How To Choose Your Child’s First Cardboard Jigsaw Puzzle

Buying jigsaw puzzles for your child is an excellent idea. A jigsaw puzzle is that rare combination of fun toy and educational toy in rolled into one. Not many presents are equally appropriate for children to play with on their own or with others, but a jigsaw puzzle is suitable for a child to do by themselves or with friends. It enhances physical and mental attributes like hand-eye coordination, mental concentration and of course . . . promotes determination.

Sturdy puzzles made of wood are best for toddlers and pre-school children, but the vast majority of children 5 and over should be able to handle cardboard pieces without doing themselves or the jigsaw puzzle any damage.

Disney and fairytale characters hold timeless appeal for youngsters, as of course will jigsaw puzzles featuring characters from the latest TV craze, or bestselling children’s book.
When buying a child’s first ‘proper’ jigsaw puzzle it’s important to choose something with just the right amount of pieces, so it will engage them without frustrating them. Around 50 pieces is ideal for 5-year-old.

Jigsaw puzzles are good for enhancing a child’s self-esteem, as he wrestles with what at first might seem like a complicated problem. When he finds himself solving that tricky problem and moving on to more sophisticated arrangements, his confidence improves.

Working with others to complete jigsaw puzzles is an excellent way of instilling team- building qualities in youngsters and you can find many examples and buy jigsaw puzzles online.

Ideally it’s handy to build up a library of different types of jigsaw puzzles: varying shapes and subjects so your child will remain keen and interested.

When starting your child off on their first few puzzles, guide them to look for the border pieces first, before working on the ‘body’ of the picture. You can also encourage them to match colours together. It may be tempting if you’re sitting alongside your child, to keep diving in and trying to correct mistakes. Once the child has grasped what is required to complete the jigsaw puzzle picture, really it’s far better to resist interfering and allow them to find out what goes where. That way, they’ll feel a greater sense of achievement when they slot in that last piece and they’ll be more likely to want to move to the next stage – something even more challenging.

It’s often a fine line between gently coaxing a child so they don’t get frustrated when the pieces don’t fit straight away, but equally it’s vital not to hog the puzzle else they’ll feel redundant. Working on jigsaw puzzles together, encouraging your child and celebrating their successes can be a wonderful bonding experience for both child and parent.