Addiction begins with the voluntary decision to use drugs. No one starts out hoping to become an addict, but as one uses a drug repeatedly over time, control over its use decreases dramatically. The individual who is initially a voluntary user can become a compulsive drug user, an addict. An ever-increasing body of scientific evidence suggests that the transition from voluntary user to addict occurs through a combination of processes, including a series of brain changes or neuroadaptations that result from repeated drug exposure. Because changes in brain structure and function are fundamental to the development and expression of addiction, it qualifies as a brain disease–a brain disease expressed as compulsive behavior. It’s the quintessential biobehavioral disorder.
Legos are plastic building blocks that come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. These plastic blocks all have circular holes that protrude from the surface of the block, which allows for the pieces to interlock. The interlocking by these plastics pieces allows for the builder to create a multitude of intricate designs. These designs, include, but not limited to, famous buildings such as Big Ben or Taj Mahal, famous cities such as London or New York City, or famous pieces of machinery such as the Millennium Falcon or the Death Star from Star Wars. The possibilities for creation are endless with Legos. Legos are a staple toy for many children’s childhood and serves a great purpose than just being a children’s toy. Legos are an excellent toy because they strengthen a child’s development , serves as a foundation for future careers, and appeals to all ages.
Before delving into the evaluation of the toy, one should learn about the history of Lego. The Lego company was founded by a man named Ole Kirk Kristiansen. He founded the company in 1932 and based it in Billund, Denmark. He combined the first two letters of the Danish Words “LEG GODT”, meaning “play well”, to create the name for the company. He created the toy because he believed that it had the powerful ability to develop a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social skills(Mortensen). His belief that the toy can help in children’s development has been proven by a multitude of studies done with the toy. Today, the Lego company has overtaken major toy companies, such as Hasbro and Mattel, to become the number one toy company.
Legos have an amazing ability in strengthening a child’s development. First, they are able to strengthen a child’s cognitive skills. The cognitive skills that are getting improved by playing with legos are fine motor skills and math skills (Sri). Legos come in a vast range of shapes and sizes, which can lead to twisting and turning a child’s hands, fingers, and arms. This promotes coordination and dexterity which are needed for children for crafts, handwriting, and dressing themselves. Legos also help in a child’s math skills because children need to learn how to add, subtract, multiply, or divide how many pieces they need for their creation. A study has been done to see if Legos actually increase cognitive development. There were two groups of kids and one group was able to play with legos for a month and the other group was not able to play with Legos. After the mo
