[veganmama]

right now, my 2.5 yr old doesnt care which one i get. to me, duplo looks much easier for him to pretend play with (not for building aspect, just pretend play) since they have so many small chunky themed boxes like construction, trains and cars.

the thing is, is that playmobil looks more realistic, but it looks harder to play with (getting the people to sit, opening the tops of the vehicles to put them in)

basically what im asking is, what do your kids have and if you have both which do you prefer?

im leaning towards duplo right now, but im afraid when he gets older hell want all the duplo vehicles (police, fire, cars etc.) more realistic like playmobil and then ill have to spend more money buying the same vehicles. and if i dont buy the same vehicles and just switch the playmobil, then its like stuff from 2 different sets which is weird

 

[tommyg]

I'm a huge Lego fan so id say Duplo it has more options. A few themed sets with a bucket of bricks can fuel the imagination. A few weeks back we built a house so the firemen had some people to rescue and a fire to put out. The house then morphed into a space ship while watching Star Wars.
Some people will argue that duplo and playmobil are very different toys but I can see where you are coming from as see I as a one or other?
At my mums house there are 2 different aeroplanes a duplo and a playmobil DS plays with them both but the playmobil does my head in as he is constantly pulling bits of it that aren't meant to come off. Ok the playmobil one is standard playmobil rather than stuff for under 3s but I also think the duplo people are nicer.

 

[lovelylaura]

So we have both and I would say they will out grow duplo by 4ish but playmobil will last much longer it's much easier to play with than thought and so durable. They have an ambulance that gets played with all the time it all comes apart really easily and goes back easy too. I've brought a lot of playmobil for Christmas.

 

[lovelylaura]

Do you know someone who has them and you could go and play? My friend didn't think much of playmobil but since coming over she really loves it now.

 

[RaspberryK]

My ds has grown out of dupli, he's on lego and playmobil. Xx

 

[AngelofTroy]

Micah's younger than your LO but since playing with 'proper' Lego, and playmobil at my parents house (my old toys!) he much prefers those and plays more imaginatively with them. He is getting a playmobil camping set (the real stuff not the 123) for Christmas which I know he'll love. We also bought some duplo which we got months ago and actually I'm worried it's 'too young' already and won't get much use.

 

[aimee-lou]

My 2.5yo loves playmobil but currently gets more from duplo/mega bloks. He cant use half the little pieces as he doesn't have the dexterity. I plan getting playmobil for him 3rd birthday and next Christmas but at the moment its duplo all the way.

 

[Tigerlilyb]

Another thing to bear in mind about duplo is that it's compatible with lego so you can still use it when they're a bit older. Just lump it in with the smaller bricks, like this:
https://i.stack.imgur.com/hUQoT.jpg

 

[jd83]

My older son hasn't really gotten into Playmobil much. I bought him a set for Christmas to see if he plays with it before buying more, but he hasn't shown much interest in it at play dates where other kids had sets. He does like Lego/Duplo, so I bought several sets of those with a few buckets of random bricks. I would say it depends on the child which they show more interest in. Has your lo gotten to play with both kinds to see which kind interests more?

 

[SarahBear]

Why not for building? That's the awesome part about duplo. You can be SO much more creative because it's a more flexible medium with which to play and pretend as a result of being able to build with them. We have duplos and do not have any play mobil stuff. Duplo is Violet's favorite toy right now. If we go to a restaurant, we take a bag with duplo bricks and books. She especially likes the duplo people and the parts with wheels. She likes to take the car part off the wheels and do her own building on the wheels.

I'm sure she would enjoy play mobil, but I doubt it would hold her attention as long since there's not as much you can do with it.

 

[felix555]

Duplo for us because my LO likes building things.

Was going to get playmobil for Christmas but I don't think it would really hold his attention as long as Duplo does.

 

[minties]

My kids lost interest in duplo around age 20-24 months. Both got frustrated with how easily it falls apart and how chunky it is. Playmobil isn't that popular here so I can't comment on that.

I heard "it keeps breeeaaaking!!!" followed by a toddler in a rage way too many times so duplo was put away.

We are a big lego loving family so Thomas got some regular lego from about 20 months and now Sophie also enjoys it.

 

[teal]

Playmobil breaks apart all the time for us. My son loved duplo and now loves lego!

 

[tommyg]

My kids lost interest in duplo around age 20-24 months. Both got frustrated with how easily it falls apart and how chunky it is. Playmobil isn't that popular here so I can't comment on that.

I heard "it keeps breeeaaaking!!!" followed by a toddler in a rage way too many times so duplo was put away.

We are a big lego loving family so Thomas got some regular lego from about 20 months and now Sophie also enjoys it.

20-24 mths is almost too young for duplo hence the fustration of it coming apart. Nearer 2.5 they are able to start building it themselves.

 

[felix555]

My kids lost interest in duplo around age 20-24 months. Both got frustrated with how easily it falls apart and how chunky it is. Playmobil isn't that popular here so I can't comment on that.

I heard "it keeps breeeaaaking!!!" followed by a toddler in a rage way too many times so duplo was put away.

We are a big lego loving family so Thomas got some regular lego from about 20 months and now Sophie also enjoys it.

20-24 mths is almost too young for duplo hence the fustration of it coming apart. Nearer 2.5 they are able to start building it themselves.

I think it depends on the child, my LO is 19 months and happily sits and builds stuff and then takes it apart again.

Sorry not having a go! just don't want people with kids that age to be put off duplo.

 

[hattiehippo]

My DS has duplo, Lego and playmobile tbh. He was lucky to be given all his older cousins duplo once they'd outgrown it and DH had loads of his old Lego which they play with together.

Playmobil and duplo/Lego are very different toys. Lego/duplo is brilliant for building and being creative but my DS has pretty much outgrown the duplo now at nearly 5. He is getting better at building things with Lego but still needs quite a lot of help and tends to just want to build castles all the time.

Playmobil is better as they get older as it's brilliant for role play and although you can't make each thing into something different, you can mix all the sets etc up and come up with whatever you want really. DS's favourite game at the moment is to set his playmobil soldiers and princesses up on the island fort and then the pirates come and try and steal the treasure but are stopped by the unicorns and fairies!

 

[SarahBear]

My kids lost interest in duplo around age 20-24 months. Both got frustrated with how easily it falls apart and how chunky it is. Playmobil isn't that popular here so I can't comment on that.

I heard "it keeps breeeaaaking!!!" followed by a toddler in a rage way too many times so duplo was put away.

We are a big lego loving family so Thomas got some regular lego from about 20 months and now Sophie also enjoys it.

20-24 mths is almost too young for duplo hence the fustration of it coming apart. Nearer 2.5 they are able to start building it themselves.

I think it depends on the child, my LO is 19 months and happily sits and builds stuff and then takes it apart again.

Sorry not having a go! just don't want people with kids that age to be put off duplo.

Agreed. They are recommended for the age range of 1.5 to 5 and I found a year and a half a perfect time to introduce them. Violet is 25 months and duplo has been her favorite toy for a while now.

 

[minties]

My kids lost interest in duplo around age 20-24 months. Both got frustrated with how easily it falls apart and how chunky it is. Playmobil isn't that popular here so I can't comment on that.

I heard "it keeps breeeaaaking!!!" followed by a toddler in a rage way too many times so duplo was put away.

We are a big lego loving family so Thomas got some regular lego from about 20 months and now Sophie also enjoys it.

20-24 mths is almost too young for duplo hence the fustration of it coming apart. Nearer 2.5 they are able to start building it themselves.

I don't agree. Mine could build with duplo from 12 months happily. They outgrew it for sure by 24 months. Sophie can make cars and birds and some other neat things from lego. Thomas has long since left duplo in the dust.

We did already have a large lego collection of probably 60,000 pieces at the time though so lego was introduced pretty early. It really helped Thomas' fine motor skills. Honestly there are only so many walls and giant chunky animals and planes that fall apart that the kids could stand before it got boring.

They can both use the tool to take lego apart and the frustration tantrums long since stopped since I put duplo away.

I'm not too bothered by what other kids use but I know for sure mine outgrew duplo. We are a lego obsessed house though so they were bound to want to play with mummy and daddy's small bricks earlier.

 

[SarahBear]

My kids lost interest in duplo around age 20-24 months. Both got frustrated with how easily it falls apart and how chunky it is. Playmobil isn't that popular here so I can't comment on that.

I heard "it keeps breeeaaaking!!!" followed by a toddler in a rage way too many times so duplo was put away.

We are a big lego loving family so Thomas got some regular lego from about 20 months and now Sophie also enjoys it.

20-24 mths is almost too young for duplo hence the fustration of it coming apart. Nearer 2.5 they are able to start building it themselves.

I don't agree. Mine could build with duplo from 12 months happily. They outgrew it for sure by 24 months. Sophie can make cars and birds and some other neat things from lego. Thomas has long since left duplo in the dust.

We did already have a large lego collection of probably 60,000 pieces at the time though so lego was introduced pretty early. It really helped Thomas' fine motor skills. Honestly there are only so many walls and giant chunky animals and planes that fall apart that the kids could stand before it got boring.

They can both use the tool to take lego apart and the frustration tantrums long since stopped since I put duplo away.

I'm not too bothered by what other kids use but I know for sure mine outgrew duplo. We are a lego obsessed house though so they were bound to want to play with mummy and daddy's small bricks earlier.

Kids really are quite different. I'm pretty impressed that your kids were putting things together at 12 months! I don't think Violet would have understood putting things together like that at that age. She also would have had no interest. Your kids also sound advanced with their fine motor skills.

I think the main message of this whole thread is that there is quite a range for when things become appropriate or when kids outgrow things.

 

[RaspberryK]

The only issue I would have with the smaller peices is that duplo can be left with young children unattended.
I try not to have the lego out unless I can supervise ds because of the potential of swallowing, choking and putting in ears etc ... he's not generally that type of kid but it only takes the once, he did shove a whole slice of ham up his nostrils once so I don't 100% trust him with small peices on his own yet.
Xx