There are heaps and heaps of puzzles out there. Many companies only sell puzzles and do well but how do you know which one is a good buy or which is the best for my child?
Firstly, puzzles are great for the imagination, creativity and logic. They also create a medium for conversation and language building. Doing simple tasks correctly at an early age gives the child success. Putting a few pieces together will bring confidence in their own abilities. There are different types of puzzles depending on your child’s age.
The very first type is cubes with pictures on them. Here the toddler learns that a picture can be made by putting pieces together. Cubes make it easy to create logic and make the first type of understanding about puzzles. The wooden cubes are simple and involve one type of thought process: make a picture. The pictures should perhaps be what the toddler is learning to sound or speak . Nothing too complicated. Pictures of farmyard animals is usually best.
The next step is to put one, two or three pieces together that resemble actual puzzles pieces. This adds another dimension to puzzle building: make a picture and to make the pieces fit. Here again, keep to simple pictures and ones that your toddler can recognise.
After this you need to build up to more and more piece puzzles. All the time he/she will need your guidance: How to put them together? Why did you think this piece goes with that piece? Wha
t is in the picture and then to talk about the pictures. Encourage your child to talk about what he/she is thinking while you watch or interact. This will build self esteem and one-to-one time with your child. Children love it when their parents are praising them and helping them with activities. It will encourage him/her to do more and say more and help you create experiences together. Here are 3 great puzzles that have pieces just the right size to put the pictures together but has enough to challenge your child. These are called “Beneath our city / country / seaside” and are all available at www.GreenOwlToys.co.uk. It also has a few things that are easy for parents to talk about but will open your child’s eyes to the world around us.