Jigsaw Puzzles

Are jigsaw puzzles just for children? No way! Jigsaw puzzles are great for ‘children’ of all ages from 2 to 92!! I know that I don’t really need to say this but a jigsaw is basically a picture which has been cut up into pieces and the idea is to reassemble it using the photograph of the original picture on the lid of the box as a guide. I’m sure we all remember the thick wooden jigsaws from our early childhood – maybe only ten pieces at most but they were great fun to do and started, in some of us, a lifelong passion for jigsaws. I remember when I was a child my parents doing jigsaws on the dining room table. In ...

My daughter got her first puzzle when she was 8 months old. It was one of those early learning wooden ones with the little pegs on the top. The pieces are matched into the slots it makes animal noises. At first it was difficult for her to do which is understandable. It did not take long for her to get the hang of it and I found myself looking for another to challenge her. She loved them and they really helped her hand and eye co-ordination development. The next stage after the puzzles with the pegs are the two or four piece chunky ones. Asda do some great ones, again featuring animals which is a real bonus as she loves them. These are good to get children ...

A toy as simple as the jigsaw is invaluable in early years development. Jigsaws are vastly underated by parents which is such a shame as they give children so many skills. A jigsaw actually challenges the minds of youngsters and in this modern world how many toys can we honestly say does that? When I look in my son's toy box I see many toys that entertain him but few that actually challenge his thinking. I suppose this is the teacher in me coming out! I bought Joe his first jigsaw when he was 6 months old. OK so he couldn't do it but he was interested in the shapes and texture of the materials. His first jigsaw came from Mothercare and cost a mere ...