Study: Simple Puzzle Play Improves Children’s Spatial Skills
From the archive. This post was first published on the original Green Eggs and Moms blog and is kept here as it was.
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.
Photo:Creative Commons from Andrew_Gillespie