puzzles and their benefits for kids


puzzles and there benefits for kids

Lately, my daughter and son have been enjoying puzzles tremendously. 🙂 While I prepare for dinner, I always tell the kids to sit down and do some quiet work in their toy room and lately they have been choosing to do puzzles rather than reading a book or coloring. For Christmas this year, I bought them 3 floor puzzles and they just don’t get tired of them. They love to put the pieces together…plus, they both work so well as a team helping each other. I might get them enjoying a Crossword Puzzle Builder and letting each other complete the crossword puzzles they’ve made before long.
So why is it important to introduce puzzles to your children at a young age?

  • Puzzles help challenge childrens’ little minds.
  • They help children with problem solving. I see my children working together trying to fit the puzzle together and also communicating by saying “this side is straight so it goes here” or “this looks like an edge piece so let’s try fitting it here”.
  • Puzzles help develop cognitive skills, “the process of thought”. They help children learn shapes, colors and size which helps them develop the understanding of a “whole set”, “form” and that it “all goes together” or connects.
  • Puzzles introduced at a young age (infants and toddlers) can help children develop motor skills “movement or process” which helps them develop their muscles to grasp things and hold better. It helps to have them grab and pick up the puzzle pieces.
  • I have seen puzzles help develop “thinking skills” as well in my children. They both analyze and think about what piece will match or connect with the piece they already have, or for the floor ocean puzzle they have, they first look for all the pieces of the whale, or fish (sort different types of animals) and then connect the pieces together to develop a whole puzzle.
  • Children learn hand-eye coordination, “the visibility system helping the eye and hand to coordinate/function together”. Children learn this by looking at the puzzle pieces and moving them where they belong or matching them.
  • Puzzles stimulate and motivate children’s minds. It makes them want to finish because it’s a challenge.

putting the puzzles together

Here are some great puzzle recommendations:

Fisher-Price Growing Baby Animal Activity Puzzle

Melissa & Doug Jumbo Knob Wooden Farm Puzzle

Melissa & Doug Farm Wooden Chunky Puzzle

Melissa & Doug Underwater 48-Piece Floor Puzzle

Melissa & Doug See & Spell
Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 48 Piece Puzzle – Woody, Buzz, and the Gang

Melissa & Doug Children of the World Floor 48-Piece Floor Puzzle

Melissa & Doug USA Map 51 pcs Floor Puzzle

What are some puzzles you have bought that you love doing with your children?

Check out a post from Chai Momma Shraddha about a puzzle she loves!

– Reena

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