Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Why puzzles should be introduced to toddlers ?

As a kid , while growing up, I used to love making Jigsaw puzzles. I used immense concentration and completing it fast gave me great satisfaction. It boosted up my self confidence.

In simple language, a puzzle is a game , problem or  toy that tests a person's knowledge.In a puzzle, the solver is expected to come to put pieces together in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct solution of the puzzle. A jigsaw puzzle consists of small irregularly cut pieces that are to be fitted together to form a picture. Any kind of pictures can be used to form a jigsaw puzzle.

Small babies find it difficult to put together pieces, but you can start by doing stacking activities with them, or putting objects in a large container, sorting blocks of different colours. You can start these activities with babies when they are about 10 months old. There are some puzzles available with matching pictures underneath each picture, to support their eye, hand and visual perception skills.
  


Wooden Puzzles and plastic puzzles with knobs are the best for kids who are one year old. They can easily pick up the pieces and put them . You get variety of option to choose from, - Farm Animals, Wild Animals, Fruits, Vegetables, Transport, Shapes, Colours. You can buy 2-3 puzzles initially, sit and teach your child, then let him put the pieces back himself.

                                                       


For kids, aged 2-3 years, you can introduce number and alphabet puzzles. Also at this stage you can introduce 12 piece puzzle to them.  You can keep 4-5 different puzzles and keep rotating. You get lots of different types of puzzles for 2-3 year olds, like fruits, vegetables, counting, alphabet matching, complex shapes, pattern making.

Floor puzzles with big pieces are also very good for kids. A child, 3 years of age can easily put together a 20-30 piece puzzle over time.



It is very important to introduce puzzles to kids because:

1. They help in improving hand eye coordination of the children.
2. They are very helpful in developing their cognitive skills. It helps them to think, use their logic and put pieces together.
3. Solving puzzles helps to improve short term memory. It helps in reinforcing connections between the brain cells. It improves mental speed and thought processes.
4. It gives the children a sense of achievement that they have accomplished something.
5. It improves their problem solving skills.
6. if a child is cranky and is bored, puzzles are one of the best ways to distract him, It improves 
their mood.
7. Jigsaw puzzles are reusable. You can use them a number of times.

I introduced puzzles to my son when he was eleven months old. I would like to suggest all mothers to use jigsaw puzzles with their children to enhance their mental faculties.

I am taking my Blog to the next level with Blogchatter's #MyfriendAlexa

#talesofsimrit  #blogchatter






49 comments:

  1. Hi Simrit, wonderful article. nicely researched and beautifully crafted together. The puzzles definitely play a big role in developing the thinking skills of a child (apart from improving many other skills) and that plays a key role in building their intelligence.

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  2. My 4 year old loves puzzles. Your post is a validation of my thoughts. Beautiful and informative article.

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  3. Puzzles are a great way to teach toddlers the basic numbers, alphabets and other things. I myself used them for my children.
    #MyFriendAlexa
    #AditiReads aditikapur.com

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  4. My son loved putting together jigsaw puzzles but somehow lost interest after a certain age...your post makes me think on how to rekindle that love. Great Post! #MyFriendAlexa #thatchedroofreads

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  5. I love jigsaw puzzles even now. Great post letting us know the benefits of introducing it to kids at any early age. Happy Alexa!

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  6. You have a beautiful blog, and an insightful posts for parents ! All the Best for the challenge.

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  7. A well researched article. It would indeed be useful to parents looking to wean their kids away from gadgets.

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  8. It's important for parents to introduced kids with such puzzle games as it improves their concentration and motor skills..Very perfectly written!!

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  9. Some parents dont realise how important puzzles are for a growing child. A lot of play activities can help your child grow. Good post!

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  10. Ahh very good post

    My daughter is 2.5 yrs old and she is just starting to solve the puzzle

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Definitely! Puzzles helps to develop & grow the thinking ability of a child. Your child learns how to find solution of a problem. Puzzles are much more than an pass time activity. #SrishtiReads #MyFriendAlexa

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  13. A well researched article. It would indeed be useful to parents looking to wean their kids away from gadgets.

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  14. A well researched article. It would indeed be useful to parents looking to wean their kids away from gadgets. Sorry to spam your comments. It kept listing me as unknown.

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  15. even in my home, puzzle are in bundles because my both kids love puzzle and are engage for long hours

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  16. I simply love puzzles. I remember having a huge one that contained really tiny pieces. It would take my sister hours to put them together, but the joy of looking at the finished piece is priceless!

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  17. Yes, my kids love them too. It keeps them engaged for hours.

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  18. Great post. I being a dad should use this as a checklist for my 6 month old daughter. Thanks for sharing this. I should use this.

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  19. Couldn't agree more. It is the best way to teach hand eye coordination.

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  20. Puzzles are a great choice for both kids and adults alike. Love the article. Thanks for writing this!

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  21. Puzzles are great for kids and adults.. there are even 3-D puzzles for older kids and adults who would like to improve their concentration...

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  22. I totally agree with you. Puzzles are a great tool to hone fine motor skills and introduce learning in a fun way. I used to do them often with my toddler.

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  23. We love solving puzzles even now! Reminds me that we have not done once since a while, maybe this weekend could be the puzzle night!

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  24. I love puzzles and still intrigues me at this age.

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  25. Both my kids love puzzles. As a result I have always bought puzzles for them at regular intervals. And yes I agree on all of it when you mention the benefits of puzzles

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  26. Age appropriate activities offer multiple benefits to kids. And this is one of the activities, which should be introduced at the right age.

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  27. I completely agree with you. puzzels are interesting activity that help a lot to kids for intellectual and cognitive development. great read, #Surbhireads #MyfriendAlexa

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  28. Really an interesting read, all put dowm in simple language

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  29. Very well written, I want to buy 2 piece puzzles for Avisha, she likes the sorters but with puzzles she ain't comfortable yet

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  30. totally agree with you! CAN'T WAIT TO Introduce it to my newphew

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  31. Wonderfully written Simrit. I too agree with you that we should introduce puzzles in an early age to Kids. In the world of mobiles and tablets, it's not more important to give them something physical to play with.

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  32. I STILL REMEMBER MY SON DOING THE VEHICLE PUZZLE FOR HIS KG INTERVIEW AND I WAS SURPRISED FOR I NEVER THOUGHT THAT HE COULD DO IT. HE EVEN TOLD ME THE NAMES

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  33. after reading this post one thing came in my mind. is puzzle also helps to adults to improve cognitive ability? if yes then I will immediately buy it :-)

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  34. Puzzles are really good for children to develop their cognitive skills. Your post is really useful for new parents. I'm going to send this to my friends with kids that age. :)

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  35. Puzzles are the best way to teach our kids alphabet, numbers, shapes, I remember I use to play with my kids in their toddler age :-)
    Nice post

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  36. Puzzles are a really good way to improve concentration. Practicing it all so develops a healthy competitive nature in a person. Learning it at an early age is a bonus point.

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  37. Puzzles are really good and help to grow your baby concentration and make them engaged in fun way.

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  38. What a crisp writing. Just to the point and exactly what benefits of puzzles. Loved reading it. And totally agree with your views.
    #damurureads #myfriendalexa urvashi
    www.damurucreations.com

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  39. I remember I used to love Sudoku puzzles when I was younger... Definitely puzzles enhances the brainstorming skills... Nicely composed post..

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  40. Well written researched in a better way with facts all over! You rocked

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  41. Such a well balanced and researched article dear. You solved a lot of my questions. Thank you.

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  42. Well written. Also I feel puzzles shld b introduced frm start as it also helps in mental development, hand eye coordination. My both kids by 3 were very good in solving puzzles. Wen they turned 2 I use to gve them 4 to 5 piece puzzles n gradually increased it to bigger ones

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  43. That's an I formative post. I personally lo e puzzles. Even today. And I have made it a point to introduce them to my kids from the very beginning. It is very good for concentration and problem solving and reasoning.

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  44. Thanks for sharing such crucial information.. Will bookmark it for ref

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  45. Wonderful write-up it is and Thank you for writing about this. Would definitely help the parents.

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  46. I also gave lots of puzzle games to my kids when they were young 🙂
    Nice write up.

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  47. My son loves puzzles and I agree with you it is an essential toy in their kit to help with overall growth of the child.
    Noor Anand Chawla

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