Education Blog by ECA

Benefits Of Puzzles In Early Childhood Development

Humans are one of the most intelligent species present in the universe. From the beginning of their childhood, they start learning till the stage of their senility. It is really important for children to develop cognitive skills in their early childhood in order to have good reasoning skills. From early childhood, it is advised to solve various puzzles in order to develop skills. Puzzle solving can vary from an easy to a complex problem, which will drive you through a different phase of thinking from a beginner to an extreme level. The most important part is that children love solving problems from simple shapes to advanced jigsaw puzzles, it can be helpful in providing educational benefits to the young children. The following are the benefits of puzzle solving that is helpful in the development of a child:

(i) Problem-Solving Skills- Puzzles are similar to that of problem-solving. Both of them require reasoning and good imaginary skills to develop a strategy on how things work in reality. Problem-solving can include various topics like Combinatorics, Quadratic equation, Probability, etc. that can be a complex problem. 

(ii) Strengthen Cognitive and Memory Skills- Cognition is defined as the understanding of the world around and the decision making ability of a person. It is related to the functioning of our mind. Puzzle solving can be helpful in enhancing the thinking ability that helps to improve the memory as well. Memory depends on the neurons connection in our mind. By solving various numbers of puzzles, our neurons tend to remain active and this helps us with improved memory. 

(iii) Build Hand-Eye Coordination- Flipping, rotation, moving and manipulating the puzzle helps a child to give fine motor skills. This helps in improving the hand-eye coordination, as these develop along with time. 

(iv) Enhance one’s Self Esteem- It reflects an overall subjective emotional evaluation of one’s own worth. As already discussed that puzzle solving can range from moderate to a complex problem, solving them gives a sense of pride and self-esteem to an individual. This also boosts the confidence of a child in every field and helps them prepare for other challenges in their life.

(v) Improves Social Skills- Puzzle solving also helps to promote cooperative play in a group. As children work together they often have a platform to discuss things, assist each other, handle frustration and build up a social relationship with others. 

These were some of the benefits of how puzzle solving can help in the development of a child and can encourage them in learning things.

Learn various concepts of maths and science such as Triangles, matrices, electricity, etc. through visualization by visiting our site BYJU’S. One can also subscribe to BYJU’S YouTube channel to learn concepts in an effective way.