Jigsaw Puzzle Games Help Kids Develop Cognitive Skills
Author: Joe Kanooga
A jigsaw puzzle can provide long-lasting entertainment and numerous benefits of
promoting the cognitive development of children of all ages.
Puzzle solving activities can start at very early ages and continue as children
get older. There are puzzles designed just for toddlers, with large wooden puzzle
pieces or other durable puzzle games. For toddlers and preschool kids, solving a
jigsaw puzzle helps improve basic skills such as hand-eye coordination because it
requires the child to manipulate relatively small objects and to place those objects
in specific places.
The benefits can continue into preteen, teen, and adult years with more challenging
puzzles that require more advanced coordination as well as other benefits. As kids
get older, they can advance to more challenging puzzles, which include a larger
number of smaller pieces and more complex color patterns. For older kids, solving
puzzle games can help develop analytical skills, communication and collaboration,
logic and attention to details.
Puzzle games also improve a child’s spatial skills. Solving a jigsaw puzzle
requires the child to visualize a puzzle piece, and then to mentally rotate the
puzzle piece up to 360 degrees to find that piece’s accurate fit. This forces
the child to move away from concrete thoughts and into a realm of abstract thoughts.
He has to imagine the results of an action (in this case, the results of rotating
a puzzle piece) not unlike a game of chess.
Puzzle solving improves a child’s problem-solving and reasoning skills. The
child is repeatedly presented with a problem while solving a jigsaw puzzle: how
to make a particular piece fit into the overall puzzle. He will have to evaluate
the shape of the puzzle as well as any colors or patterns presented on the puzzle,
relative to the other pieces on the game board. He may have to flip or rotate the
piece to make it fit. In some cases, he may have to flip or rotate the piece several
times before he finds its place in the puzzle. Successfully solving this problem
can give children the confidence to attempt more challenging puzzles.
A less-often recognized cognitive benefit of jigsaw puzzles is the picture on the
puzzle. For example, solving a puzzle with a picture of the United States will familiarize
a child with the geography of the United States. Jigsaw puzzles can also familiarize
a child with a scene from history or literature. There is a great variety of puzzles
available today making it easier than ever to find ones with an educational theme
that appeals to your child. Themes include horse breeds, astronomy, trains, bible
stories and more. Even text printed over a puzzle picture is learned particularly
well, as a child is often required to study and read the final picture and the individual
pieces repeatedly in order to solve the puzzle.
Often, solving a jigsaw puzzle will spark an interest in other types of problem-solving
tasks and puzzle games, such as crosswords or word puzzles. However, the cognitive
benefits of jigsaws alone cannot be discounted. These skills will overlap into many
other areas of the child’s life.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/board-games-articles/jigsaw-puzzle-games-help-kids-develop-cognitive-skills-1420294.html
About the Author
Joe Kanooga is a father of two kids, a successful business owner and the author
of numerous articles about
jigsaw puzzle. Click here to download our free
puzzle games guidebook filled with tips, ideas and information.