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Anyone else's 4YO completely incapable of doing jigsaws?

32 replies

RainySmallHands · 22/01/2012 11:45

DD1 is 4.3. She has always met her milestones at the late end of normal - sat at 8mo, never crawled, walked at 19 mo, talking was okay but never spectacular (barely draws breath now, of course). Her numbers and letters have only really clicked in the last 6 months, but she still can't recognise many double figure numbers and probably only knows half of the alphabet (mostly lower case). I was getting a bit worried about her lack of interest in drawing and colouring, but she seems to have picked this up since just before Christmas.

Anyway, all of that is probably completely irrelevant, just setting the scene...

She has oodles of games and jigsaws and we attempt them as often as I can bear Blush, but her concentration span is atrocious. We have probably completed a game only a handful of times, and it involves much cajoling, encouraging and speedy playing. At the moment, in order to not make a huge issue about it, I tend to say 'Okay, shall we just put it away now?' and clear it all away when she starts rolling about/hiding the playing pieces/fidgeting with other toys/bothering her sister etc.

At the moment I am just assuming that she just has a very short concentration span and ZERO interest in playing games. Fair enough. Or perhaps, she'll just come on in her own sweet time, as with everything else.

But. I have to say that I am concerned about her complete inability to do jigsaws. Even sorting out straight edges seems to be a mammoth task. I can do a whole jigsaw and leave one single (obvious) piece to fit and she will still put it in upside down. Could she have some cognitive development issues? Is that even the correct term? Should I be worried about the jigsaws and attention span?

Anyone have any pearls of wisdom?

OP posts:
oldmum42 · 23/01/2012 13:17

Lol Olivetti, yes, boring, boring, boring AND pointless!

Molehillmountain · 23/01/2012 15:06

Put like that...I relaxed about dd1 when I got her to do a big jigsaw then decided she doesn't actually like them. Ds really can't, but can do all sorts of other things. Either way-you don't have to put jigsaw ability on the Ucas form iirc!

rhetorician · 23/01/2012 23:00

I love a good jigsaw thread - there's one from time to time on here. I started one a year or so ago about competitive jigsawitis and my dd's lack of interest in them. Given the conclusions drawn above I am now slightly pissed off that dd (now 3) periodically enjoys doing a fairly big jigsaw. Like others, she matches colours and pictures...

tigerlillyd02 · 24/01/2012 00:21

Ds is 2.2 and I didn't think they were appropriate this Christmas but maybe next. I hate them though (very boring!) so don't look forward to having to help! My mum bought him some little 4 piece ones which he manages himself so perhaps I should challenge him a bit further with maybe a 6 piece one (do they even do them?!).

Just luck isn't it! If you want them to be interested they won't be. If you don't, they'll probably end up loving them!

How big are the puzzles you're getting her to do OP? I'm hoping I've not missed it. Perhaps start off really basic and then work up to slightly larger ones?

Sirzy · 24/01/2012 08:30

Tiger lily, they do do 6 piece ones, if he can do 4 piece ones they would be a good step up. Ds is the same age as your lo and is obsessed with jigsaws and can do 24 piece ones alone now just built up the size slowly to make sure he was challenged!

margoandjerry · 24/01/2012 21:26

I think the not sorting out straight edges thing is very normal. They see the picture not the geometric shape. Straight bits and corner bits is conceptual and they are just not there yet, cognitively. My son is oddly good at jigsaws but still doesn't do the straight edges or corners bit - he just seems to memorise where the bits go. They just don't process things the same way as us.

And re the letters and numbers I would say that sounds normal too. Double digit numbers at 4.3 is quite an ask I'd say. My daughter is just getting them straight now and she's 5.3. And like you my daughter showed no interest in colouring in until she went to school and now is obsessed with it.

And Molehill, I hear ya on the book jigsaws. Worst idea ever. My daughter had gastroenteritis over xmas and vomited over a brand new book jigsaw - I was thrilled because I had an excuse to throw it straight in the bin.

RainySmallHands · 25/01/2012 15:39

Thanks everyone for your messages; I am feeling reassured. I admit that I am a little bit of a worrier over DD1 as she often seems to be left behind by her peers (she also has a genetic condition in which 50% of sufferers have some form of learning disorder, so I am continually on the look out... Sad).

I don't think she is abnormally behind in any respect, there just seems to be an unfortunate combination of slower-than-average DD1 and her immediate peers, the children we spend the most time with, being quite advanced. So, I think, in a way, I have an unrealistic expectation as my only comparisons are wunderkind.

Yesterday she actually brought a dreaded jigsaw book to me of her own volition and seemed to enjoy doing the (6-piece) puzzles together. She is completely luvverly though, even when she is slotting in the final piece upside down and back-to-front Grin

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