Publikované dňa: 17.02.2022
Author: Puzzle Mania (PuzzleMania) Slovakia
We often buy the first children's puzzles for kids right after birth.
The first ones are usually floor puzzles. The child does not use them in any way to compose. It is even necessary to choose ones that do not have any small pieces that a child could put in his mouth or nose. Moms love so called EVA foam floor puzzles. They are warm and nowadays they often replace the missing carpet in the household. Cold floor and tiles are not suitable for a baby at all. On the floor puzzle, the child can lie under the crossbar with the first hanging toys, crawl, climb, or sit down to his favorite toys for the first time.
Later, children with more complex floor puzzles are the winners. They consist of simple pictures, letters or numbers. You don't have to wait up to three years to use them. Only watch out for those with extra small particles. But better not to be afraid, it is usually easy to teach the child not to put them in his or hers mouth.
Simple foam puzzles and picture cubes
Another precursor to the smallest puzzles are picture cubes. You can start with a magnetic one with only three pieces, later switch to a classic one with nine, then with twelve dice. However, you will also come across foam puzzle - either with the pictures themselves or in the form of a book. They are loved by children from the age of two. The easiest ones are with four pieces, the more complicated ones consists of more. If a child likes puzzle at this level, they will be probably loyal to puzzle later too.
What affects the difficulty of the puzzle?
Even though we at first think mainly about the number of pieces of the puzzle, the truth is only partial. It depends on the total number of pieces, but it is also good to assess the complexity of the design itself. Especially with puzzles for children, it is important that the child does not confuse repeating parts of the picture. Certainly, the color design is essential, which should guide you to the correct folding. Also pay attention to the quality of the material. Children need thicker and more resistant cardboard without peeling edges. The difficulty is also determined by the different contours of the image, the availability of the preview, the shape of the individual pieces and other features of the puzzle.
The age for the real puzzle begins at three years
The children puzzles consist of the smallest ones, often made of foam, puzzles in books and wooden 2D puzzles made of a relatively small number of pieces. It's the perfect age to get your 4in1 puzzle. The child usually immediately masters the easiest puzzle with the smallest number of pieces in the largest size. They will definitely want to try even the more difficult ones. For you, this means that you don't have to run right away with an unclear result to buy new ones. You already have them at home, in one box, and maybe your child will surprise you that he will jump to a higher level out of nowhere. However, 99% will need you to help them. It is definitely not an independent game at this age.
The first independent folding from 4 years
At about the age of four, a child puts together a simpler puzzle, but if you help, he or she is able to move to a higher level quickly. Itis useful being at hand when they do not know what to do next. And of course, they mainly need puzzles with themes that they enjoy. At this age, the child disassembles the puzzles and reassembles them repeatedly. So we do not need to glue and display them as images.
Puzzle by age
Although it is always individual and depends on the development of each child, it is certainly possible to at least determine which puzzles are suitable for a particular age of the child. The minimum age for classic cardboard puzzles is 3 years. This is also for security reasons. At this age, manufacturers usually recommend puzzles of 4 to 10 pieces. But the truth is that a child can handle even more. For the age of 4 years, 24 pieces are recommended, five year olds can make up 54 to 80 pieces. 70 to 120 pieces are recommended for six year olds, up to 260 pieces for eight year olds and 500 pieces for nine year olds. Then it depends on the child when he dares to put together 1000 or puzzle 2000 and larger.
Let me remind you once again that it is not just the number of pieces. These gradually decrease with higher and higher levels, which again makes folding more difficult. We often find tricks in the motif itself. You must not discourage smaller children and it is definitely good to move from simpler puzzles to more complex ones.
Don't forget to put together puzzles
Puzzles for older children and puzzles for adults from about 1000 pieces are definitely good to put together with tools. Such large works are not composed at once, but with breaks. It is also necessary to consistently sort the individual pieces. Therefore, a special system for sorting puzzle pieces is suitable, as well as a pad for assembling them. Thanks to it, you only roll up and partially put together puzzles and put them off until you return to putting them together again. The pads are not completely universal. Think about how big puzzles you will assemble most often, and choose a pad accordingly. A suitable puzzle glue is definitely suitable. The big ones are no longer divided, but we keep them as a picture. The pieces are easy to glue. The glue is poured on the surface of the picture and carefully spread on it.
How to choose a puzzle as a gift?
We often choose puzzles as a gift. What do we need to know to choose the most appropriate ones? Above all, let's stick to the recommendation of the number of pieces vs. age. For older children and adults, it is good to know the interests of who we want to surprise. However, there are also universally pleasing motives that do not spoil anything. Giving adults and older children bigger puzzles is always a good choice. It's a challenge, and if he's not a staunch opponent of the puzzle, the gift will definitely make him happy.