This weekend, I splurged on the Fantastic Beasts Lego set Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures. Bringing it into our house was a risky thing to do. I live with my 7-year-old nephew who is a Lego fanatic. As the only kid in the house, he sees everything around him as his, especially anything that is officially a toy.
While I love the message of The Lego Movie, I found myself on the side of The Man Upstairs.
The Man Upstairs (aka, Finn’s Father): You know the rules, this isn’t a toy!
Finn: Um… it kind of is.
The Man Upstairs: No, actually it’s a highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system.
Finn: But we bought it at the toy store.
The Man Upstairs: We did, but the way I’m using it makes it an adult thing.
Finn: The box for this one said “Ages 8 to 14”!
The Man Upstairs: That’s a suggestion. They have to put that on there.
This was my set. I wanted to follow the directions and make it exactly as shown. And some of my favorite parts (the tiny niffler, the thunderbird, and the occamy) include pieces that can’t be replaced. So I was going to have to be firm with my nephew.
The designers wisely made the first bags in the set the characters and creatures, and since they are the coolest part, I couldn’t wait to get started. I was sitting at the kitchen table, putting the thunderbird together, when Liam came in.
His eyes went wide. “What is that?” he asked. I think that, for just a moment, he thought I had gotten out one of his sets, and he was going to scold me. I showed him what it was and told him I had bought it for myself.
“Oh,” he said. He looked baffled and when he spoke next, he sounded dismissive. “You can have it then.”
And he walked away.
I should have guessed he’d take this view. To date, he’s been fairly dismissive of anything related to Harry Potter. However, it wasn’t long before he was back, asking if he could modify the thunderbird, but I wouldn’t let him.
As I stated above, I’m worried about losing some of the special pieces that go with this set. But it’s hard holding my ground. I feel like I’m being selfish.
For some reason (probably the fact that I love the first Fantastic Beasts movie), I am deeply attached to these silly Lego creatures. I smile every time I look at them and am so happy I got them. I don’t want anything to happen to them.
I want very much to put the creatures out on my desk where I can see them and handle them every day, but I feel like it would be torture for Liam. To see them and not be allowed to play with or rebuild them is frustrating for him; I can see that. But I really just can’t bring myself to share.
Am I being selfish? Or is this a good lesson for him to learn? What do you think?