3 Fun Ways You Can Use LEGO to Teach Road Safety to Children (Collaborative Post)

 3 Fun Ways You Can Use LEGO to Teach Road Safety to Children

Years have passed since LEGO was born, but its charm remains unfaded. This collaborative post by Daniel Washington shows how LEGO can be used to teach your children important life skills - which will last as long as their LEGO...

The joy and satisfaction of building after following instructions painstakingly is unparalleled. No wonder LEGO has become popular among younger children, with kids as little as five enjoying this flight of creativity.

As parents or educators, we can use this love for LEGO to impart valuable lessons in road safety. The US Department of Transportation notes that over 40,000 people lost their lives in tragic road accidents in 2023. The earlier our kids learn to stay safe, the better everyone’s mental state will be.

Let’s discuss a few simple ideas for using LEGO to deliver road safety lessons to children. You can adapt these ideas to your kids’ age group and interests.

1. Role Play Activities in LEGO Towns 

The hyper-realistic and detailed LEGO cities and towns are perfect backdrops for role-play. Your kids may pretend to be superheroes saving the town from falling buildings. You can use similar concepts for road safety lessons that aren’t boring.

For instance, road accidents involving pedestrians have risen alarmingly in the US. Recently, a pedestrian in Atlanta got hit by five cars in a devastating accident. Atlanta Personal Injury Law Firm observes that speeding drivers aren’t the only ones to blame. Traffic congestion and infrastructure problems also increase the risks of such incidents.

LEGO cities can show children that traffic flows smoothly when no one jumps signals. Accidents happen less often when people cross streets safely, following instructions they learned in school about red, yellow, and green lights.

Use LEGO sets with crosswalks and construction vehicles to make more realistic cities. You can get sets with traffic lane markings, pedestrian crossings, and even glow-in-the-dark streetlights. LEGO cities released in 2025 offer imaginative settings like car scrap yards and fantastic vehicles like donut trucks.

Children with a creative mindset (and future theatrical interests) will love the opportunity to take on roles like crossing guards and traffic police officials.

2. Use LEGO Board Games Creatively 

LEGO’s commitment to encouraging building is well-established. Not many know that the company also deals in board games. In 1948, LEGO partnered with Danish authorities to make a board game. The goal was to help kids learn the core tenets of road safety.

LEGO board games like Monkey Palace and Banana Balance don’t focus conspicuously on road safety. But they can still open up opportunities for discussing balance and caution while offering endless fun. 

For example, the overloaded banana tree can become part of your LEGO world at home. Talk to little kids about the dangers of overloading vehicles – and the risk of falling fruit from overhead while riding or walking! Expect plenty of giggles and a few takeaways as well. Children often remember lessons better when we deliver them in interactive ways.

When you feel extra creative, you can make your own board game. You only need craft staples like cardboard and markers. The LEGO people can be your players in different road safety situations, like parking safely, being mindful of pedestrians, and adhering to the speed limit. 

Let your imagination transport you and run wild. You may find the kids also running all around the house and yard during these games! Why stay stuck to a screen throughout a glorious summer afternoon?

3. Encourage Problem-Solving Through LEGO 

Many educationists have been using LEGO blocks to facilitate lessons in English and Maths. For instance, you may use them to display sight words or teach simple mathematical operations. Recently, the company announced science kits for students to understand abstract concepts like kinetic energy.

Taking inspiration from these ideas, you can try using LEGO to encourage problem-solving skills in children. Last year in China, LEGO organized a campaign called “Little Hands, Big Creations.” 

Kids had to think of solutions to tackle traffic jams. One little girl conceptualized a long-legged car. The company then brought her idea to life through a lifesize model. Imagine her delight!

Try posing road safety questions to your kids, asking them how to manage the congestion on the way to school, or developing plans for new traffic signs. They can use LEGO bricks to build prototypes for solutions.

LEGO and STEAM Learning

The widespread popularity of LEGO has encouraged an entire learning model based on the blocks. This interactive method of education imparts STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) skills and prepares kids for the 21st century. The best part is that LEGO can be simple or incredibly complex, growing with children and boosting their exploratory skills.

This blog has often celebrated the many possibilities of these colorful blocks. Amid the growing uncertainty in the world and the prevalence of road accidents, using LEGO to raise more responsible and careful children can be an excellent idea.

With the summer holidays coming soon, you can add LEGO-based activities to your kitty. Chances are you already have these blocks lying around, so it won’t cost you additional money. 

Children generally enjoy lessons about road safety. It gives them a feeling of being responsible – just like a grownup. Be prepared to have your advice repeated to you the next time you head on a road trip!

The images in this post are my own, from my 2019 LEGO Winter Village, 

and from my review of the LEGO Speed Champions range back in 2015... 

Also, children do not have to wait until age 5 to play and learn with LEGO...