Let’s face it.
Most of us want our children to be the next Albert Einstein. So, how do we get there?
Well, we’re not entirely sure of the answer, but we do know is this: kids aged 2-4 who played with puzzles improved their spatial skills at 4.5 years of age. Says who? A study conducted by the University of Chicago.
What’s the deal with spatial skills anyway? Oh nothing much, it’s only an indicator of how children will fare in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Yes, the brainy stuff.
The Study
For a 2 year period, researchers worked with 53 pairs of mothers and children from different social and economic backgrounds.
During the children’s 26th and 46th months, they were recorded interacting with their moms. According to the article from EurekAletert.org, approximately half of the children engaged in puzzle play at least once.
The Findings
- Higher income parents encouraged more puzzle play
- Boys and girls who played more with puzzles had better spatial skills
- Boys were more likely to play with complicated puzzles compared to girls
- Parents of boys were “more engaged” in puzzle plays compared to parents of girls
The Takeaway
Puzzles are cheap and can even be made at home (this is for the crafty moms out there). It’s a simple and fun game that can easily help children improve spatial skills. So what are you waiting for?
Go help your kiddos solve those unopened puzzle boxes collecting dust. It will do their brains a lot of good.
About Anne Mercado
hmmm…maybe that is why my oldest son is so smart! we did A LOT of puzzles when he was that prime age. we also played A LOT of card games. well i have about 6 months until my twins turn four so i better break out some of those old puzzles! oh our first borns are so lucky aren’t they – all that attention they got ; )
Yeah, I read somewhere that fist borns usually have higher IQs compared to other children because parents are more engaged. Thanks for dropping by, Christine!
Guess I didn´t play with lots of puzzles… I´m definitely not good @ the brainy stuff lol Nonetheless I´ll keep your advice in mind. Then again, it´s never late to do the trick with my kiddos.
See you around
Lolo
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Yeah, my kiddos 5 but I’m still going to break out the puzzles
Might still work. Thanks for commenting, Lolo and hope to see you around here more.
Cool. There is actually a great online jigsaw – Daily Jigsaw – at shockwave.com, but I guess that defeats the purpose.
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Thanks for the site referral, will check it out. Also, it (online puzzles) might not defeat the purpose but I’m guessing ofline puzzles still work best.
my kids love puzzles and are both reaily good at mathematics
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That’s great to hear, Pam! Hope you are having a wonderful week. Hugs to you.
my son loves puzzle. i think i will buy more puzzle. hehe!
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It’s great to hear that your kiddo loves puzzles. If you find a great place to buy puzzles from, do let me know so I can get some as well.
did a lot of puzzles with The Girl. Went back to work when The Boy was young and ended up spending less time reading and doing puzzles…. Hummm
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I suppose it’s not too late to read and do puzzles on weekends
Thanks for dropping by, Jennie!
i agree! i bought my 20 month old son a puzzle and he will always ask me to play with it. although he is not that good just yet, i let him hand me the parts then i will teach him how to rebuild the puzzle. after that he will again ask me to do it over and over until i surrender. haha!
Great! Yeah, teach him how to solve puzzles and who knows, one day he might be a scientist, engineer, mathematician or physicist. Nice to have you back here again, Maye.
I did do puzzles as a kid, and my Mom always had some huge one that was ongoing on some table somewhere. It’s weird, because as a designer, that’s exactly what I do…make shapes that fit together to be sewn for a certain outcome. I also play the piano. The weird part is that I am horrible at math, so I’m missing that connection somewhere in my brain.
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Courtney you made me laugh. I grew up solving puzzles as well but I’m terrible at math and with directions – in short, I posses no spatial skills whatsoever. But hey, it’s not like writers need a lot of it, right?
Now, this sounds plaubible to me! I can imagine that solving a puzzle is good for brain development!
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Absolutely. Thanks for your comment!
good to know this! my first daughter was doing 30-piece puzzles by 17 months. My second one only does simple 3-4 piece puzzles at the same age! What a big difference in “skills” and interest! Let’s see how they develop later in life! LOL!!!
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That’s great! At least they started with puzzles early on. Do give us an update a few years down the road on how puzzles will have benefited your kiddos. Nice to see you back here, Jen!