Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles!

​     Lights, beeps, dings, buzzes. That’s what the toy aisle seems to abound with these days though to be honest, that’s what grabs a child’s attention, isn’t it? But how long until the novelty wears off? Do these toys actually support child development or are they just a temporary diversion? Parents can go broke during this time of gift giving what with all of these electronic gadgets and gizmos, but for an inexpensive, time-honored gift that aids in development, consider the classic jigsaw puzzle. Puzzles are great for all ages and com in a variety of sizes and shapes, from floor puzzles with large pieces that are easy for little hands to manipulate to 18,000 piece goliaths with teeny tiny pieces that will take days to complete.
For little ones puzzles:

• assist with fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as children pick up pieces and turn them to fit into place
• assist in building cognitive and problem solving skills through piecing together the picture by matching colors and shapes
• assist in focus and patience
• assist in building confidence and independence

     Puzzles also reward one with a sense of accomplishment when that last piece is finally put into place to reveal the completed picture. Let children then take them apart and start all over again for repetition aids in memory and the little ones will love that they can tackle more difficult puzzles on their own after working them with an adult several times over. Also, turn puzzle time into a family activity. Getting the whole family involved will foster strong bonds and relationships, encourage older children to assist their younger siblings and make memories that will last. I can still remember winter nights from my childhood with a fire warming the house, tasty hot chocolate in hand and the whole family gathered around the coffee table working on a 1,000 piece American folk art puzzle (such as those by Jane Wooster Scott and Art Poulin). Those were always such calm, relaxing evenings.

​My two year old daughter loves building puzzles together and even on her own. “I can do it all by myself,” is one of her favorite phrases when working on a puzzle that we have tackled together several times already and upon completion of one puzzle she is immediately onto the next, “How about my tower puzzle next?” Floor puzzles are always a winner with her and I consider the size, design and shape when choosing new puzzles, not the age on the box. Simple puzzles can be fun for her to accomplish on her own and puzzles with more or smaller pieces are a wonderful bonding time when we work on them together. Our favorite brand of floor puzzles has been Crocodile Creek. The pieces are thick, fit together smoothly and many of their puzzles come in unique shapes, like my daughter's favorite princess tower puzzle that is 48" tall! So gift your child this holiday with a captivating puzzle, open it up, cop a squat and exercise your brain with your little one!

Happy puzzling!

-Kate from BTBL

---