I bought this Infantino Squeeze and Stack Block Set as a stocking stuffer for my son on Christmas. He was 11 months at the time. Originally I had wanted to purchase the Infantino Textured Multi Ball Set for him, as I thought they looked a little more interesting, however, they were unfortunately sold out online. I am glad I went with the blocks for a few reasons, which I will get into below. The blocks themselves are a nice squishy rubber material which has a very pleasing texture. My son enjoys just carrying them around, squeezing them and occasionally giving them a good chew. The blocks themselves are a nice bright color (my son seems to favorite the orange and yellow blocks), which I can see helping him with color recognition as he begins to learn that kind of stuff. Also, a nice bonus is that the blocks are squeaky, not sure if that was intended or it just happens to be a happy coincidence due to the air hole. The patterns on the blocks are also a great addition, which are numbers, dots which match the number on the block as well as animals. He has already started noticing the animals as he has been mooing at the horse (close kid, but no cigar). The numbers recognition and the counting also has potential for future development when he begins to count and recognize numbers. As a previously stated, I am actually happy that I ended up having to go with the Infantino Squeeze and Stack Block Set instead of the Infantino Textured Multi Ball Set. Mostly because I feel there would only be so much my son would be able to get out of the ball set aside from holding them and feeling the different textures, after that there’s not much else he could do. With the blocks, my daughter who is now 3 years old has taken to teaching and helping my son stack the block and then knocking them over together, the both get a real kick out of knocking down their towers. Also, considering my daughter is at the age where she is counting and recognizing number it’s a real plus that it is possible for her to benefit from that aspect. Also, considering she is a bit bigger then him and a bit more high energy, there has been a few times where he has been beaned with a block or two, considering they are a squishy rubber, there wasn’t much of a protest from him, to be fair, he may not have fussed considering they were having such a good time together. All in all, these are blocks, they have a limited purpose, but they are enjoyed by my youngest and my oldest together, which has taught our daughter some valuable lessons regarding sharing, so that’s alright in my books. The price is right for these blocks and the quality is great; I can see these being passed through our friends and their little ones.
