So which skills do jigsaw puzzles use then?

[Wondrin]

Just wondering after seeing them referred to on a few threads as being quite significant, as DD took a while to really get into them. I just assumed she just wasn't that keen on them, and now I'm wondering if there is More To It.

Matching, recognising parts of a whole, fine motor skills, nothing that can't also be practised in other play/ real life situations. I don't suppose our cave ancestors had jigsaw puzzles.

DH sells jigsaws...

Manual dexterity, hand/eye coordination, concentration, education, team work and sharing. He's written a couple of articles for childcare magazines on this!

Also drs often recommend jigsaws to help with depression, make of that what you will!

I do jigsaws every day with DD because she has difficulty with her hand eye co-ordination and it is brilliant practice for her.

DS would never do jigsaws - there are other ways to develop these skills so don't worry too much. My HV told me that things like putting wooden train track together is also good if your DD enjoys doing that?

OK, that all makes sense, thanks. I wondered about her fine motor as she can't use scissors (she's 4) and doesn't draw faces or anything, just scribbles. But she is starting to get the hang of puzzles and quite likes them now so no doubt will get to grips (!) with the other stuff eventually too.

DS2 was bloody brilliant at jigsaw
Could do 100 piece ones when they were upside down so mo picture to reference when he was three
Also very profoundly autistic

pagwatch, your DS2 sounds like he has amazing visuo-spatial skills. Do you mind me asking, how were his verbal skills at that age?

DD has difficulties with receptive language and I seem to keep reading quite examples of children with problems with language but who had really good visuo-spatial skills. So I wondered how relevant the jigsaws thing was really.

he was pretty much non verbal atthree. He started talking again ( having lost speech) at about 4. He still has very delayed speech.
He remains good at all things visual and we think may have a photograohic memory - but because of his ASD and poor speech it is hard to tell

FWIW ( and I am not expert) I think if toddlers have one dominant area it makes it harder for them to focus on others IYSWIM. He sometimes still has to shut down one sense to concentrate on another , so closes his eyes to listen to everyday things. He remains quite toddler like in that regard