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Do you enjoy jigsaw puzzles? Do your children enjoy jigsaw puzzles?
Well I have great news for you, doing puzzles is not only enjoyable, it also offers a multitude of benefits to children and adults alike.
Putting together jigsaw puzzles is a timeless activity loved by all ages. It doesn’t matter how many pieces there are, puzzles offer more than just entertainment. Jigsaw puzzles are a powerful tool for cognitive engagement, stress relief, and quality family time.
I have such fond memories of being at my grandparents’ house in the summer and working on the jigsaw puzzle that was set up on the card table in the living room. It not only was a great way to stay cool on those hot summer afternoons, it created memories I still cherish.
Since I was a child, I’ve loved putting together puzzles. Now, as a parent, I’ve enjoyed introducing my children to puzzles and engaging in this activity with them.
The other day, I was sitting with my toddler on the floor with one of our favorite Melissa & Doug puzzles and started thinking how a simple activity such as putting together a 24 piece wooden puzzle can help his development. Not only are jigsaw puzzles fun to put together, this simple and inexpensive activity provides so many benefits to children. In this blog post, I am going to share how puzzles help a child’s physical, cognitive, social/emotional and language development.
What are the social benefits of jigsaw puzzles for children?
Puzzles are a screen-free activity for your child to engage in during independent play. If I am cooking dinner, folding a load of laundry or cleaning up from breakfast, I set up a puzzle or pull out the puzzle basket. There are plenty of days when the TV goes on, but it is nice to have other options for your child during these key moments of your day.
Putting puzzles together is a nice quiet and relaxing activity you can do with your child. This helps you build a deeper connection with your child, build memories with him/her and is an opportunity to spend quality time with your child. Putting a puzzle together helps us to slow down in our fast-paced lives. It is also an activity that can be done with children of multiple ages. Older siblings can put puzzles together with younger siblings, which promotes a stronger bond between the children. Puzzles are a wonderful activity to do on a family night, too!
Puzzles encourage teamwork and collaboration. Children can work together with a friend or family member to complete a puzzle.
When putting a puzzle together with others, children learn to effectively communicate with one another. Children must verbally communicate with one another as they put the puzzles pieces in place. Children learn to compromise when putting together a jigsaw puzzle with a peer or adults.
Completing a puzzle boosts a child’s confidence and sense of achievement. Children are proud of themselves and experience a sense of accomplishment when they finish putting together a puzzle, especially if it was a difficult task for them. This positive outcome motivates children to put together more puzzles.
How do puzzles help a child’s physical development?
As children pick up, turn, flip, slide and wriggle puzzle pieces into position, they are strengthening and further developing their motor skills. The smaller movements they make with their hands and fingers strengthen fine motor skills. Any larger movements they make with their bodies such as reaching strengthens gross motor skills.
We love the Melissa and Doug 24-piece floor puzzles for gross motor development. The pieces are large and require children to hold with both hands. Children need to move their body around to put the pieces together since the puzzle is much larger. All of this is beneficial for children’s gross motor development!
Putting together puzzles develops a child’s eye-hand coordination. This is an important skill that allows children to perform tasks that require their hands and eyes. These tasks include playing sports, writing, coloring, and drawing. Puzzles are a fun and engaging way to strengthen this skill.
How do puzzles help with a child’s cognitive development?
Puzzles are one of the best ways to improve a child’s cognitive development. It’s amazing how many skills are developed when putting together a single jigsaw puzzle.
Puzzles help children build the skill of visual perception. Children are encouraged to analyze the details of each puzzle pieces, recognize patterns and shapes, and assemble the puzzle.
When children play with a puzzle, they learn to see patterns and shapes. This shape recognition within the pieces as well as in the complete picture is a foundation of geometry.
Children learn and practice numbers, letters, shapes and colors when putting together puzzles.
When I was a middle school teacher, my 6th, 7th and 8th graders enjoyed putting together puzzles as a reward. They worked as a team to put together this Melissa & Doug USA Map Floor Puzzle. It wasn’t an easy puzzle, but they enjoyed talking and learning about the states. So if your children are older, be sure to check out the USA Map puzzle or this Outer Space Glow-in-the Dark floor puzzle.
Putting puzzles together is an excellent activity for improving a child’s ability to concentrate and focus on a task for longer periods of time without getting distracted.
The process of putting together a puzzle promotes problem-solving and independent play.
Children also practice perseverance. Some puzzles are more challenging than others. Children learn to break the bigger goal of putting together the puzzle into smaller parts, feeling a sense of accomplishment as they get closer to reaching their goal of finishing the puzzle. Children learn to persist and achieve their goal of finishing the puzzle.
How do puzzles help with a child’s language development?
Children build vocabulary and language as you talk about the puzzle. When I do a puzzle with my children, we are constantly talking about what we see on the pieces and describing the types of pieces we need. When doing a themed puzzle, you are helping your child build topic-specific knowledge.
My son received this pack of animal shape puzzles for his second birthday and loves putting them together. We talk about each animal and the different parts as we assemble the puzzle. The bee puzzle is his favorite. We name the wings, head and body. We notice the bee has two wings and is yellow with black stripes. These puzzles lend themselves so well to building a young child’s vocabulary and language.
Seasonal puzzles are a special way to celebrate the seasons/holidays throughout the year and build vocabulary and language. This large round 70 piece Easter jigsaw puzzle is fun to bring out in the spring. It is big, colorful, and includes delicately decorated Easter eggs, bunnies, a chick, flowers and butterflies. The shape of the puzzle is fun, too!
We bring out specific books, puzzles, craft materials and activities for the different seasons and holidays. My children get so excited each time we bring them out! It’s almost like they are new again each time we bring them out.
How to store and organize your puzzles?
Storing and organizing jigsaw puzzles can be overwhelming. There are many ways you can store and organize them. It honestly depends on your personal preference and the space in which you will be storing the puzzles.
I’ve tried several different ways of storing jigsaw puzzles and these durable zipper pouches work the best in our home. We put each puzzle inside a zipper pouch and I label the front with a picture of it or cut the picture out from the box. I chose not to keep the puzzles in their box because the boxes take up too much space. But that’s a personal preference of mine!
The wooden puzzles fit nicely in this wire puzzle storage rack, which can sit on a shelf. It is strong and sturdy and holds 12 wooden puzzles.
We used a large clear plastic storage bin as our puzzle bin. It contains all the puzzles and the lid doubles as a hard flat surface on which we can put the puzzle together.
A large basket on our living room shelf works well for holding some puzzles, as well. My toddler enjoys playing with these puzzles in the living room while I am cleaning up the kitchen or right before bed. We spend time putting them together and it’s a nice way to relax and unwind before going to bed.
Conclusion
Jigsaw puzzles are very beneficial to your children. Not only is it a fun screen-free activity for children of all ages, jigsaw puzzles benefit their social, physical, cognitive and language development.
