Such a healthy hobby… really ?

[brickmack]

Though I haven't ever met anyone nearly as "addicted" as the person described in the first post (Thousands of dollars of unopened sets sitting around while the kids are in bad clothes, etc) but I suppose there are some people that may be negatively affected by it. Fortunately for me it hasn't had any major bad effects (And I'm less bored). I always find when I worry about that stuff it helps to compare it to less healthy hobbies/addictions like drinking or smoking (Smoking is a particularly good example since it costs so much and eventually will kill you, and I've met people that literally spent over a thousand dollars in a month on smoking and drinking, roughly 9 times what I spend in an average month on LEGO and related things (not counting when I go to LEGO conventions and the occasional trip to the LEGO store of course... )

[dr_spock]

I really don't know about it here in France, I've never been in one of those shops ( and everybody will tell you the same thing )

No need to go to one of those shops. One can make those kind of toys out of Lego.

[Mrlegoninja]

I don't think its unhealthy if you keep it moderated. Buying sets whenever there's a sale and getting yourself and your family into debt is not healthy. I would say buying a few sets each month (like 4) or one big set is ok. If you don't socialize and spend most of your time playing with lego is not healthy. I mean, we're adults and we're human. There are a billion things around more important. If you take time to get involved in groups, your family, and your friends/co-workers, you might be better of than immersing yourself in lego. In fact, if you were to start a building group it would be much better than building alone.

[gratefulnat]

I find this a very interesting thread - thanks for the thoughts you all have shared.

I would like to present a slightly different twist on this, though, so bare with me.

I was heavily into drugs (everything except Heroin) from 1987 until 1999. Six months before my son was born in June 1999, it became very clear to me that either I was going to be a father, or I was going to end up in the gutter and my son would grow up fatherless. Luckily I decided for the former and quit all substance abuse overnight (and it wasn't easy!), and 12 years later I can happily say with success

But addiction had become a part of my life, and the longer I was clean, the more aware I became that I was not going to ever get rid of these urges. When my son was 2-3 years old, I started looking into cool toys for him, and 'of course ' discovered LEGO again. And that was the beginning of my new addiction: LEGO. Expensive, hard to find (as a collector), and time consuming. It struck me as very familiar to what I had experienced in the past, but it wasn't removing me from reality. I have met new people, albeit few, but passionate about their hobby. It is a joy to spend time together sharing our love of the brick. I love my hobby, and it has been a source of immense strength in my life. And I am not shy about LEGO, at work or privately, and the people that care for me are excepting of this, , for which I am very grateful.

The only issue that I need to be aware of is the finances involved. I budget my year very consequently, and anything to do with my son has first place. Then comes our everyday lives and the little extra needed for any unexpected surprises (of which there are always more than imagined). After that - anything left over is for LEGO.

So my savings might not be a great hit, but my love of LEGO, from the perspective of an addiction, keeps me from getting back into drugs - and that is something I treasure.

I can say that I am happily addicted to the brick