On the “More Assembly Required” Rant

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As a dad of three boys, I’ve put together dozens of toys, typically while cursing the nonsensical directions and pieces that don’t fit right under my breath. OK, occasionally there’s cursing out loud too. I know how frustrating it can be. But a NY Times story on how toys come with more pieces nowadays—because they’re cheaper to make and ship that way—takes aim at Legos, which seems beyond dumb.

Without the putting together part of Legos, there wouldn’t be much of a point. There are supposed to be lots of pieces with Legos. The more pieces there are, the more you can expect to pay. If you bought a Legos toy already built, all that you’d have is a boxy, odd-looking pirate ship or dinosaur or rocket or whatever—and you wouldn’t have an activity (building the thing) for your child to enjoy. Complaining that Legos have too many pieces is like complaining that a novel has too many words.

If your kid isn’t into the construction angle and you don’t want to be bothered, just buy a plain old pirate ship or dinosaur or rocket or whatever. You can send the Legos to me.

Here’s the Times story.