Infants are figuring out puzzles at around 6 months old; as soon as they start using their hands to move things around to see if they’ll fit in different places. Around 18 months toddlers try fitting large puzzle shapes into matching spaces. Then somewhere between age 2 and 3 children develop the fine motor skills to pick up and place smaller cardboard or wooden pieces and they are able to do puzzles with many pieces, each one a different shape.
Kids Grow Into Puzzles
A 16-piece or 24-piece jigsaw are good next steps for new puzzlers. Preschoolers generally feel supported and more confident when a parent or older sibling works on their own puzzle nearby. The young child can feel her achievement of completing a puzzle on her own while knowing her parent is available to help, but won’t take over, when she gets stuck.
Once the 24-piece puzzle is mastered, children move into the next sizes easily. The smaller puzzles can be found in 24-, 35-, 48-, 60- and 70-piece sizes. At 100 pieces puzzles start to vary in difficulty. Preschoolers can enjoy many hours of relaxed puzzling working on a tricky 100 piecer, with a parent nearby for consultation.
When families do puzzles together, children strengthen their spatial perception, they learn valuable social skills and they get practice managing difficult emotions.
Puzzles Help Thinking and Social Skills
Working on a puzzle is a process of figuring out how things fit together. The child will try out several ways to put pieces together, drawing on her logic and spatial abilities to work it out.
Parents or older siblings doing their own puzzle alongside a younger child can also model:
- Respect – Puzzlers ask permission before they "help" another puzzler. Each has the right to work on her own puzzle without interference.
- Appreciation – Parents and children can watch each other work out tricky problems and appreciate and share in each others’ successes.
Cooperation Through Puzzling
Giving young children opportunities to cooperate helps them give and receive help. Musical Puzzles is a game that invites children to practice cooperation. Every few minutes puzzlers simply trade chairs and start working on the other puzzle. Or if there are three or more puzzlers at the table, people move clockwise into the next chair. Each puzzle is a new challenge and puzzlers inevitably see how pieces fit together in fresh ways.
Emotions and Competitiveness
Children experience a range of feelings while doing puzzles, some of them difficult. Children instinctively think they want to "win" a challenge by being the first or best. These are stressful and uncomfortable feelings that draw energy and focus away from solving the puzzle. Parents can keep puzzle activities fun for all at the table by ensuring that there are no losers. The goal is to support each other until all puzzles are complete.
Handling Frustration When Solving a Puzzle
Children get frustrated and so do their parents. It’s good for children to see their parents struggling to solve a problem. It is an opportunity for them to see that even their parents find some things hard to do. Parents can model different ways of handling frustration, such as; sticking with the problem until it’s resolved; letting it go and coming back to it later or asking for help. Working alongside their parents children can learn that frustration is normal and that it will pass.
Sharing a Puzzle With Kids Helps Build Confidence
Preschoolers are likely to approach a new activity with either “That’s easy” or “That’s too hard”. Both approaches are unrealistic when approaching a new, unfamiliar task. As children grow they learn about patience in problem solving and about trusting process. Answers aren’t always evident right away. Children need opportunities to practice problem solving with support, or they are at risk of losing confidence in their abilities.
Puzzles are the perfect activity for building confidence. Each new puzzle box empties dozens of pieces onto the table. The process of putting it together is incredibly satisfying for the young child as he gradually sees his work come together and “It’s too hard” turns into “We did it!”
Working on a puzzle is a great way to spend an hour with a preschooler. Solving puzzles with others helps the child practice patience and respect. Children learn that problem solving is a process and that it feels good and fun to work cooperatively.
Clara Lovatt - Clara’s passion is to provide quality child care where young children can grow and be happy in healthy, loving environments. She ...
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