A question that often gets asked in my house is, “Whose LEGO piece is this?” It could just as easily be mine as one of the kids. If it’s mine, it goes into my ‘to sort’ box. If it belongs to the boys, it goes into their ‘bucket of doom’ where the pieces of all their disassembled sets go to live in chaotic harmony. But trying to figure out what to do with these lost pieces has got me thinking: When, if ever, should AFOLs combine their collections with those of their kids?

Combining collections is much harder than combining two pieces

Pros and Cons

The benefits seem pretty obvious. Bringing your collections together allows you to further share the hobby as a team. A bigger shared pool of pieces means everyone can find what they’re looking for. There’s also only one place to put the pieces that end up all over the house.

But then there are the downsides as well. As a LEGO fan, you've amassed your collection over the years by investing time, money, and effort into building and organizing your sets and creations. The kids in your life, however, are just starting their journey. You’ve both got different goals and values. There might be disagreements about what belongs to whom or how to use your shared space.

How It Works In Our House

The system we’ve created is always evolving. When my kids got old enough to graduate from Duplo (the gateway brick), we started with a complete separation of church and state when it came to LEGO. They could look at my collection, but not touch anything. When it came to their stuff, I accidentally put one of their minifigs into my amusement park layout once, and to this day I’m still hearing about the time I ‘stole’ their LEGO. I wouldn’t let them access my sorted pieces because they would just dump them out or take all of my tiles, leaving me to re-sort them.

As time went on, we started commingling to some extent. They started to enjoy placing minifigs and sets into my setup, leaving them like little Easter eggs they’d ask me to find. Similarly, they’ve started asking for specific pieces when building and have gained an appreciation for a well-sorted part collection. They’ve even started learning the names of the pieces and it warms my heart when one of them says, “Can I get a 1x4 tile in light bluish grey?”

At the end of the day, their stuff is their stuff. They can take their sets out of my amusement park if they’d like. When they’ve moved on from a set, it goes into a specifically labeled box of ‘Boy’s LEGO’ that lives in the LEGO room but that they can get whenever they’d like.

Will we ever fully combine? Probably not. We have different interests, and some of their collection will live in their rooms. But, more and more, over time, it’s gone from my LEGO room to our LEGO room, and that journey, while fraught, has been really rewarding. We all build in our own way and it's been fun watching them grow and change how they interact with my hobby.

A LEGO Masters Contestant Weighs In

I spoke to Liz Puleo, LEGO Masters US Season 3 contestant and BrickNerd Patron, about how a combined collection works in her house: “It started with sorted LEGO being mine, and they had to ask permission to use it. Then they each had their own space for their LEGO layouts. Over time they realized that building with sorted LEGO was easier so we've had some lessons in how to put drawers back, and which pieces they can and cannot use.”

Talking with Liz made it clear that some kids work best with a ‘bucket of doom’ as it allows for more creativity while others prefer sorted pieces. If the kid in your life prefers sorted pieces, it makes more sense to combine collections.

If you’re able to establish clear boundaries, you can also create divisions in a shared space. As Liz explained, “The vast majority of our LEGO is in the same basement space, but we seem to keep the LEGO mentally separated by themes within the family.” This kind of thinking can make sharing your collection easier for everyone.

I used to be really protective of my extra pieces. “What if I need it?” I would whine to myself. At some point I realized that everything I let them play with is easily replaceable should I need it for a MOC. Giving up some of that control has led to some amazing creations by the kids.

Liz had a similar experience with her son; “ I had started to part out some bricks for a MOC and didn't tell the kids not to touch them. The next day my son came running up the stairs to show us the most amazing Wither Storm from Minecraft. He had built it from every single piece I had sorted out. He didn't leave me a single one! There was a split second of, "I was going to use those" but it was quickly pushed away by the joy of seeing him so proud of his build, and animated about what he made.”

In return, I feel a little bit more comfortable looking for specific pieces in their stuff. And I’m not the only one guilty of raiding their child’s collection. “Once or twice I have completely stolen pieces off of their sets/displays and never told them. A particularly memorable piece was a purple rooftop from a Friends set that I needed for LEGO Masters auditions,” says Liz. “The first time I told my son I took a piece, he never let me hear the end of it because it made his build incomplete. He told anyone and everyone how mad he was that I took it! Rest assured he now has more than ever to use as I have replaced it and gotten him at least five or six more to add to his Volcano.” Likewise, I try to remember to replace anything I borrow.

Similar to my family, Liz’s family has found a way to share while not fully combining their collections, “My husband and I have a few sets in our bedroom that the kids don't play with and they each have some LEGO in their rooms too.”

Tips For Making It Work

Are you considering some level of LEGO collection integration with your kids? Here are some tips on keeping your sanity while also sharing your hobby with the kids in your life:

Establish boundaries: Whatever you feel comfortable with in terms of sharing or not sharing, make sure everyone understands what those boundaries are. This is easier if off-limits items are on a shelf or separate table.
Effective storage solutions: Using hobby drawers for loose pieces, a separate box for each person, or any other organization strategy will help with the boundaries you’ve established.
Provide a building station: Often the kids just want to spend time in the same area as you, even if you’re not working on the same thing. By creating a station for them, you can give them something to do while still maintaining your own space.
Make time for yourself: Create an understanding that you, as an adult, need time alone with your LEGO. This will help your sanity and also teach your kids the importance of self-care and hobbies.
Clean up: If you’re going to share your collections at all, it’s important to have a shared understanding of what clean up means and when it has to get done.

What about the kids in your life? Would you consider sharing your collection with them?

How does your family deal with mixing collections, or not? Let us know in the comments below.

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