You want play time for your baby which will also help them to grow, right? In a moment, you’ll be finding all the verified information about how effective puzzles for baby development truly are! If your baby is 6-12 months old, you can hand them knob puzzles to solve. Just simply building strategies in their brain to complete the puzzle will improve their problem-solving skills. In this article you will read to know the importances of puzzles for babies.
Can you believe it? Your little one who now seems so dependent on you will be finding a bunch of ways to fit in the pieces. They did it! One puzzle is completed, and they are feeling positive about themselves. They begin to feel they can accomplish any complex task.
In This Article
- Why Are Puzzles Important For Babies?
- When Should You Introduce Puzzles to Your Baby?
- Top 3 Developmental Benefits of Puzzles For Babies
- What Skills Do Babies Pick Up From Solving Puzzles?
- FAQ’s
Why Are Puzzles Important For Babies?
Puzzles can be a very fruitful pastime for your little one. They challenge your baby to use their brain power. And thus, babies who play puzzles develop problem-solving abilities. Not only that, they build hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills while fitting the puzzle pieces.
When Should You Introduce Puzzles to Your Baby?
Introduce your baby to the joy of solving puzzles when they are about 6-9 months old or can sit. Babies, at this age, will find knob puzzles very exciting. For instance, a board and multiple pieces of a puzzle where in each piece, a picture of an entire animal or bird is printed. Such types of puzzles for baby development should be used because they can’t yet control their finger movements.
Top 3 Developmental Benefits of Puzzles For Babies
The things that your baby will be learning by solving puzzles will shape their brain in many wonderful ways:
1. Self Esteem
The final piece goes right into the space of the puzzle. What a great triumph for your baby! Hug them, cuddle them. Tell them ‘you did it!’ They will develop self-esteem and an attitude that they can complete any difficult task.
2. Concentration
A 6 to 12-month-old baby can concentrate on anything for around 1 minute. When your baby gets absorbed in figuring out ways to fit the right piece in the right place, their ability to focus sharpens as well as increases. For babies of this age, Knob puzzles will offer just the right amount of challenge to keep them engaged.
3. Persistence
Your baby solved a puzzle once. And now they are trying to solve another one. It’s challenging! They’re going through the flow of emotions – anger, frustration, feeling like quitting. But they crave that sense of accomplishment that they felt once. This way, they build a persistent attitude to keep going, no matter the difficulty.
[Read : When Will My Baby Develop The Pincer Grasp?]
What Skills Do Babies Pick Up From Solving Puzzles?
You’ll be amazed to see how a simple activity of solving puzzles can improve your baby’s skills in different aspects:
1. Fine Motor Skills and Hand-Eye Coordination
They are hunting for the right puzzle pieces with their eyes. It’s found, and they manipulate it with their hands and make it sit in the right place. Their hand-eye coordination builds, and small muscles start to form in their hands and fingers to grasp things properly.
[Read : Baby’s Fine Motor Skill Development]
2. Spatial Awareness
While playing with their favorite toy car, they rush towards a toy bride, to make it pass from under it. You’re able to judge that the bridge is too small for the car to fit in. But by the time your infant could judge it, they had to bump into the bride. This skill of judging the relation between objects and our bodies is spatial awareness. And it grows with solving puzzles.
3. Problem-Solving
The success of any person is based on their ability to solve problems. Your little one has a problem right in front of them in the form of a challenging puzzle. They begin to create their own strategies, using their creativity. If a piece is found, another piece will fit right near it. So, they keep it close to them. And they may even find that the puzzle can be completed in many different ways.
You should intervene less while they think, if you want puzzles to contribute to your baby’s development. Show them how it’s done in the beginning, then just tell them how to do it in between, and finally, just watch. Still, sometimes they may need your assistance if the puzzle is new or too difficult.
FAQ’s
1. What Learning Outcomes Can Be Achieved Through Puzzles For Babies?
Research studies reveal that puzzles benefit babies in areas of problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, memory skills, and so on.
2. When Should a Baby be Able to Do a Puzzle?
Babies who are 6-9 months old are ready to start with one-piece puzzles.
3. How Do I Introduce My Baby to a Puzzle?
Fit in all pieces and show your baby how all the pieces together make the picture complete. Now, take out a piece, and tell them to place it again. They’ll understand how it works. Do it again, now take two pieces out of the whole, and you get the knack of it.
Read Also: Busy Boards For Babies – How it Helps in Baby’s Development
