While toy manufacturers are consistently coming up with new toys every so often, some toys are classics. One of those is a box of jigsaw puzzles. It may be a simple toy, but there’s no denying how it’s a staple in almost every home playroom and school.
Many things happen simultaneously when a child is presented with a jigsaw puzzle set. There’s their glee and zest to try their hardest to complete the photo. While trying to do so, their mind also processes critical and analytical thinking skills, among other brain functions that help with development. It’s a toy that keeps children busy, but in a good way.
That said, here are five compelling reasons why jigsaw puzzles are a great toy for your kids to foster a fun and exciting playtime and their development. These should convince you to grab a few pieces for your child from the largest selection of jigsaw puzzles anywhere!
- It Helps Build Their Spatial Vocabulary
Spatial vocabulary refers to words like above, below, besides, flip, and turn, among others. These are used to refer to the position of objects in a defined space or area concerning other surrounding objects.
When children play with puzzles, spatial vocabulary is developed, particularly when trying to solve the puzzle with other children. They use those words to help them position the puzzles in the right place, so all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly.
- It Helps Young Children Concentrate And Focus
One of the common problems with young children nowadays is the lack of focus. Those with quite a lengthy screen time particularly suffer from this, given that everything on videos is fast-paced. Kids lose their ability to focus when, with a single click, they can change videos as often as they want to, when what they’re watching no longer sparks their interest.
That’s why parents can’t go wrong with tried-and-tested toys like jigsaw puzzles. When your child sits for a long time to try their best and form the puzzle, they develop focus and concentration. Their attention span is increased, something that’s highly necessary to prep them for long hours of sitting in school and listening to their teacher.
- It Improves Motor And Hand-Eye Coordination
Another skill young children have to develop is motor and hand-eye coordination. They can learn this when solving jigsaw puzzles as they’re placed in that position where they have to handle the small pieces and put them in the proper place.
Holding big objects isn’t a problem for many young children. It only becomes trickier when they have to deal with smaller objects as their fingers may not have developed fine motor skills yet.
Young children are, however, like sponges. They can learn that through play, both indoors and outdoors, particularly through dealing with the small pieces of the puzzle they’re forming. Thus, make use of those summer activities to help your child’s development and get them ready for a new school year up ahead.
- It Encourages Your Kids To Find Various Solutions To Problems
There isn’t only one way to solve a problem. And, as young as they are, it can benefit children significantly when their analytical thinking is consistently tested. They have to find multiple solutions to a problem just in case the first one they thought about fails.
It’s what young children get to learn through solving puzzles. There are multiple ways to finish the puzzle, like going in a horizontal or vertical direction. Perhaps some would like to start from the top, while others from the bottom. It doesn’t matter how your child goes about with it, as long as they think of what they should do to complete the picture.
Even early in their lives, young children need to learn to find solutions to problems they face to bring with them throughout adulthood. It builds their resilience, whereby you’re confident your child will be a functional adult that knows how to fend for themselves rather than give up after failing to find a solution once.
- It Boosts Your Child’s Confidence
Parents need to boost their child’s confidence, a character they can take with them as they go through even more hardships in life. When your child is confident, you can rest assured that they will be able to find their way.
For young children, there’s nothing like the sense of pride and accomplishment they feel when they complete a puzzle. It gives them the notion wherein if they keep going and don’t give up, they’ll be able to achieve whatever task they’re going to face with. In this case, a simple puzzle will help.
Conclusion
There’s nothing like that satisfaction and feeling of victory for young children after putting on that final puzzle piece. On top of that sense of accomplishment, your child has also already gone through so many facets of their brain that are crucial for their development. And next time you take your kids’ toy shopping, you may want to pause through the puzzles section and start selecting a few sets. Thus, don’t skip over to other toys which you think may be better. Jigsaw puzzles are oldies but always a goodie for kids and kids at heart.
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