Jigsaw puzzles are important learning and development tool for kids. Besides being engaging, they have many benefits that helps aid your child’s development.
- HABA Town Maze Magnetic Puzzle Game: For ages 2 to 5.
- ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run Brain Game: For Ages 8+ years.
- Dimension – 3D Strategy Puzzle Game from Kosmos: For 1-4 Players. Ages 8 and up.
- Coogam Wooden Hexagon Puzzle for kids and adults: Great for kids as well as adults.
- Quick Pucks, Pattern Matching Puzzle Game: Ages 8 and up
- Fanwer Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle Table (1500 Pieces) for adults: Comes with drawers and legs, can also be used as reading table, card game table.
Benefits of Puzzle Pieces Building
When kids play with puzzles, they learn useful skills such as:
- Physical skills – by holding the puzzle pieces and turning them around to see how to fit
- Cognitive Skills – through problem-solving
- Emotional Skills – they learn to be more patient
Puzzles can also be messy, especially if your kids are not yet trained to keep things back in its place; it can be irritating to constantly pick up those tiny pieces lying scattered on the bed or on the floor and keep things back in its place.
But as mentioned, there have their benefits as well. I have bought several Jigsaw puzzle games for my 4-year old son. It’s a great way to keep him engaged for half an hour or so (without giving him the smartphone or the tablet), while I get the household chores done.
More Benefits of puzzles for kids:
- It increases their problem-solving abilities
- Kids are required to focus and the eye and hand coordination comes into place.
- Visual awareness is increased and they learn more about shapes, environment and so on.
- Makes them alert and increases their concentration.
- Good distraction from watching television or playing games on the smartphone
- Solving jigsaw puzzles is also good for senior people; reduces chances of memory loss, Alzheimer’s, dementia and other such problems.
Types of Puzzles
Here are the different kinds of puzzles that are available for kids, some of these have to be played online.
Kids Jigsaw Puzzles
Various shaped pieces that you need to put together to form the puzzle
Kids Block Puzzles
Block sized pieces which you need to put together in order to form the puzzle.
Crossword Puzzles
A popular puzzle in which, based on the clues provided, you complete the words crossing vertically and horizontally.
Kids Dot-to-dot puzzles / Cartoon Line Puzzles
Joint the numbered dots or lines to form the picture.
Shape Puzzles
Use the correct shapes and place it on the missing parts of the picture in order to complete the picture.
Kids Wordsearch Puzzles
Puzzle in which the child has to find hidden words hidden within the cluster of letters.
Kids Hangman Game
Word guessing game, wherein you draw an arm, leg, head or torso of a stick figure hanging from gallows for every incorrect guess.
Kids Spot the differences
A popular puzzle in which the child has to look at two pictures carefully and and spot the differences between the two.
Find the Differences – Animals: This puzzle has two pictures of animals and you have to spot the differences.
Kids Mosaic Puzzles
Use color and shape to form one of the several pre designed pictures.
Animal Mosaics
A variant of the Mosaic puzzle in which you form a mosaic of an animal.
Kids Sudoku 9×9
A puzzle in which you insert one to nine numbers in a grid consisting of nine squares
Animal Sudoku 6×6
A variation in which you use pictures of animals in the grids.
Kids Memory Game
Puzzles to test a child’s memory
Laqbyrinth
This is a maze game/puzzle wherein you have to find the way to get to the other side of the maze.
Back to School Links is another type of maze game.
Kids Search Puzzle
Online Puzzle wherein, you need to search for certain patterns within the given picture.
Farm animals Search Puzzle
A variant of the search puzzle, you find certain patterns in the farm animal picture provided.
Hidden School Icons
Find the items (that you use in school) from the stack of products.
Coded Words – Back to School: A puzzle in which you find the hidden word based on the letters assigned to each school item.
Kids Swap Puzzle
Online Puzzle wherein, you need to keep on swapping two blocks till you form the correct picture.
Swap Rows Puzzle
You keep on swapping the row until you find the correct pattern.
Mix Puzzles
In this puzzle, you drag the columns to their respective positions to create the correct picture.
Kids Turn Puzzle
Online Puzzle wherein, you can click a block to turn it, you keep tuning all the blocks till they form the correct picture.
Circle Puzzles
In this puzzle, you rotate the circles till the picture is ok again.
Clutter
Drag the matching figures on top of each other (you can make room by moving pictures from the center)
Online Coloring
Just color the various shapes, designs as per the color of your choice.
Buying puzzle games
When buying puzzle-boards or puzzle pieces games, do consider the age of your child. The ones for toddlers and the younger kids usually have fewer and bigger pieces so that they are able to handle those pieces comfortable. These also let you make things that are comparatively easier to make.
I clearly remember that I had got an 8-piece jigsaw puzzle for my 4-year old that would let the child make 4 things – hot air balloon, helicopter and two types of places. For a long time, he could just do the hot air-balloon; it took him a few good months to learn to make all those 4 things.
It was indeed satisfying to see his progress over the months. And once he could make all the patterns, it was a god way to keep him occupied for 20 minutes, or so, because once he started playing with it, he would complete all the 4 patterns and then stop. Of course, he would show those to me and wait for my appreciation.
Puzzles for the older kids can be complex and can come with many more pieces (easily a few hundred).
Puzzle games also serve as great gift items for small kids. You can use these as return gifts or to distribute to kids during your family get-together.
Funtoyworld is a family-managed website with me (Ben), and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing toys. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical suggestions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.
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