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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Was your toddler good at puzzles? What are they like now?

44 replies

lottytheladybird · 02/12/2013 20:11

Hello! My DS is almost 19 months old and can complete 12 and 15 piece puzzles all on his own. I'm amazed that he has the fine motor skills to do this, let alone the mental capacity.

I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who's DC was really good at puzzles from a young age and learn about what they're like now. What does being good at puzzles mean, do you think? [Smile]

OP posts:

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ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 02/12/2013 20:15

Genius.

Dd is 18 months and still throws the pieces around. The whole concept of 'puzzle' is lost on her.

She has a winning smile and rocks 'dingle dangle scarecrow' like no toddler ever though

hercules1 · 02/12/2013 20:18

Dd was really good at puzzles when younger and at 10 is top in her class by a long shot. I know it's a brag post but you asked!

realblueprint · 02/12/2013 20:18

My 5 yr old was and still is crap at puzzles.

She is in the top set for reading and has been assessed as being 3 years ahead in most areas.

timidviper · 02/12/2013 20:22

My DS was always really good with numbers and used to do a puzzle for adults in a newspaper with my Dad from an early age. He went on to get top grades in Maths GSCE, AS and A level and Further Maths.

HorsePetal · 02/12/2013 20:24

DD was rubbish at puzzles.

Has Oxbridge interview next week

MissBeehiving · 02/12/2013 20:37

This is so funny

DS1 (9) is brilliant at puzzles and "gifted" at school. He is can see patterns in number sequences that I and DH (who is very good at maths and went onto Oxbridge) can't.

lostintoys · 02/12/2013 21:57

DS was brilliant at puzzles as a toddler. No interest in them now, at 7, but excels at school.

bunnybing · 03/12/2013 11:46

DD1 was really good at puzzles as a toddler. She is good at maths and English (I mean literacy) but not exceptionally so. The one thing she is really good at is spelling - so maybe there's the pattern recognition thing.

In my DDs case she was v ill from the age of 19months till 2 years old - so she couldn't do much other than sit and draw/watch telly/and do puzzles - so her puzzle skills probably took off for that reason. I don't think you can read much into it tbh.

Original poster

lottytheladybird · 03/12/2013 12:49

hercules1 - I didn't intend for this to brag post, but I can see now how it looks like one! I am genuinely interested in finding out if being good at puzzles correlates to anything. You must be very proud of your DD.

OP posts:

willyoulistentome · 03/12/2013 12:50

DS2 was AMAZING at puzzles. He now makes AMAZING houses on Minecraft. all the time

MortifiedAnyFuckerAdams · 03/12/2013 12:52

DD (21mo) can do her wooden ones (fit into the places type) but I think a lot of it is memory as to where they go.

Peoces that fit together - she has no interest in yet.

Artandco · 03/12/2013 12:53

They are currently very good at puzzles ( well I obv think that), and both 2 and 4 year olds currently do 48 piece puzzles easily enough.

However they haven't grown up yet so have no idea if it will help later. Eldest is better at numbers than reading though

MrsPresley · 03/12/2013 12:54

My DD 12, was very good at jigsaw puzzles and still is.

Could a 250 piece one at age 5 and would never look athe picture on the box.

Unfortunately, she really struggles with everything at school and gets learning support for most subjects

ReallyTired · 03/12/2013 12:59

lol.. dd was very good at puzzles as toddler where as ds had no interest. Academically its too early to say whether it makes a difference as dd is only four years old and ds is eleven.

Ds does OK at school. He is lazy and only works at music. Its too early to say what dd is like at school work. Certainly she is better at drawing than her brother was at four.

Any threads are anedotes. I think that dd probably is slightly smarter than her brother, but a sample of two is meaningless.

Original poster

lottytheladybird · 03/12/2013 13:04

Mrs Presley My DS1, who's 3, is also very good at puzzles. He could do a 60 piece puzzle by two and three quarters years old. He has one to one support at nursery and will need it when he starts school next year, too.

OP posts:

eden263 · 03/12/2013 13:10

DD (now 5) was a whizz at puzzles as a toddler, has always done them without looking at the box, but now is much less interested although still good. Way ahead of her peers academically, with talk of the gifted & talented register, but also suspected autism/Aspergers.

I think the findings of this research suggest that children who are good at puzzles when young go on to be gifted/above average/average/below average/SEN

Original poster

lottytheladybird · 03/12/2013 13:17

eden263 - My DS1, mentioned just a few posts above, has autism. No concerns with DS2 though, who I originally posted about.

The findings are not conclusive, but very interesting, I find!

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bruffin · 03/12/2013 13:23

DD now 16 was obsessed with puzzles when she burnt her hand at 2.3. She went from doing 2 - 3 pieces to the 5+ 48 piece ones in a few weeks and could do 100+ ones. However she did lose interest and doesnt really do them now.
She is very good at Non verbal reasoning and is in top set for maths at school.

hench · 03/12/2013 14:24

one of mine was good at and enjoyed puzzles a lot. They grew up to be good at maths, programming and languages (and minecraft house building).

bluecheeseforbreakfast · 03/12/2013 18:14

I had an amazing skill for jigsaws when I was younger ( and still do if I ever had time to sit down and do them!) I was given a 2000 piece jigsaw for my 5th birthday and completed it in 2 evenings.

I am dyslexic and tge colour, shape and texture of jigsaw pieces made much more sense to me than letters, I didn't learn to read until I was 10.

My degree is in visual communication, I have worked in a creative industry since graduating. I was also good but not exceptional at maths, I have an a-level in maths but never took it any further.

My advice would be don't underestimate your dc's jigsaw potential! As soon as the pieces are not a choking hazard start giving him harder and harder jigsaws.

And looking at the box is cheating! It's like flipping to the last page of a book ;)

Original poster

lottytheladybird · 03/12/2013 22:24

bluecheese - That's amazing! 2000 pieces! I dread the time when I have to make sure all the pieces are there when my sons move onto puzzles with hundreds and thousands of pieces!

OP posts:

claraschu · 03/12/2013 22:33

My son was amazing at puzzles from a very early age. He is extremely clever and academic, great at maths but also art and writing essays. He is still good at all kinds of puzzles: jigsaws, games, logic, figuring out the world around him.

Cat98 · 04/12/2013 07:43

My son was:is great at puzzles and is really good at maths. No idea if its related but with a sample size of 2, I'm crap at puzzles and crap at maths!

Pancakeflipper · 04/12/2013 07:45

My DS1 was amazing at puzzles. Totally under the radar at school, drifts along in an average manner. But amazing at climbing.
Great patience at Lego and Minecraft.

Ferguson · 04/12/2013 19:05

I think, quite often, if children have the opportunity to do things, in their own time and in their own way, they can achieve more than one might expect. Praise and encourage them, but don't 'push'.

Our DS was good at puzzles, also Lego inc Technic, earlier than the recommended age. He had child-friendly scissors, and cut up catalogues from age of 2. (As a TA I've known Reception children cry because they couldn't cut out.) I (dad) made Airfix kits, and I encouraged DS to look for pieces from the pictures on the instructions. By age 7 he was knitting; played recorder, keyboard, piano. Went on to do well at school, university, and in IT jobs.

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