How LEGO can help teens tackle life’s big questions
How do you get teenagers to open up about life’s biggest challenges? According to Dr Martha Shaw, associate professor in London South Bank University’s (LSBU) School of Law and Education, the answer might be found in a box of LEGO bricks.
Writing in The Conversation, Dr Shaw explains how creative play can help young people express complex thoughts and feelings that are often hard to put into words. By building models that represent ideas like identity, relationships or future aspirations, teens can explore sensitive topics in a safe, imaginative way.
“Building gives people time to reflect and can lead to more thoughtful, imaginative and often emotional responses,” she writes. She explains the power of metaphor in this context: “It provides a sense of distance; we feel less exposed and able to discuss things that can be difficult to express.”
Why LEGO works as a language for big ideas
This approach, known as LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, was originally developed for business strategy but is now being used in education and therapy to encourage dialogue and problem-solving. Dr Shaw and her team applied it across four UK secondary schools. Students built models in response to prompts like “three things that make you, you” and “where you feel you belong,” then explained their creations to one another.
Dr Shaw highlights the role these models played in revealing inner worlds: as students shared, their constructions reflected hobbies, heritage, faith, community and nature — complex interplays of identity and belonging.
The research showed that LEGO building fosters critical thinking and empathy. Adding an interactive layer, groups even linked their models with strings to illustrate connections and differences in their worldviews. According to Dr Shaw, this creative sharing “increased their understanding of themselves and each other”, promoting empathy and a sense of shared vision for society.
Dr Shaw believes LEGO SERIOUS PLAY offers a valuable tool for education and youth support, particularly amid rising mental health challenges: “LEGO or other building toys have the potential to help teachers and young people to think outside the box,” she concludes.