Just like something your kids like to eat, if they enjoy doing puzzles, don’t tell them that it’s good for them! Encouraging young children to play with puzzles is a great way to help your child grow and develop. Benefits of doing puzzles include, increasing organizational skills, hand-eye coordination and attention to detail. Unknown to them, they will be developing problem solving skills, as well. All sorts of good educational and developmental things are happening as kids put a puzzle together: they are learning to observe; they must process the information; and they are analyzing how to make something “chaotic” into a whole picture. And besides, it’s just plain fun.

For children to reap the benefits of puzzle-solving, ensure that the puzzle is age-appropriate. Buying puzzles that are geared to their specific developmental level eliminates potential frustration. If they get frustrated, the fun element will disappear very quickly and your child may be reluctant to try another one.

Buy at least three or four puzzles: in the event they really like it, you’ll be able to give them a new one right away. You don’t want them to get bored with the activity, which might happen if they have to do the same puzzle over and over.

For first-time puzzle users, consider doing the puzzle together. Give your son or daughter tips on how to put the puzzle together, like finding the corner and straight-edges pieces first.

Particularly for a toddler, but applicable of course to older children as well, jigsaw puzzles develop hand-eye coordination as they decide what piece goes where. It also aids in the recognition of shapes and colors. The process of deciding where to place each piece and differentiating between puzzle pieces of varying colors and shapes increases you’re child’s reasoning skills too.

Naturally they are adding to their knowledge of the world round them when they are putting together a jigsaw puzzle about animals, the alphabet, outer space or the ocean. Knowledge they “discover” for themselves through activities such as playing with jigsaw puzzles often lasts longer than knowledge acquired by more formal methods such as memorization.

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