Looking for the best puzzles for your toddlers and kids? In this article, you will find some of the most productive puzzles for two to seven years old kids categorized according to their age.
Puzzles can be in the form of jigsaws, pegs, building blocks, matching shapes or colors, and themes. There are numerous ways these puzzles can fit into daily activities and help kids to incorporate useful skills and lessons. Engaging your kids with puzzles have several positive outcomes at an early age.
Table of Contents
- Benefits of Puzzles for Kids
- Puzzles Buying Guide
- Best puzzles for 2-year-olds
- Best puzzles for 3-year-olds
- Best puzzles for 4-year-olds
- Best puzzles for 5-year-olds
- Best puzzles for 6-Year-olds
- Best puzzles for 7-year-olds
- Puzzles Frequently Asked Questions
- 1. What age should a child do puzzles?
- 2. Are puzzles good for 3-year-olds?
- 3. Are puzzles educational?
- 4. How do you teach a toddler to do puzzles?
- 5. Are puzzles good for toddlers?
- Related posts:
Benefits of Puzzles for Kids
So before getting straight to the types of puzzles that will suit their mental and physical capacity, let us first delve into some of the most recognized benefits of puzzles.
Challenges thinking
Toddlers and kids are always in a state of mental development, which makes them curious and playful. Using puzzles is a great way to challenge their thinking without pushing the educational benefits of it. A lego set can also bring many benefits to a growing child, so make sure you read more about the benefits of playing with Legos here: https://www.bestof.info/best-lego-sets/#What_benefits_does_playing_with_Legos_provide
Exercises mind
Once kids grasp that certain patterns fit into a specific gap, or that they can coordinate the tools in their hand to something that they see, it automatically brings them joy.
This little happiness and satisfaction motivate them to use their brains further to solve more problems in the puzzle. Repeated uses of this psychologically rewarding activity exercises their mind and maintain healthy mental growth. Another good idea besides puzzles would be the build your own RC car kits, as for the benefits that they provide you can find them here: https://www.bestof.info/best-rc-car-kits/#Benefits_of_building_your_own_RC_car
Educational learning tool
By the age of two or three, parents often need to prepare their toddlers for any type of educational institution. Since the toddlers will then be in the care of teachers or care-givers, parents will have a lesser involvement in their educational process.
Puzzles are practical educational tools to acquaint kids with alphabets, numerals and identifying primary colors, shapes, etc.
Improves hand and eye coordination
Puzzles give kids this opportunity to learn through trial and error methods without severe consequences. With fun patterns and themes, it motivates them to continue using their skills until they eventually master it.
Improves cognitive and problem-solving skills
By letting them play with educational puzzles, kids learn cognitive skills better than orally or practically teaching them. Letting them play around eases the pressure of learning, teaches them to adapt to ideas and follow their intuition.
Improves motor skills
When kids use knobs, pegs, or other chunky pieces in a puzzle, they use their hands and fingers to pick, pinch, or grasp things. These are essential skills that kids must develop as early as possible.
By learning to put these pieces into slots or sorting and fitting them together, they move the different parts of their body and gradually improve their motor skills.
Improves self-esteem and sociability
Since kids usually need assistance or guidance from their caretakers or parents to learn how to solve puzzles initially, it makes them more interactive.
Once they learn how things work, they get more comfortable doing it on their own. This independence boosts their self-esteem, making them friendlier around playmates and others.
Relieves stress
Solving puzzles is a productive way to distract and de-stress them anywhere. It allows them to explore their motor and cognitive skills. With fun patterns and colors to choose from, puzzles can instantly boost their mood and change their perspectives.
Puzzles Buying Guide
When it comes to choosing the right puzzle for kids, the options are almost limitless. You can choose puzzles based on the theme or the skills that you would like them to learn as there are many creative ways to keep the kids engaged
So before you pick one, assessing the difficulty of the puzzle is a crucial factor to consider. Make sure to look for these details:
1. Piece size
Kids should be able to grasp and see the puzzle clear enough to make sense of the pieces. Larger pieces are more appropriate for toddlers as it prevents choking hazard, whereas four to seven-year-olds can play with small to medium pieces.
2. Number of pieces
The number of pieces in the puzzle determines how hard or easy it is to solve. So depending on the age and skills, remember to pick a number that suits the kid’s requirements.
3. Details of the picture
Attractive colors, patterns, and shapes instantly grasp their attention. And when these features are implemented on puzzles, it automatically triggers their thought process which positively transfers to solution-based actions.
4. Past experiences with other puzzles
Puzzles can be used as a fun, creative or educational tool, but it has to suit the children based on their experience as well. So if your kid has done an easy one before, keep upgrading it to continue challenging and improving their skills.
5. The quality and durability of the puzzle
When it comes to quality and durability, check for the thickness, flexibility and whether they are susceptible to careless handling
6. Additional features
Other features such as precision cutting, images, shapes, and size should also be considered before buying puzzles to suit user’s taste and capacity.
7. Convenience
Besides improving concentration, spatial awareness, enhancing language and memory, puzzles are also convenient in many ways. Pick one that you can easily set up indoors or outdoors.
Best puzzles for 2-year-olds
Understandably, 2-year-olds are helpless but a handful. They often need a lot of attention, distraction, and guidance no matter what they do. They are curious, restless and they do not clearly understand the concept of words and meanings yet. But there is no harm in teaching them early.
Two-year-olds are also at an age where they explore things using their mouth and eyes before they can use their hands properly. This puts them at risk of choking, so the pieces have to be big enough to avoid swallowing or choking.
Since paper crafted pieces are easily bendable, puzzle pieces made of wooden and non-toxic materials are recommended for the safety of the kid and more prolonged use.
Considering all these, the best puzzles for two-year-olds are jigsaw puzzles with colorful cute images with pieces that are lesser than 30 in numbers. The images can vary from cartoons to numbers and alphabets. You can get creative and add symbols or different shapes as well.
You can choose either from wooden peg puzzles or wooden jigsaw puzzles. The goal here is to familiarize the toddlers with different images and improve their abilities.
Our picks:
1.Wooden Jigsaw puzzles from Graceon
This educational board game comes in a set of four. The images on the puzzles include dinosaurs, ocean, a park and traffic themes. Each game has 20 pieces and since it is made of wood, you can safely use it for years without worrying about the safety of the kid.
Not only does this puzzle keeps children engaged, but it also provides a fun distraction while teaching them to improve spatial reasoning and improving problem-solving skills.
The best part about this set is that your kid gets to choose from four different images in case they get bored with one.
2.Wooden Peg Puzzles from Wood City
If a jigsaw puzzle is not what you are looking for, you can opt for this wooden peg puzzles. This package also comes in a set of four with different themes that include numbers, letters, animals, and vehicles.
The puzzles challenges kids to insert the pegs into empty spaces designed to hold each piece. This puzzle is a great way to stimulate cognitive skills by teaching them about different shapes and sizes. It also enhances their spatial knowledge and motor skills.
With fun shapes and high-quality material, this puzzle is perfect for fun gifts and family bonding.
3. Aity Wood Jigsaw Puzzles
If you are looking for something slightly more challenging and with more image options, this is the perfect puzzle for 2-year-olds.
The Aity jigsaw features six sets of different animal images. There are nine pieces in each bright colored piece set in a green forest background. Since it is not very large, you can easily take it anywhere to keep your kid engaged.
This set of puzzles will teach kids to familiarize themselves with six different animals while also improving their eyes and hand coordination. It will also enhance their problem-solving and spatial reasoning.
Best puzzles for 3-year-olds
The difference between the two and three-year-olds is that three-year-olds are more verbal and expressive. But parents have to be equally careful with their choice of pieces for the puzzles that they pick.
At three years, toddlers need mental conditioning that will make them more social and improve expression since they will be joining the school and meet playmates soon. They are also able to grasp concepts and retain more explicit memory longer so it is this age that parents can prepare them for more challenging tasks.
The recommended puzzles for three-year-olds are:
4. Four Set Wooden Peg Puzzles from Wood City
We also recommend this puzzle for three-year-olds as they are highly versatile and challenging enough for any age group. So if you pick this puzzle, you can expect at least two to four years of usage.
Kids will love the colorful images of the animals and will also enjoy the little details in the background. The hardwood and smooth finishing of the puzzle pieces is also a bonus.
5. Solar System Floor Puzzle from Melissa & Doug
With 48 pieces of the puzzle set in solar system design, this set will surely challenge and fascinate any three-year-olds.
The average number of pieces will keep the kids engaged for hours and the result after finishing the puzzle will leave them feeling relieved and happy. It will also enhance their hand-eye coordination, motor, and spatial skills while developing their problem-solving skills.
This puzzle is large enough to lay on the floor or an ample workspace so that they can comfortably relax and solve them.
It is made of a thick cardboard material that is durable and does not bend easily. What most kids will love about this set is the colorful graphic art of the nine planets in the solar system.
6. Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles from Chafin
If one set of a jigsaw puzzle is not enough, try the wooden puzzle from Chafin. It comes in a set of 4 with 60 pieces in each collection.
With four different designs and themes to choose from, kids will have plenty of things to practice life-building skills. It is fun, vibrant, educational and not very hard for kids to solve it without continuous assistance.
Since there are four different sets, children can also use this puzzle set individually to have friendly competitions so that they can improve their social skills and build self-esteem.
Because the puzzle board is big enough, kids can also work on one theme together to build teamwork ethics.
Either way, this puzzle set is sure to keep the kids engaged, entertained and continue developing life skills without the pressure.
Best puzzles for 4-year-olds
At age four, most kids are ready to join or are already in kindergarten or daycare, where they meet other children and learn the fundamentals of education. At this stage, it is vital to ensure that they retain whatever they learn while keeping them motivated.
Fun puzzles in a variety of themes that range from alphabets, numbers, animals, shapes, and sizes will keep the kids motivated to learn new things. It is also essential to start incorporating good habits and manners at this age, so puzzles that encourage this social, physical and mental well being are crucial for 4-year-olds.
Keeping the need to challenge and improve their fundamental skills, two of the best puzzles suitable for 4-year-olds are:
7. Etna Wood Peg Puzzle set with wire storage rack
Besides the stunningly clean and precise cut out wood peg puzzles in six different themes, what stands out among other puzzle sets is the storage rack.
With medium-sized pegs that feature numbers, vehicles, dinosaurs, geometric shapes, alphabets, and sea animals, this set is sure to make learning more fun. Not only does this set of puzzles enhance physical and mental development, but it also teaches kids to be more responsible.
The puzzle boards can perfectly fit on the storage rack so kids can learn to clean up and organize after playing. The puzzles can be stacked neatly and the large peg holder is comfortable for little hands to hold.
With so many themes and such convenient pegs, kids will always have something to keep them occupied and entertained.
8. Melissa Doug Underwater Floor Puzzle
Another excellent option for 4-year-olds is this 3×2 foot underwater-themed floor puzzle that comes with 48 pieces thick cardboard material.
This puzzle is straightforward, but it has all the features that build curiosity, critical thinking, confidence, and collaboration.
The top quality artwork of the sea world with colorful fish and intricate details will keep the kids engaged for hours. It will also teach the kids to name and identify some of the sea creatures. This puzzle is also recommended even by pediatricians for brain development so you can rest assured that it is a good investment.
9. Colorful Dos illustration Puzzle
This set of jigsaw puzzle comes with eight sets of different puzzles neatly sorted in a box of eight compartments.
Kids will have the option to choose from animals, scenery, Japanese paintings and other beautiful illustrations.
Since the package contains numerous options with over 300 to 1000 pieces, this puzzle set is sure to keep kids engaged and motivated for a long time.
Best puzzles for 5-year-olds
When kids are at the age of five, they are more aware of their likes, dislikes. They are easily influenced and distracted, so keeping them engaged can get challenging.
One way to keep them mentally active is by letting them play with puzzles that reflect their personality, taste, and interests.
Some good recommendations are:
10. YE ZI Jigsaw Puzzle
The Spiderman themed jigsaw has 100 pieces which makes it just the right number for five years old. Since kids like playing with things that have anything to do with their favorite heroes, they are bound to be attracted by puzzles.
The excitement of seeing the image of Spiderman after completing the puzzle will keep them motivated to finish it quickly, which in turn will exercise their brains and coordination to work faster.
11. 3D wooden miniature House Puzzle
While boys are inclined to like superhero puzzles, girls are more likely to prefer household items so this 3D miniature puzzle can be the perfect gift.
What’s different about this architectural model puzzle is that it is more challenging and fun than jigsaw puzzles. It requires eyes and hand coordination, spatial skills, creativity, and organizational skills.
The miniature house and furniture with decorative pieces are not only interesting to look at, but you can also use it as a house décor. This makes it quite an exceptional gift both for kids and adults.
Once the puzzle is complete, you can place it in areas where your kid can see and feel a sense of accomplishment.
This creative décor puzzle is sure to enhance confidence and self-esteem while developing several brain functions.
Best puzzles for 6-Year-olds
Six-year-old kids usually have a lot of ideas, distractions, and activities in mind. Especially with the addition of electronic gadgets available for different types of entertainment, puzzles are a great way to prevent mobile and television addiction.
Since they have mastered several necessary skills physically, it is important to exercise their mind as well.
Two of the best puzzles for six-year-olds are:
12. Rich Elk Collection Jigsaw Puzzle
This puzzle set has 500 to 3000 pieces to make solving the problem more challenging and productive Depending on past experience with puzzles, you can choose the number of pieces you think is suitable for them mentally.
This puzzle is such a great choice because it is made of high-quality basswood that allows you to fold it without destroying the completed puzzle. The pieces are close-knitted and cut with precision to give you a flawless and precise finish.
Since the pieces are small, it can get challenging initially but the markings on the back of each piece act as a guide to preventing pressure.
13. Mudpuppy Butterflies of North America Puzzle
Another great way to instill concentration, organization and spatial skills in six-year-old kids using puzzles is by allowing them to play with pictures.
Since kids remember names by connecting them with images, the Mudpuppy butterflies puzzle is a great way to help them learn and retain different shapes, colors, and names.
Your kid will love the flawless fit and the matte texture of the digitally printed butterfly puzzle. The 500 pieces in the set will keep them occupied while teaching them valuable life lessons in a fun and relaxed settings.
Best puzzles for 7-year-olds
Seven-year-olds have the mental capacity to develop and learn adult skills. By this age, kids are already conditioned to effectively use their brains to think, manipulate and even judge like adults. So puzzles that will further improve their cognitive and spatial skills are an important step.
To keep them engaged and motivated, you can try making them play with these two puzzles:
14. Avengers Jigsaw Puzzle
As kids love superheroes and fantastic characters, they will surely welcome this set that features all the Avengers in one frame.
The 500-piece puzzle is made of thick paper and the pieces fit perfectly.
One of the main reasons is because even if it is for boys or girls, there is a character image for everyone.
You can help them set it up and enjoy some quality family time solving the puzzles or let the kids venture on their own. A puzzle is an excellent tool to distract kids from electronic gadgets and to encourage them to connect with friends and families.
15. Central Park Paradise Puzzles
If not superheroes, you can also opt for more soothing images on the puzzle pieces.
This Springbok puzzle is bright, colorful and features challenging pieces because each piece has a unique cut, so none of the pieces look the same. With 500 pieces to put together, it means there are 500 options to learn and grow.
Since it is made of sustainable and organic materials, they can learn and be aware of environment-friendly lifestyles while having fun and growing mentally.
The number and size of the pieces, images, and themes, play an integral part in keeping the kids engaged, whether they are two or seven-years-old. So to make solving puzzles more fun, make sure to reward and encourage them to keep them motivated.
Puzzles Frequently Asked Questions
1. What age should a child do puzzles?
Toddlers have the mental and physical capacity to understand the concept of problems by the time they can recognize shapes and colors. So two-years is an appropriate and lowest age to start playing with puzzles.
2. Are puzzles good for 3-year-olds?
Absolutely! As long as the materials are non-toxic and the difficulty of the puzzle pieces suit the age, puzzles are suitable for three-year-olds or even adults at any age.
3. Are puzzles educational?
Yes, puzzles are educational. Depending on the type of knowledge and skills you want the child to develop, you can choose from a wide range of problems to keep kids engaged, entertained, and educated.
4. How do you teach a toddler to do puzzles?
Children aged between two to seven are most influential, and it is the right age to train them towards habit-forming activities. Everything that kids learn during this age group becomes an integral part of forming their mental and physical reactions to their surroundings.
While personal development at this age should be prioritized, it can get challenging to make them learn useful skills because their level of understanding and attention span is still low. So the most effective way to teach toddlers how to do puzzles is by making it fun and enjoyable.
5. Are puzzles good for toddlers?
Yes, puzzles are a great way to stimulate mental and physical activity in toddlers without too much strain. Puzzles are great for toddlers. Just make sure that they are provided with the right pieces that are safe yet attractive.
