Puzzle for kids
10 min
Who did not do a puzzle in childhood? This is a game that has not lost its popularity over the years. And no wonder, because it affects the development of toddlers in a unique way, and in addition is a source of satisfaction and joy. But how to choose a set in order to interest a toddler and to adjust the level of difficulty to their age? You can read more about it in our guide!
Benefits of doing a puzzle. What effect does it have on your child?
It's hard to list all the benefits of doing a puzzle - there are so many! This form of play exercises manual skills, imagination, memory, creativity, perseverance, cooperation, spatial and mathematical abilities and even reduces stress! Anyway - take a look at the following points, in which we explain everything.
Manual skills
Matching small or larger pieces is an excellent exercise for hands. The child trains the precision of movement, finesse, and also - simply - small muscles of the hand. Jigsaw puzzles for children are great exercises for hand-eye coordination and manual skills. Thanks to these exercises, we facilitate the child's start in further education. It will be easier for them to start learning writing or drawing. Putting together a puzzle may also influence easier mastering of the difficult art of using cutlery.
Developing Creativity
No picture can be put together without creativity. After all, a puzzle is a sort of a riddle, which needs an out-of-the-box approach. Even the simplest puzzle for children requires cleverness and openness to different solutions. Creativity is a skill that every puzzle fosters. And it is the basis for artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors. Without creativity, you can't let your imagination run wild or create innovation.
Spatial intelligence
A puzzle for children facilitates understanding of the relationship between individual elements or whole objects. Thanks to this, they develop spatial intelligence, which is responsible for better orientation in space. This is also the ability to think creatively and solve practical problems more logically. Jigsaw puzzles also support better understanding of cause and effect sequences, thanks to which the toddler will be able to more easily predict the final effect of various processes. 3D puzzles are particularly valuable in this regard. In addition, while putting together a puzzle, both hemispheres of the brain are working at full steam, because the child uses both logical skills and imagination. Our LUNO mat is perfect for this type of play, as it can be used to assemble various spatial shapes.
Knowledge in an attractive form
Let's not forget that doing a puzzle gives a lot of joy and at the same time teaches through fun. Therefore, on the market there are many types of puzzles supporting the exploration of different areas of knowledge. We can find educational puzzles with animal and plant themes, puzzles with letters, numbers, means of transportation and many, many other things. Simply put - thanks to puzzles, a child can learn about the world in an attractive way.
Soft skills
Let's not forget about the so-called soft skills, which will give the child a great start in the future. At the beginning, a toddler does a puzzle with their parents, and then with peers, thanks to which they acquire abilities of cooperation and integration with others. Jigsaw puzzles also require consistency, concentration and persistence in pursuit of the goal - and these qualities are extremely useful in adult life. It is a demanding game which teaches humility and patience.
Puzzle difficulty levels
There are very many types of puzzles for children on the market. One way to differentiate between them is, of course, the difficulty level. It is very important to choose puzzles according to the skill level of the toddler. What are the most popular age ranges of puzzles?
Puzzles for the youngest children
The art of doing a puzzle can be taught to children at an early age. The first large, foam puzzle can be successfully offered to a one-year-old. On the market you will also find numerous books with shapes, which work on a similar basis as puzzles. The first puzzles may consist of even the simplest two elements.
Puzzles for a three-year-old
Puzzles for three year olds can be a bit more complicated, but they should represent things familiar to the child, with which it is familiar, and their details are well recognized. Therefore, the best images will be those depicting animals, vehicles, and favorite cartoons. So-called contour pictures, i.e. pictures which have a specific shape - for example animals - are a great help. Thanks to that it is easier for the child to recognize the picture and put together a puzzle. Young children should handle large elements so that it is easier for them to hold the elements in their hands and to fit them together.
Puzzles for children aged 4-5 years
When the child acquires experience and the necessary skills, you can raise the bar for them not to start getting bored. Estimating the dexterity of the child, pay attention to how they cope with turning and combining the elements. It is normal, however, that children at this age work by trial and error, verifying new ideas every now and then. This is a way for them to develop their own ways of putting things together. If you decide that it's time for something more - offer your toddler a new challenge: a 20-, 30-, 40-, or maybe even 70-element puzzle of smaller size and forming a more complicated picture.
Puzzles for children aged 6-8 years
This is the age when children have already developed fine motor skills, are able to think synthetically and identify pieces by their place of destination. Some have their own strategies for doing a puzzle - some pay more attention to the shape of the picture, some work by color, and some focus on the object in the picture. Six-, seven-, or eight-year-olds need constant challenges, so parents often up the ante by suggesting larger sets every now and then: 100-, 150-, and maybe even much larger: 400- or 500-piece sets. Spatial puzzles, which allow for building 3D models, can also be quite a challenge. How difficult sets will be mastered by a child of this age is a very individual matter, depending on the child's predisposition and level of training.
What to follow when choosing a puzzle for your child?
If you have already decided that you want to buy your child a puzzle, you need to know how to choose the best one for them. First of all, pay attention to the age of the child and their individual abilities. Although there are rigid frameworks that manufacturers use (as you might have read about above), you must take into account the individual abilities of your kids every time. Puzzles for kids are a fantastic toy, but only if they are properly selected. So what to pay attention to? We can suggest some options!
One of the basic distinctions is the number of elements. For the smallest children a few puzzles will be enough - even 2 or 3, as at the beginning it is about toddlers understanding the very principle of this game. When they get used to it, the time will come for more elements - and there is almost no limit. There are, after all, sets with 1000 or even 5000 elements on the market, but this offer is addressed rather to adults and the oldest children.
As the child improves his or her skills to put together a puzzle, he or she can start to deal with puzzles with smaller and smaller elements. At the beginning, however, large shapes work best so that the child will have no problem with grasping and operating them. So the rule is simple: the smaller the children, the bigger the puzzles.
Apart from the number and size of elements, the picture itself is also important. For the youngest children it should have few details and varied details, so that the person solving the puzzle does not have problems with identifying the object in the picture. The color is also important - at the beginning it would be good if the colors were contrasting and did not merge into one another.
Also pay attention to the quality of construction. It is much easier to do a puzzle made of thick cardboard, which is resistant to bending or twisting. Small hands may not be able to cope with the challenge if the puzzle is not cut precisely or is too flexible.
It is also important what the picture represents - it can affect the level of difficulty, but also simply the attractiveness of the toy. On the market you will find a huge number of very different motifs - from animals, through cars, classic fairy tales, to toys referring to popular cartoons or books.
Equally important is the material of which it is made. For the youngest children foam puzzles, such as our LUNO, or wooden ones are best - they require less precision and do not change shape. In the case of younger toddlers, cardboard or paper puzzles are not the best idea - they may simply not stand the test of biting or sucking.
Finally, do not overlook such issues as aesthetics of workmanship, quality of production and safety of use. There are so many puzzles on the market that there is no need to settle for untested products. Look for something that you like and that you would like your child to like - this is also an aesthetic education. Your choices influence your child's future taste. Quality - as toys go, they have to go through a baptism of fire. They will be thrown, stepped on, maybe even kicked. In case of puzzles, it is especially important that the box is durable and protects the pieces from falling apart. Without it, it will be more difficult to store them and arrange the picture. Do not forget about safety, of course. The size of puzzles for children should be adjusted not only to the motor abilities of a toddler, but also to the tendency to put objects in their mouths. Also for this reason, small pieces should not get into the hands of babies. Manufacturers also boast of certificates. Some companies produce their products in accordance with the principles of eco-friendly and fair trade.
When to start doing a puzzle with your child?
There is no rule when it comes to the appropriate age to start a child's adventure with puzzles. Some people mention 2-3 years of age, others start as early as one year of age. It all depends on the child's predisposition. From time to time, it is worth giving the simplest, two-piece sets to toddlers and checking their reaction. If they get interested, it's a sign that it's worth encouraging them further. And if not, you can safely wait. Some children won't prefer such a game at all - and this should also be respected. Regardless of age, it's a good idea to start with the simplest puzzles - with 2-3 pieces, preferably large and rigid, for example wooden ones. Such puzzles can, for example, consist in combining the same colors, animals or numbers - even, of course, if the child does not know them yet.
Types of puzzles for your child
You'll find a wide variety of puzzle types on the market. So it is easy to choose the most suitable both for the age of the toddler and for their individual preferences. What types are there? Here are the most important ones!
The first group includes traditional puzzles, i.e. wooden or cardboard ones, which are based on arranging two-dimensional pictures. They are the ones we have in front of our eyes when we hear the word puzzle. But the traditional ones are only the beginning of a fascinating adventure with different types of puzzles.
In the case of the youngest children foam puzzles will be a great choice. Sets consisting of large elements can be put into the hands of even six-month old babies. The babies do not have to put them together but they can, for example, squeeze or bite them. The form of large foam puzzles can sometimes be mats, such as our LUNO foam mat. This is a good solution both for shock-absorption and insulation from the floor, as well as for its play value.
Jigsaw puzzles with handles that are attached to the pieces can be a good solution for two- and three-year-olds. This way, children can more easily handle them and make more precise movements. Thanks to that, they will be able to cope even with a bit more difficult sets.
Another proposal for younger children are sensory puzzles, which react in different ways to the behavior of toddlers. They can play, glow, change colors, and have different textures or shapes. In this way they develop additional skills of children and influence their senses. These puzzles may be interesting even for those toddlers who avoided this form of play before because they provide additional, attractive stimuli.
Magnetic puzzles can turn out to be interesting for older children. Their advantage over the traditional models is the fact that they are placed on special metal boards, so they are good for example while traveling. We can be sure that they will not fall apart.
There are also cubic puzzles on the market. On each side of the building block there is a fragment of a different picture. Thanks to this, if you have a few elements, you can arrange up to six different motifs. This option is rather for older children, although manufacturers also offer cubic puzzles consisting of 2-3 elements. This may be a good challenge for a two-year-old.
Finally, a proposal for older children, which additionally requires greater motor skills and imagination. We are talking about 3D puzzles which are used to arrange spatial models - buildings, animals, vehicles and others. It is more demanding fun, but it gives a lot of satisfaction. A difficult to arrange set, which in the form of a finished construction will stand on the shelf in the child's room, can be something to be proud of.
