We own two sets of Mega Bloks; one which was bought for my eldest daughter (now fourteen) when she was a few months old, and the second set I purchased in Boots a couple of weeks back. The fact that we still have and play with the original set is all I really need to say about the durability of them, apart from the fact that for the past six years they've lived exclusively outside and are still in perfect nick!  Brilliant.

Hang on, let me backtrack. For those of you who don't know (and I bet most of you do), Mega Bloks are basically Lego bricks for toddlers. They fit together in the same way and have the  same basic shape, only a Mega Blok is about twenty times bigger - or maybe a bit more or less, I never was much good at dimensions in maths!  They come in a variety of sizes from single-pegged Bloks up to huge six-pegged ones - we've even got a few on wheels which are obviously designed to be made into cars.

They're pretty standard in colour; red, green and blue mainly with the occasional yellow and black Bloks thrown in. I've looked for years for unusual coloured Mega Bloks, so if someone could point me in the right direction for pink or purple Bloks you'd get my undying gratitude!  Sorry, had to get that ask in!

Mega Bloks are just fun. Me and all of the kids have spent hours making things with them; houses, trains, people or just towers - you name it, we've made it.  Last year Hollie and Alice made a huge multi-coloured snowman from a mixture of Mega Bloks and Lego, it looked brill although didn't make it to Chrimbo as Hollie dismantled it to make something else! Admittedly these aren't as versatile as Lego, but for a toddlers clumsy hands the size and more rounded shape is perfect.

The Bloks are very easy to keep clean, even the ones which stay outside will come up spotless with a minimum of effort. They're sun faded, which is to be expected as this isn't strictly an outdoors toy. The Bloks have lasted brilliantly though, this set came in a decent size truck with wheels and a pulling handle so they're not strewn all over the garden - and filling the truck with warm water and washing up liquid is a way to clean they in a snidey way (ie. while Hollie thinks she's playing in the water!).

The 'indoors' set is perfect, comparing this brand spanking new bagged set of Mega Bloks to the 1996 version makes the older ones look almost retro in colour!  Hollie's played with them everyday since I gave them to her so the Bloks were looking a bit grubby, to be fair she's not a particularly messy child so they're by no means filthy. Anyway, last night when she had a bath I chucked the Bloks in with her and dried them outside in the sun today - when I bought them in they were sparkly again

You can buy all sorts of different Mega Bloks sets, Hollie's nursery has a fab selection including a Thomas the Tank Engine one which I'm planning to buy Hollie for her birthday. The one I bought most recently is a 70-piece set which is in a flimsy plastic zip up bag (which won't last long), it was £15.32 which is a complete rip off considering I remember paying bang on fifteen quid for the set in 1996 which has double the pieces plus the large storage truck!  That's inflation for you, the price hasn't gone up much but the size of the toy has shrunk.

I recommend Mega Bloks anyway, regardless of the price. You can choose a set that will best suit the personality and interests of your child (remember my plea for info on pink Mega Bloks!) and I can definitely vouch for their longevity. Our fourteen year old set has been played with constantly by my older children, and eventually David will start playing with them and the cycle will carry on - there aren't many toys I can say have lasted the test of time like that, in fact this is the only toy from any of the girls' babyhoods which still gets regular play time.

The recommended age is twelve months, which is frankly optimistic. At twelve months your baby will enjoy chewing a Mega Blok, then put them away again until said hungry toddler is around two and a half and can control their fingers (and attention spans!) for long enough to actually build something. Ours has never been away as there's always been a child of the right age to play with then, but not at one year - unless mummy or daddy are the ones having fun building!