Puzzles, which are a classic for children of earlier age groups, come in a variety of types, materials, and levels of difficulty. For infants, easy-to-solvable puzzles that involve fitting two pieces together are ideal.
As children grow, puzzles with gradually increasing complexity can be introduced. Puzzles are also available with gradually more complexity for challenging children as they grow. Puzzle play is a great yet productive time that may help in building cognitive and fine motor skills.
In this informative blog post, we’re going to share the five most compelling benefits that children can gain by playing puzzle games.
Benefit #1 – Learn Spatial Vocabulary
As a caregiver, your role in guiding children through puzzle play is crucial. Using words such as turn, flip, and rotate while coaching children to fit puzzle pieces together can make them more learning-oriented and determined to meet their targets.
Children also learn words including above, below, and beside while describing the position of puzzle pieces related to each other.
Benefit #2 – Encourage them in Sequencing
There are so many puzzles, such as the iconic towers brick puzzle game in which the bricks or pieces are put together in sequence, which is highly important to get the desired outcomes. While playing puzzles, children continue to hear and learn the numbers in order and work indicating relative positions to maintain a sequence.
They are also motivated to retell the sequence in which they place the pieces together to enhance their understanding of sequencing further. As a result, children will become more organized in their everyday lives, too.
Benefit #3 – Gain Problem-Solving Abilities
As children fit the puzzle pieces together, they learn to solve the problem and reach a solution or to make the final product. They can set aside the pieces they want to put in the puzzle during their search for one that best fits the right spot. Puzzles that are particularly effective in developing problem-solving abilities include [insert example of a puzzle that requires problem-solving skills here].
Their mind will be boosted as there are several paths to do a puzzle over and over again until it is complete. When they play puzzles with their friends, they also describe their strategies to each other and go through difficulties collaboratively.
Benefit #4 – Complete their Tasks and Persist in Any Situation
The entire process of putting together the puzzle pieces has a finite end in the form of any picture or else when the puzzle is solved. When children can’t solve a puzzle easily, they get frustrated, and when they go through these emotions, they can complete their tasks more efficiently.
Children who cope with these feelings will be able to persist or remain resilient in case of any difficulty (even in their everyday lives). For instance, when faced with a challenging task at school, they might remember how they persevered through a difficult puzzle and apply the same determination to their schoolwork.
Benefit #5 – Develop Fine Motor and Hand-Eye Coordination Skills
As children move puzzle pieces in order to assemble them, they refine their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills. They’re developing tiny muscles in their hands, which allow them to grasp and move pieces of the puzzle with precision.
Puzzles that are particularly effective in developing these skills include [insert example of a puzzle that requires fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills here].