Anyone else think age guides on toddler/childrens puzzles are wrong?

[asouthwoldmummy]

My DS is 2.2. I have thrown away all of the boxes of 2 piece puzzles as tbh he could do them without even trying. He has a tin 2, 3 and 4 piece ones and even the 4 piece are too easy (they're 18 months - 3 yrs supposedly). He also has three 12 piece puzzles, from age 3. Two of these he has recently started doing by himself, the third he only really needs minimal help with.
Is my DS a genius or would anyone else agree that age guides on some puzzles are just ridiculous?

Lol falling, I'm bloody brilliant at puzzles and always have been and I have the biggest feet you have ever seen - sorry to ruin your theory .

DD is 19 months and has some 2 piece puzzles - animals. She knows which bits go together, but once this is established just wanders off. She has tiny feet btw. But she has a massive vocabulary - just doesn't see the point of puzzles. I see her point.

ROAR

Is this competitive-puzzling???

Am a bit cos my DD (just 4) is nowhere near as good with puzzles - currently trying and struggling with 12 piece puzzles.

However, can't help but think it has something to do with my lack of puzzle-coaching - puzzles make me yaaawwwnnn [bad mother emoticon].

Oh and btw, DS is 17mo and likes to EAT puzzles. Does that count?

How many pieces do the puzzles have though undercovamutha?

and this thread seems to prove that if your parents like puzzles then your children will too; if your parents are bored rigid by them, then your children will be too. I can't be bothered to sit with DD for hours gripping her tiny hand patiently coaxing her to fit one oddly shaped piece of cardboard inside another oddly shaped piece of cardboard.

But Margaret Drabble wrote a whole book about puzzles and she's very intelligent, see?

My dd could do 24 piece ones aged 2.

I have neither the patience nor the ability to do 24 piece ones aged 29.

She gets it from the window cleaner.

I love Jigsaw, me.

That explains everything my DS and I have tiny feet, thats why we are so clever.

Seriously though, we all know what age levels our DCS are at for most things, be it higher or lower than the average. So surely it helps to have some indication of difficulty.

Like the little feet and jigsaw link :). My ds1 (now 4.6yrs and size 7.5 feet) could easily do 12 and I think even 30 piece jigsaws when he was 2 but then he couldn't really speak and has always been v.observant about space and detail whereas my ds2 (2.9yrs) has only recently got into them and now can probably do a 12 piece one by himself. I have to say this is the only thing my ds1 has probably ever been ahead of his peers in so not a sign of genius, just some kids are really got at them, some average and some not at all interested...

I don't think it really means much tbh.

Ds could do larger jigsaws (24 pieces +) at 2 and he often did them upside down with no picture showing. People thought he was a genius and we were pretty impressed ourselves, fools that we were.

Then we found out he had Aspergers. 'Genius' mode continued for a couple of years, ahead of everyone at school and all that. Then work became more emotion and opinion based and we realised he can't put a coherent paragraph together. He's starting KS3 now and I've no idea how he'll manage with writing essays and the like.

I'd much rather he had that skill than doing a 24 piece jigsaw at 2 yo.

I reckon you are right Streaky Bacon. My DD is 2.8 and does 75 piece puzzles alone and less pieces upside down (has done since 1yo). Don't consider her a genius just frustrated at spending so much time in hospital. When you look around the ward at children's hospitals like GOSH none are jigsawly challenged in fact I labelled them all as Gifted and Talented on my first visit within minutes. just seemed strange all the puzzle whizzes were rigged up to the machines lol.

I am sure if a child practises anything enough could be confused as exceptionally gifted or talented.

I've got a 24 piece jigsaw that says 1+ .

Seriously confused. Should I be squishing DS's feet into too small shoes to increase his puzzling ability or trying to teach him to do them with his toes if all his blood is at that end?

What swc said. All toys that are not absolute baby toys are marked 3+ ime; it's about safety and the company being covered if your toddler (possibly due to lack of tutoring or size of gob feet) decides to eat the pieces rather than put them together. YOu just need to exercise your judgment.

My autistic daughter could complete a 100 piece puzzle at the age of 2 (not bragging as she has many problems with other things), i found it hard to find puzzles with suitable pictures (that would interest her) with 100+ pieces.

lol at the feet thing, my dd2 has big feet for her age and great at puzzles, her sister has tiny feet and is useless at puzzles

i find it varies a lot though, you will get some really few pieces ones labelled as age 3, and then some with loads in, also labelled as age 3...
i would say your ds will be better with the 12 pieces + ones then if he finds them too easy and gets bored with them just move up to 24 etc? i think the 2 and 3 piece kind of ones are just for the young children to get the idea of what a jigsaw is and how they work, once they get it i dont think they will stick with them?

My DD has tiny feet and is crap at puzzles. For eg, with a two piece puzzle she can pick them out of a pile and match them together quite easily but can't actually fit the bits of card together.

OP why do you give a stuff? Just buy the ones that are at the right level for your kid and don't worry about what other kids are doing.

My lot are dunces at puzzles, however they are gifted and talented at losing important bits of toys almost immediately, these two facts may be connected .

I've got two different 24 piece puzzles - one labeled 2+ and one 3+. My 24 month old likes doing puzzles. She has medium sized feet.

Mine went through a jigsaw-mad phase. She got one of the Orchard 24 pieces puzzle at Xmas when she was 18 months and wouldn't let us help her with it and got to work it out pretty quickly. She kept going back to it all day long.
We then bought her a more difficult one with similar number of pieces which she cracked up pretty quickly too.
She got a large puzzle after that but by then was starting to lose interest.
Now 2.2 months she's not that interested in jigsaws anymore! Though occasionally she goes back to the 2-pieces/4-piece/24-piece ones she has, does them whilst chatting to herself. We don't get rid of them because they are still good as a talking point.
Before anyone think I'm boasting her speech isn't that great for her age. I guess they all have their phases, fads, strengths and weaknesses!! Your DD obviously has good spacial awareness.