How are puzzles for kids beneficial?

A favourite toy of parents and educators alike, puzzles are deceptively simple. All you need to do is put the pieces together to make a whole. Your child’s chubby hands grasp the pieces trying to force them together. Despite their simplicity, puzzles are a fantastic learning tool for children. It teaches them many life skills.

With practice, puzzles for kids become easier to solve and improve their development. You should introduce your child to them and facilitate learning. You find different types of puzzles in stores and online. The following are the benefits they offer:

Concentration

Child development experts opine that you can expect your little one to concentrate for about two to five minutes times their age. It means that a three-year-old concentrate on a task for about six to 15 minutes while a four-year-old can concentrate for about eight to 20 minutes. Paying attention includes focusing on one thing for a sustained period, and working on a puzzle until completion gives kids the chance to work on one task uninterrupted.

Spatial awareness

It involves being aware of yourself in space and how other objects relate to you and each other. Spatial awareness also means understanding how relationships between objects change when one or more of them moves. Children learn to identify which pieces fit together by analysing their shapes and colours through trial and error in kids puzzle games.

Shape recognition

Toddlers need to learn how to distinguish between shapes like circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares. Some simple puzzles teach geometric forms or the outline shapes of vehicles, people, and animals. For instance, kids learn that edge pieces feature a straight line and do not fit in the middle of block puzzles.

Topic-specific knowledge

Puzzles often cover different topics which assist your child in learning about the world. From geography to habitats, body parts, etc., this educational toy helps children familiarise themselves with anything. A beautiful woodblock puzzle separates the parts of a flower, tree, fish, and other animals, making them a perfect learning tool. You can further educate them by talking about puzzle images to build vocabulary and subject area knowledge.

Fine motor ability

This ability involves small movements using the wrist, fingers, hands, feet, and toes. It takes time for young children to develop fine smooth movements. Notably, the muscles in young hands need practice holding and moving small objects accurately. When playing with puzzles for kids, it forces toddlers to use the pincer grip.

Hand-eye coordination

Puzzles encourage hand-eye coordination as they force the child to see the spot with their eyes and use their hands to place the piece in that space. They learn to analyse whether the part fits well or not.