Even with all of the technological gadgets that children have to entertain them, the jigsaw puzzle has withstood the test of time as a fun and satisfying game to complete. Many children still enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles, and many parents love watching their child work at something earnestly. Here are X reasons why children and parents alike love jigsaw puzzles.
Jigsaw Puzzles Teach Children Patience
Whether it is a simple 10 piece puzzle for young children or a 6000 piece masterwork. There is a jigsaw puzzle for whatever your patience level and ambitions are. A puzzle, regardless of size, must be completed piece by piece. Sometimes pieces don’t fit or children run into roadblocks just like anyone else when trying to complete a puzzle. As the puzzle grows larger relative to the child’s age and abilities, the child will have to learn to set smaller goals and patience in approaching solving the puzzle.
Problem Solving Abilities are Honed with Puzzles
Solving a jigsaw puzzle is a purely cognitive task—the most basic one in some sense. When setting about to solve a puzzle, a child will have to assess various aspects of the pieces to decide if they fit or not. The problem-solving aspects of jigsaw puzzles boil down to three core skills:
a. Shape Recognition – This one is the most apparent. Does the piece match the shape of the missing spot; does it have the appropriate color or image that matches the rest of the puzzle? This one is up to your child if they’re coloring in one of our hit Compoz-A-Puzzle products!
b. Memory – Memory is an important aspect of problem-solving in general. For puzzles, children will get ample memory exercise by trying to keep different images and their corresponding puzzle shapes in mind when they hit roadblocks. If a piece doesn’t fit, the child has to set it aside and remember it when the time comes to use it.
c. Fine Motor Skills – It may seem simple to adults, but children clicking puzzle pieces into place and handling the piece get them accustomed to manipulating objects in the physical world with their hands. Puzzles are a great way for children to work on solving a physical problem and expressing their minds through their actions.
Puzzles Teach Children Strategy
Even if it’s the same puzzle that is broken up, reused and mixed up, children can make games of trying to solve the puzzle faster or more easily. Part of completing a task is trying to do it more efficiently each time. Jigsaw puzzles can encourage children to ponder better strategies for completing the puzzle than just picking up random pieces and putting them together. They might choose to initially sort the pieces in a certain way, or perhaps they will work along the border of the puzzle first and then fill the insides out (this is a common strategy).
They Give Your Kid Confidence
The great thing about jigsaw puzzles is that through a combination of cognitive effort and just pure hard work, anyone can complete the puzzle. Having worked hard on their puzzle, a child can gain a sense of confidence and satisfaction from looking at the completed product. These are the critical building blocks to the necessary self-reliance that often snowballs into greater and greater successes.
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