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Mommy Tip #12 – Developing a Puzzles Enthusiast.

ByMarina Posted on Updated on

This post contains editorial samples and/or affiliate links to products I recommend. While this adds no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission on any sales made.

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Bunny girl loves jigsaw puzzles. Once she starts doing one, she just needs to do the rest and what I love to see is her little frame sitting on her alphabet mat, crouching over the pieces, slowly and meticulously putting the puzzle together.

She was introduced to her first puzzles when she was 2 and a half, when her Gran bought her a set of 4 large sized 9 piece wooden puzzles. At the time she was an Elmo fan and the very fact that one puzzle had an Elmo and the other had Abby Cadabby, was enough motivation to try and put the pieces together. From then onwards there has been no stopping her! By the time she turned 3 this March she was able to do 24 piece puzzles easily and 48 piece puzzles with a little assistance. Today the 48 piece puzzles are on the “I can do it by myself” list and the new Super Why 60 piece puzzle she got needs a little assistance on and off, depending on whether she wants to attempt it on her own or not.As parents we’ve learnt that puzzles have helped develop Bunny girl in various areas.
Doing puzzles has helped Bunny girl

  • Improve hand-eye coordination skills
  • Develop Analytical skills
  • Nurture patience
  • Build up persistence and
  • Realize feelings of accomplishment

I strongly advocate introducing jigsaw puzzles to your child when they are young. You can start with wooden peg puzzles. Melissa and Doug have an excellent collection of peg puzzles and you can get these at Amazon.com, ToysRUs or even your local Educational Toy Outlets.

I will not advocate any ‘must start by’ age as it honestly depends from child to child. As a parent and a person who knows your little one the best, you would know when your child is ready to sit down to try these out. Personally I say 2 is a good age to test the waters with peg puzzles.

When you see these are getting easier to do, slowly advance them to the next level. Go at their pace and never force or push your child to sit down and do a puzzle. It takes the joy out of the entire activity and may just keep your child away from puzzles all together.

I remember when Bunny girl was just learning her ABCs, we got her this peg puzzle and it not only challenged her to get the letters into the right pockets but it also taught her the alphabets in the right order as well as identify objects by the alphabets they started with.
So lets develop mini puzzle enthusiasts! Remember when you do, you’re not only helping accelerate and shape your child’s overall development but you’re also spending some quality time with your child, doing puzzles with him/her.

Check out this link. It has a few articles on how to introduce jigsaw puzzles to your child.

Marina is a grateful, South Texas-based mom of two daughters and a son (an 18-year-old, 13-year-old and 10-year-old). Her husband, of 22 years, is her best friend and biggest cheerleader. The family loves soccer, basketball, their sweet rescue pup Jingle, good food and traveling!

What tides her through each day? A hot cup of cardamom chai, God's Faithfulness and Philippians 4:13!

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