How To Choose The Perfect Puzzle for Your Child

When you search online for puzzles, you're overwhelmed by the numerous options. Do you prefer an 18-piece puzzle or a 26-piece one? Do you prefer 26 pieces? How about the topic? Could a puzzle of planets be appropriate?

As with all purchases it's not easy to select the best puzzle mats. There is a chance that your child won't enjoy the educational toy when it's not right for them. You could make your child hate it and they will not attempt to solve the puzzle over and over again.

Imagine handing a two-year-old a 100-piece puzzle. The toddler would not know what to do. The reason is that the majority of toddlers are too young to have the fine motor skills, concentration and the cognitive abilities required to tackle such a complex puzzle.

The right level of difficulty is essential to choose a puzzle that's appropriate for children of any age. The kid's safety and interests are also important. How can you do this?

Here are some things to think about that can help you narrow down your search so that you can find the perfect puzzle for your youngster.

Puzzle Type

While there is a wide variety of different types of puzzles it boils down to two major categories: inset and jigsaw puzzles.

Inset puzzles are usually constructed from wood, and occasionally foam. They are made up of big and bulky pieces that don't interlock in the way that jigsaw puzzles do. In addition each puzzle comes with a frame or tray that the pieces can fit into. The most popular instances of this are the peg and knob puzzles, however, there are also large puzzles without knobs.

Unlike the inset type that are inset, Jigsaw puzzles come with interlocking pieces and are available in a variety of sizes and difficulty levels. Frame and floor puzzles are the most common kinds of jigsaws.

Number of Pieces

Imagine a 6-year-old solving a 9-piece frame puzzle. They'll be able to complete it in less than one minute. However the 400-piece puzzle would be far beyond their capabilities.

This shows how important the quantity of pieces included in the puzzle is for children's ability to solve it. When choosing the right puzzles to help little ones, the quantity of pieces are crucial.

Topic

Puppies, an ocean scene or a gorgeous landscape cartoon characters, are only some of the themes you might see on a puzzle. While one child might be enthralled by the puzzle that features a famous unicorn, a different child may hate it.

Children may find motivation from a picture that is simple and clear. In fact, it can even inspire your child to complete the puzzle that's above their usual level of difficulty.

Size of Pieces

There are various sizes of puzzle pieces. As a general rule, the younger the child, the bigger pieces you need to look for.

More substantial, heavier pieces are easier for little hands to move and put together as is often the case with foam puzzles.

In addition, you might have noticed puzzles sporting tags that read 3+ or similar. It is basically saying that the puzzle store is intended only for children who are 3 and over. Because small pieces of food can cause chokes in babies and toddlers who love to put food items into their mouths.

Material

Puzzles are made from cardboard, wood and foam. Cardboard warps and tears easily particularly when it's not of high quality, which can be a problem for children to play with as the pieces do not remain in place.

Foam can be more easy to lock and keep in place when compared to cardboard, however they're not suggested for children due to the possible danger of choking from the small pieces.

As previously mentioned that wooden puzzles are typically frames or inset puzzles, which are perfect for children who are younger. However, as a general rule it is recommended that wooden toys be inspected before being given to children as they can be dangerous if their edges aren't sanded properly.

Image Type

From photos to drawings cartoons, drawings, and much more, the picture in a puzzle can play a big part in the puzzle's appeal and difficulty level.

For instance, images that contain a lot of foliage can create very difficult puzzles because many of the pieces look alike. A jigsaw puzzle with an image of a graphic with 3 colorful animals is much simpler to piece together.

Puzzle Shape

The majority of jigsaw puzzles are rectangular shaped and feature classic interlocking pieces. However, some may come in unique shapes related to the topic of puzzle store or contain irregularly shaped pieces. A puzzle that features the outline of a butterfly or a t-rex might be something you have seen. Puzzles based off of the US map have pieces that take the form of individual states.