Free building is great, but my experience is that my young son also wants to build his sense of competence - following the steps correctly, fixing mistakes, and

Free building is great, but my experience is that my young son also wants to build his sense of competence - following the steps correctly, fixing mistakes, and making something exactly like the picture. Sure, he plays with it for a minute and then tears it apart to make something original - but, like you said, that’s the beauty of Lego.