Puzzles can be an incredibly valuable learning tool for young children. Toddlers and preschoolers increase their development in numerous ways while they are engaged in puzzle-solving games. As an occupational therapist and a mom, I have spent countless hours working with children on all sorts of different puzzles. Playing with puzzles has significant learning benefits. We often think of solving puzzles as a brain workout. Undeniably, it does help our youngsters with concentration, focus, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, working on puzzles provides additional benefits to enhance visual-perceptual, fine-motor, and cognitive skills. Boost in self-esteem and satisfaction when the puzzle is solved is a great bonus for a job well done!

Fine Motor Skills Development

A child will develop fine motor skills by using precise movements to place the puzzle pieces in the correct spot. With puzzle play, children must pick up, flip, turn, twist, pinch, and grasp puzzle pieces, especially if the parts are small or have nobs. Children improve their pincer grip when they move puzzle pieces with nobs and improve finger dexterity when they pick up a variety of puzzle pieces. Preschoolers will strengthen their muscles within their hands and fingers, which leads to enhanced grasping skills used in writing, drawing, and playing musical instruments.

Puzzles improve hand-eye coordination. Preschoolers spend a lot of time practicing coordinating what their eyes see, how their brains interpret the information, and what the hands can do. When children play with puzzles, they position and move pieces, and they learn what and how it fits. Children coordinate the interaction from the eyes with the movement of the hands, which increases their hand-eye coordination skills. Hand-eye coordination is one of the most critical skills for learning, such as; writing, reading, self-care, and playing sports.

Increased Concentration

Putting puzzles together requires the child’s full attention and focus. Puzzles play provides an exciting opportunity for children to concentrate on a task over time. It is a mental challenge, and children work on particular order until the puzzle is complete. Children use a higher level of mental capacity to accomplish a goal, and they stay engaged with the task until they experience the reward of completion. Puzzle selection needs to match each child’s developmental abilities and ought to provide the right amount of challenge.

Choosing puzzles that are too difficult might discourage a child’s participation. It is essential to consider the child’s age, skills, and interests in picking the most specific and motivating puzzles. Appropriately selected puzzles will fully engage and encourage children to accomplish their best work. By including regular puzzle play during early childhood education, the child has a frequent opportunity to progress and strengthen concentration skills.  

Improved Self-Esteem 

As a parent, there is nothing better than seeing your child succeed in the completion of a task. When a child figures out a puzzle and places all puzzle pieces where they fit, he/she feels accomplished and proud. Puzzle play helps children realize that they can solve puzzles that might seem difficult at first. With a little bit of patience and planning, children can learn to complete puzzles quickly. Finishing a hard puzzle is a huge achievement that will skyrocket the child’s self-esteem. Mastering puzzles builds healthy confidence in young children and leads to increased motivation for further skill aptitude.

Improve Problem-Solving Skills

A variety of different puzzles helps children with expanding problem-solving skills. Even when a puzzle is incredibly simple, it still puts a toddler into the mindset of wanting to achieve the goal. When children solve puzzles, they come up with many strategies to figure out how it will all make sense for the pieces to fit in the right places. Children sort and group puzzle pieces by shape, size, color, and additional features as needed. They figure out the placement of where they want to start the puzzle, at the corner, side, or in the middle. Children identify how to fit puzzle pieces together; they turn, flip, position, move, and twist to connect the parts. Working on solving challenging puzzles is an excellent mental workout. Puzzles improve problem-solving and reasoning skills. A solution-oriented mindset is an impressive skill for children to practice early.

Improve Visual-Perceptual Skills

Working on puzzle play advances visual-perceptual skills. Children learn to organize what they see with their eyes and create meaningful sense. Visual-perceptual skills are not the same as visual acuity. Children discover that separate pieces form a complete picture. They notice differences or similarities based on size, color, and shape. Children learn to recall visual traits and sequence the correct order while working on assembling a puzzle. They mentally manipulate the position of puzzle parts and recognize that shape is the same, even if it is turned. Children practice locating puzzle pieces in a busy background, and they improve their efforts on the ability to focus on crucial visual information. Visual-perceptual skills are necessary for academic success, such as reading, math, writing, and copying from the board. Providing abundant puzzle play opportunities for young children will foster visual-perceptual advancement.

How to pick the most appropriate puzzles

There is a rich assortment of puzzles on the market. They have various degrees of complexity based on the number of pieces, size of the parts, and designs. It is necessary to assess a child’s skill level and interests, as well as a child’s age to pick appropriate puzzles. Start with simple puzzles that are easy to complete and then gradually work the way up to more complex puzzles.

Types of puzzles:

Inset puzzles with jumbo knobs, 3-5 pieces, matching picture underneath

· Every puzzle piece has a jumbo knob for easy grasp to place a piece in the proper location. 

· Start with a three-piece puzzle and gradually increase the number of pieces to step-up the level of difficulty (eight-piece-puzzle).

· Matching pictures underneath to cue children with proper puzzle piece placement. 

· Best for toddlers 12 months to 24 months

Jigsaw chunky 2-6 piece puzzles, matching picture underneath

· Chunky wooden pieces are easy to grasp for small hands and hard to swallow.

· Matching picture underneath to cue children with proper puzzler placement.

· Best for toddlers 18 months and up.

Inset puzzles, chunky wooden pieces, 6-12 pieces, matching picture underneath / no matching picture underneath 

· Chunky wooden pieces easy to grasp for small hands 

· Start with a six-piece puzzle and gradually increase the number of pieces to step-up the level of difficulty.

· Matching pictures underneath to assist children with the proper puzzle placement.

· A puzzle without the matching image is more challenging as the child needs to focus more on the shape to fit the puzzle piece in the correct place.

· Best for children 2 to 4 years.

Jigsaw chunky wooden 2-6 piece puzzles, no matching picture underneath

· Chunky wooden pieces are easy to grasp for small hands and hard to swallow.

· The child focuses on the shape without additional visual cues to fit the puzzle piece in the correct spot.

· Best to toddlers 2 to 4 years.

Inset peg puzzles, 8- pieces and up, matching picture underneath / no matching picture underneath 

·      Every puzzle piece has a peg for easy grip, comes with plastic or wood pegs.

· Puzzles come with 8- pieces, and more might have up to 26 if it is an alphabet puzzle.

· Matching pictures underneath to assist children with the proper puzzle placement.

· A puzzle without the matching image is more challenging as the child needs to focus more on the shape to fit the puzzle piece in the correct place.

· Some puzzles come with sound features.

· Best for children 2 to 4 years.

Jigsaw wooden puzzles, 12 pieces and up, matching picture underneath / no matching picture underneath 

·      Jigsaw wooden pieces generally come with 8-20 pieces. 

· Matching pictures underneath to cue children with the proper puzzle placement.

· Sometimes comes with visual cues, however, not exactly matching.

· A puzzle without the matching image is more challenging as the child needs to focus more on the shape to fit the puzzle piece in the correct place.

· Best for children 3 to 6 years

Jigsaw recycled paper jumbo floor puzzles, 24-50 pieces. 

·      Jigsaw recycled paper jumbo puzzle pieces.

· Generally comes with 24 pieces and more.  

· Some of the jumbo floor puzzles follow a sequence, such as numbers and letters.  

· Best for children 3 to 6 years old.

Jigsaw recycled paper table puzzles, 24-48 pieces. 

·      Jigsaw recycled paper table puzzle pieces.

· Generally comes with 24 pieces and more.  

· Children use the sample picture for guidance to put together a puzzle.

· Best for children 3 to 6 years old.

Jigsaw recycled paper table puzzles with more than 60 pieces are generally designed for children 5-years and older

Jigsaw recycled paper table and floor puzzles with more than 100 pieces are generally designed for children 6-years and older. 

Fine Motor Puzzles are designed for children 3 to 6 years old to assist with specific fine motor practice.

Conclusion

Puzzle play is an essential educational tool in early childhood development. Beautiful and engaging puzzles help our youngsters learn critical skills while playing. Assembling puzzles is a fun brain-boosting activity that supports problem-solving skills, increases concentration, and builds confidence. It helps with fine-motor skills and visual-perceptual skills development. These skills are valuable as children advance to academic learning in the future, such as reading, math, and writing. Invest in enjoyable family time and encourage your child to engage in puzzle play frequently. Benefits will be rewarding!

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