K'nex set for 5 year old?

sunnydays99

We have a friend bday party coming up and I was thinking of getting him a k'nex set. I'm not sure if it's age appropriate for a 5 year old though. Most of the ones I'm coming across are labelled as 7+ or the tinker toy sets that are 3+. Would the 7+ ones be way too hard for him? He's the oldest of 4 kids so his parents are crazy busy and I want him to be able to do these independently. Any other recommendations for similar toys would be great!!

neverblushed

Honestly, my kids have loved the tinkertoys we have.  Legos and k'nex are really geared toward model-building these days, although you can still do free-form stuff.  We only have one Knex set, and it's for younger kids, so I can't speak to the reliability of the 7+ age recommendation.

But I will say that when my kids need a "prop" that they don't have, they go right to the tinkertoys and make whatever they need.  I'm always finding bizarre tinkertoy gizmos around my DS's room.  So I wouldn't assume that the 3+ recommendation on them means that they're only really enjoyed by preschoolers!

sunnydays99

Thanks! I won't rule out the tinker toy sets then. That age 3 rec really threw me off! I agree about the model building sets, I've noticed that everything has gone that direction. I find it kind of annoying actually!

ss+el

My son LOVES his K'Nex. He got his first set at age 4. He can't build from the diagrams, he just makes random stuff and gives it names. You'll want to get a "Classic" set, though. The pieces are a good size for that age. The ones that don't have Classic in the name are much smaller, thinner pieces.