Jigsaw puzzles are one of the oldest toys still seen in toy stores today, with its origins dating back to the 1760s.

But, why are they still around? Why do people love them so much, even in the digital age?

Well as an occupational therapist, I can see the appeal. Despite being somewhat of a relic, puzzles can be very exciting. This is because building puzzles gives us those small boosts of joy i.e. a feeling of pleasure every time we find a piece that fits! It’s what I like to call the small wins! 

These small wins/feelings of pleasure are similar to those we experience when we receive a Facebook like from a friend or when a child plays an online game and receives instant gratification each time he/she clicks a mouse.  

With puzzles, we can also visibly see progress and that helps build excitement and anticipation during the building process. And then finally at the end, there is that ultimate sense of satisfaction/ accomplishment we get when seeing the puzzle picture all coming together! 

Puzzles are also tactile and so we also get pleasure from touching the pieces, especially if they have an appealing smooth or even rough texture, like you sometimes find with the touch and feel puzzles for toddlers.  

So what value do puzzles add to a child’s play and should parents be concerned about the rewarding/pleasurable feelings they create? 

Well the good news is that unlike with screens/digital devices, the feelings of reward/pleasure experienced during puzzle building are not detrimental to a child’s brain. Those small wins help keep children interested and engaged and the big win at the end reinforces that staying the distance can sometimes be even more gratifying than the smaller wins, that they are used to getting with online gaming.

Puzzle building also supports a child’s development in a number of ways: Puzzles stimulate brain development i.e. in being able to distinguish colours, shapes and backgrounds from foregrounds. Puzzles also stimulate the development of spatial relations and an understanding of how parts contribute to a whole. Puzzles also engage a child’s concentration, planning, problem solving, reasoning ability and memory. They also encourage fine motor co-ordination and refine a child’s ability to manipulate small objects. Lastly and most importantly in my mind, puzzles teach children delay of gratification.

So don’t be surprised if you’re Playwise box contains a puzzle or two! Don’t be surprised either, if the puzzle has less pieces than what a child’s age recommends. This is by design. Children of the technology age are used to instant gratification and so they can feel overwhelmed by puzzles that have many pieces. For this reason we often include puzzles that have less pieces, but are still able to stimulate development, by means of picture type or complexity or by the size, shape and texture of the pieces.   

How can I help my child to learn to Love Puzzles?

Well, start by becoming a puzzle family. If you yourself engage in puzzle building and encourage your children to help, you will see that they will start to gain interest in them and the small wins will keep them coming back for more!  Don’t worry if they seem disinterested at first. I find they eventually get interested as progress becomes visible and they suddenly want to be part of the creative process. If 1000 pieces scares you, start with 100 and work your way up. 

For me one of the other great aspects of building a large puzzle (1000 piece plus) as a family, is that I can demonstrate to my children in a very understandable way how to tackle a large project, without feeling overwhelmed and to teach them the art of chipping away at something until success is achieved. In a word – I am teaching them perseverance – another skill often lost to the instant gratification that screens/digital devices provide! 

So YAY for puzzles and long may they continue to be a part of our lives!