Puzzles can be, well, puzzling – especially for young children who are relatively new to problem-solving. Still, you may find yourself surprised at how engaged Baby becomes when presented with a new puzzle, and impressed by their ability to complete the task. And unlike Baby’s other interests right now, doing puzzles is an activity the two of you can start doing together now, but you might still like to do together for years as they grow.
Puzzles at Baby’s skill-level right now generally have large, wooden pieces that are easy to manipulate, and a lot of them fit into one specific spot on the puzzle board. One of the best parts about puzzles is how many there are to choose from, so you can start by picking one that matches Baby’s interests – if Baby is an animal lover, there’s sure to be a barnyard puzzle nearby with their name on it.
Puzzles aren’t just fun, though – they can also help them work on problem-solving, matching (which is an early math skill) and coordination. If Baby’s interest in puzzles grows, you’ll find plenty of variety from numbers to colors to letters to themes, and as their puzzle library grows, their vocabulary will grow with it.
