Solving Puzzles: Fun Brain Teasers For Kids

If you are looking into finding the most entertaining brain teasers for your kid, you should look for some interesting puzzles. You can start engaging your child with enjoyable and challenging activities, helping them develop their physical, cognitive, and emotional skills. Look for the best logic puzzles for kids and help them fall in love with them. This will also help with reducing screen time and it will definitely keep them busy for hours.

It is important to know the benefits of puzzles in early childhood development so that you can guide your kid in choosing the correct puzzle games for their age. Help them increase their attention span and make them logical thinkers. This will boost their mental growth in an amusing way. There are numerous games you can choose from, but remember to always look for the appropriate ones depending on the age and already developed skills. It’s always good to mention some of the benefits of playing with puzzles, but also give examples of other puzzle games that you might not have thought of.

Benefits of solving puzzles

Shape recognition and problem-solving skills

Problem-solving skills and shape recognition are as crucial as concentration skills. Toddlers, in particular, need to learn to distinguish between shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. For this purpose, jigsaw puzzles are the perfect fit because putting them together presents a basic problem. With the pieces all mixed up, it gives them a chance to acquire problem-solving skills so that they can assemble and organize those pieces.

Once they are older they can even solve more challenging problems such as 500 piece puzzles in all sorts of designs and colors. These are one of the most fun brain teasers for kids because having to connect more shapes will boost their brain function.

Concentration and motor development

Scientists say that young children have a very short attention span, most likely about a minute long. Experts say that your little one can be expected to concentrate for about 2-5 minutes times their age. For example, 4-year-olds’ attention might last 8-20 minutes. Puzzles are the perfect tool to build concentration in kids. You just have to choose the right puzzle depending on your child’s age. For toddlers, knobbed puzzles are the perfect fit.

Puzzles are also an enjoyable way for children to develop their motor skills. When they are playing with puzzles, children are required to pick up and grasp pieces to move them around and sort them so that they fit into the correct place. It will be tempting to step in and help your child, but it is best to leave them to practice on their own unless they ask for your help.

Language and memory

Whether your little one is a chatterbox or very quiet, kids can always benefit from hearing new words. Talking to them is a crucial moment for their language development, especially during their early years of life. For example, after you assemble a puzzle ask them questions such as pointing at the items with different colors or identifying objects, and so on.

Solving puzzles helps a lot with keeping your kid’s brain active and working. Kids are easily distracted, but puzzles might keep them busy. They sometimes tend to assemble the same puzzle over and over again, and they know exactly where to place the pieces. This is just a great way to boost their working memory.

Social skills

What better way to solve a puzzle than doing it with a friend? Assembling a jigsaw puzzle with someone might lead to conflict sometimes, but usually, it’s the most fun a kid can have. Whether it’s a friendly race, or just helping each other, it is an excellent practice for developing communication and cooperation skills.

When parents do puzzles with their children, it is always good to show new ways to play with puzzles and also model social skills. You can use polite language and courtesy words to ask for something such as a piece of the puzzle or ask them to suggest a helpful strategy. Later, they will use these skills when working with others.

Types of puzzles for kids

Other than jigsaw puzzles, there are other puzzle games considered fun brain teasers for kids. Some of them are:

• Crossword puzzles – this game involves letters that are randomly placed across the grids together with some clues to find the word. There is also another variation that involves word search where children simply look for the words instead of guessing them on their own.
• Sudoku – one of the oldest and most challenging mathematical games that children must play. It’s a combinatorial puzzle where numbers are placed in a 9 to 9 grid with 3 to 3 subgrids which makes each subgrid a combination of numbers from 1 to 9. You can find plenty of easy Sudoku sheets, but if it’s too difficult parents should help children to master the basics and also spend quality time together.
• Maze – this puzzle game is for various age groups, and kids always find it extremely amusing because it is addictive and interesting. This is one of those games that can keep your child busy for hours. Another good thing about this game is that it helps develop patience and concentration. Very useful in developing the cognitive thought processes of kids.
• Rubik’s cube – this is one of those timeless puzzle games fun for everyone. This is a highly recommended puzzle for every child. It improves hand-eye coordination and also attention span. It can also make your child more focused and smarter over time.

Final thoughts

The development of a child’s brain is genuinely important in the early life stages. We mentioned some of the most important benefits of playing puzzle games and also, the logic games we listed above are one of the best ways for brain development. Learning through games has always been entertaining for kids and we need to know how to implement them healthily. 

As jigsaw puzzles are one of those timeless games attractive for kids and also adults, it’s great to know that your kids will never be bored of playing it with you. It’s always better to solve logical puzzles than letting your kid be stuck in front of the computer with inappropriate games. Don’t forget that solving puzzles together is great for bonding, as well.