Puzzles for Kids

Discerning patterns in order to put together pieces

Puzzles are a powerful tool for cognitive development and maintenance, not only in children but also in adults and the elderly. They stimulate a number of skills and cognitive functions:

1. Problem-Solving Skills: Solving a puzzle requires a trial-and-error approach and strategizing, which can help improve problem-solving skills. It teaches that a larger problem or goal can be tackled by breaking it down into smaller, manageable tasks.
2. Spatial Reasoning: Puzzles often involve manipulating pieces and figuring out how they fit together, which can enhance spatial reasoning abilities.
3. Fine Motor Development: For children, especially toddlers, puzzles can be an effective way to develop fine motor skills, as they require careful placement of pieces.
4. Memory: Puzzles can help improve short-term memory, as you have to remember shapes and pieces to figure out where they fit.
5. Focus and Patience: Puzzles require time and focus, teaching the value of patience and the reward of completing a task. This can be particularly beneficial for children, encouraging concentration and perseverance.
6. Cognitive Function: For older adults, puzzles can provide a stimulating mental challenge that helps maintain cognitive function. Some research suggests that such mentally engaging activities may potentially delay the onset of cognitive decline in aging.
7. Mood Improvement: Completing a puzzle triggers the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and optimism, among other things. It provides a sense of satisfaction and achievement, which can help improve mood and relieve stress.
8. Social Interaction: Puzzles can be done individually or as a group activity, promoting cooperative play and communication when done with others.

From childhood to old age, puzzles offer a fun way to stimulate the brain and enhance various cognitive skills. They are an affordable, accessible, and versatile tool for promoting mental health and development.

Electronic Scrabble Flash - Scrabble flash cubes.
Rubik's Slide - Over ten thousand puzzles built into one unit.
Rubik's Magic - Addictive puzzle you can play all day from the makers of Rubik's Cube.
3D Farm Puzzle - Three dimensional farm puzzle.
ABC Learning Puzzle - ABC puzzle that makes learning easy.
Alphabet Art Puzzle - Learn the alphabet and art with this puzzle.
Alphabet Train Floor Puzzle - Alphabet train puzzle with thick, self-correcting pieces.
Bibleman Puzzle Game Toy - Bibleman 63-piece Puzzle Value Pack by TaliCor.
Blues Clues Puzzle - Puzzle with a distinct border to follow.
Boat Puzzle - Puzzle World Boat Pack.
Connect Four Game by Milton Bradley - Regular and Electronic - Vertical tic-tac-toe.
Counting Hands Puzzle - Hands Counting 12-piece Peg Puzzle
Counting Puzzles - A great basic toy to teach a child how to count.
Cube It Up Game - Great game gift.
Dinosaurs Puzzle - Dinosaurs Floor Puzzle.
Dolphins Puzzle - Dolphins 300-piece Puzzle.
Dress Up Puzzle - Single Bear Dress-Up.
Farm Animals Puzzle - Animals In The Barn Floor Puzzle.
Farm Puzzle - Pictures Under Pieces Puzzle: Hide and Seek Farm.
Geometric Shapes Puzzle - Geometric Shapes Jumbo Knob Puzzle.
Girl Dress Up Puzzle - Girl Dress Up Puzzle by Lights, Camera, Interaction.
Glow in the Dark Puzzles - 2 pack of 100 pieces each.
Hebrew Alphabet Puzzle - Hebrew alphabet learning puzzle.
Lights Out 2000 Game - The frenzy's on.
Magnetic Fishing Game - Game to improve hand-eye coordination.
Nature Puzzle - Nature puzzle for quiet play.
Noah's Ark Puzzle - 60-piece Noah's Ark Set by Ravensburger.
Pets Peg Puzzle - Pets 9-piece Peg Puzzle with a beautiful full color matching picture under each piece.
Puzzle Maze Game - Where the Wild Things Are Puzzle Maze Game.
Puzzle Storage Case - Painted Puzzle Storage Case.
Rubiks Cube - Rubix, Rubik Puzzle - Rubik's cube puzzle purchasing information.
Rush Hour Puzzle Game - Traffic Jam Gridlock Game.
Spelling Puzzle - Spell-A-Puzzle by International Playthings.
Spherical 3D Jigsaw Puzzle Globe - Spherical 3D Jigsaw Puzzle: Antique Globe by Buffalo Games, Inc.
Spiderman Puzzle - A giant spiderman puzzle.
Toddler Tote Puzzle - Affordable washable toddler puzzle with a handy travel case.
Transportation Puzzle - Transportation 9-piece Peg Puzzle.
United States Map Puzzle - USA Map Capitals and States Puzzle.
USA Map Puzzle - USA Map Floor Puzzle.
Veggie Tales Floor Puzzle - VeggieTales 40-piece Floor Puzzle: Playground by TaliCor.
Vehicles in a Box Puzzle - Contained in a wooden storage case complete with a sliding wood tray top to build the puzzles.
Wooden Knob Puzzles - Transport, Farm, Jungle Animals and Food Knob Puzzles.

World of Puzzles Magazine - World of Puzzles magazine features pencil puzzles of all variety for the avid puzzle player.

1000 Play Thinks: Puzzles, Paradoxes, Illusions and Game - 1000 Playthinks is the most compulsive, head-scratching, and-at 5.08 pounds-gargantuan puzzle book ever. An obsessive collection of 1,000 challenges, puzzles, riddles, illusions-both original as well as must-do classics. Jam-packed on the page and illustrated throughout in full-color, with a visual for each entry, the book, opened anywhere, is like a call to action. And once started it's hard to stop, because at the end of every successfully completed game the puzzle-solver feels smart, successful, and at one with the beauty of mathematics.