Makedo – children boredom killer

Child’s age: 3,5 years old +

Has your child ever been in this mood: “Mom, I’m bored…”? “Mom, I don’t have any interesting toys. I have nothing to do…” – ufff, that’s enough, I hate it. So here comes Makedo. It saved my sane recently.

So what is it?

It is VERY simple connector system to build anything you / your child want from what you have in your recycle bin. Simple, easy, quick and cheap.

There are three types of elements:

photo via

• Safe saw – it is really safe and it really works! You can cut cardboard with it easily; in fact much easier than with scissors. It also has a thorn to punch holes – very easy, safe and enjoyable activity for little ones.
• Clips – they work as nails or screws
• Locking hinge – you need two clips to mount a hinge; it can move freely or you can lock it.

What you need more? Content of your recycle bin (big cardboard box is very good base for building) and a few minutes of work. You can use:

• cardboards
• plastic plates and cups
• any paper or plastic boxes
• plastic bottles
• pipes (my son’s favourite)

Here is a car we did within 10 minutes or so using a big cardboard box, 3 little fruit boxes, 5 plastic plates and a piece of string:

Now the first thing I hear in the morning is: “Mom, I need to repair my car” (i.e. add some more clips) and in the evening: “Mom, I need to transport a few bags of cement” (instead of “I’m bored”).

Why I love Makedo:

• for open-ended play – this simple car fuelled my son’s imaginative play for many days
• it is reusable – when my son is bored with his car I’ll simply take makedo parts away and put the rest in the recycle bin
• quality is very good – it is really easy to build with it
• children can build alone or with friends / family
• we can use materials which we have at home, I do not need to buy anything (which is often a problem with other crafts)

Tips regarding child’s age:

If you have little children be prepared to create mostly by yourself. You can treat Makedo set as a good source of free toys available whenever you want. But whatever age your children are they can help you to: punch holes (my son loves it!), put clips in holes, put plugs on clips and cut a little bit.

What to buy:

Makedo goes in “Make Anything Kits” or “Guided Kits”. I recommend the first ones, as they do not limit children creativity. I bought “Kit For Three” because it contains 2 saws (when you lose saw there is no more play). I’ve seen they released sets of additional saws recently – probably a lot of people had this problem.

You can buy Makedo on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or directly from Makedo site (it’s Australia based company).

You can see Makedo gallery here.