The puzzle, a complete activity
It is a calm, intelligent activity that teaches him patience and reflection. A child can do puzzles from 18 months. Our advice on how to choose them well.
Patience, concentration, reflection, precision … To catch each element and fit them into each other, your child must be skilled with his hands, have a good representation of space, demonstrate reflection and observation to deduce that such and such a piece fits into another and such a color is found on several pieces.
Puzzles are also methodical games. Watch your child turn the room in all directions, look at it and finally find it the right place: it’s a real job! Very quickly (and with your help at the start), it will spot the straight-edged pieces that form the frame. You can also make small piles together by color (the principle of classification). Finally, a calm activity, the puzzle is played alone or in pairs, and even with the family, later, around a puzzle of more than 200 pieces. It is also rewarding for children since it uses skills that have nothing to do with academic achievements.
What puzzle at what age?
From 18 months, wooden recessed puzzles
As soon as your child knows how to use the forceps (bringing the thumb and forefinger together), he can use these puzzles. They have a round wooden tip to grip the piece, a pre-cut shape (a car, an animal, a character) that he must replace in the corresponding shape of the board.
Around 2 and a half years old, real cardboard puzzles
Choose a model with a frame comprising large pieces (about ten at the beginning) that you will gradually increase.
Around 3 years, up to 20-30 pieces
You will quickly notice, some children love this assembly activity on which they concentrate until its final realization. Obviously, the more they devote themselves to it, the more dexterity they acquire. You will increase the number of coins based on his previous successes. Also think about floor puzzles, these huge pieces that will make a nice rug in his room.
It should be noted : Do not be concerned about the risk of suffocation. In fact, the recessed parts and buttons meet safety standards and are large enough that your little one can easily grab them and not ingest them.
Practical advice
The puzzles are still missing pieces after a few days of use. To avoid losing items, upon purchase, write a recognizable and different sign on the back of each piece: M for a Martine puzzle for example, B for Babar, etc. When you find a lost part in its room, you will immediately know where it came from. In addition, if you want to keep a puzzle of your child, know that there are special glues that are spread on the surface of the game like a varnish. All you have to do is hang them on the wall like a painting!