The only thing growing faster than build-it-yourself toys is the frustration of parents and kids who can't assemble the parts, reports Hillary Stout in the New York Times (12/3/09). NPD Group reports a 21 percent sales increase for construction sets between August 2008 and August 2009. Lego, meanwhile, is coming off of "two record years ... its sales grew 37 percent during 2008, and by the end of 2009, they were up by an additional 27 percent over September 2008." But for some kids -- and their parents -- it's a fatal attraction.

"Just looking at the Lego packages makes me cringe," says Lori Harasem, who had tried to put together Transformers for her three children. "Often the directions aren't very clear, and suddenly you're disassembling," she says, noting that her kids give up quickly, leaving her husband and her to figure it all out while the kids watch television. Some also complain that "such kits are no longer designed for open-ended, creative building but rather to construct a precise model based on a licensed movie theme."

However, a Lego spokesperson says that each kit "goes through an extensive development process" to ensure that the directions are clear and that the level of difficulty is age-appropriate. He adds "that the pieces can be used to build anything, not just the model on the box." In other words, feel free to use the 3,803 pieces of "the Lego 'Star Wars' Death Star (only $399.99) to build a Maserati or something. At least one child, 8-year-old Tobey Bill of Weston, Conn., is not deterred: He just studies the directions and then puts together his toys without any help from anyone. "I think it's good for a child to sit and focus," says his mom.