Best Puzzles for Kids of All Ages and Tips for Success
Looking for the best puzzles for kids? Welcome to the ultimate puzzle guide for toddlers, big kids, and teens. My children are pretty obsessed with puzzles, and I’m excited to share their top favorites with you!
Jigsaw puzzles are amazing gifts for kids of all ages.
They make a great quiet time activity and cultivate concentration, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.
Chalk Academy is reader-supported. Some of the links are affiliate links. When you buy something through an affiliate link, we may earn a very small commission at no additional cost to you. More details here.
Benefits of jigsaw puzzles for kids
Jigsaw puzzles are called “brain toys” because they build critical thinking, visual discrimination, and problem-solving skills.
Although my kids prefer to do puzzles independently, they can be great for family bonding and collaborative brainstorming.
If you and your kids do puzzles together, these are golden opportunities to boost vocabulary.
As you describe the appearance and texture of each puzzle piece, your children are learning adjectives. Your children learn verbs when you narrate the actions needed to complete the puzzle.
Last but not least, puzzles are also wonderful for developing perseverance and patience.
Best jigsaw puzzles for kids of all ages
The best puzzles for kids are developmentally at their level. As with any activity, children are more likely to enjoy the puzzle if it features your child’s passions (eg, animals, vehicles, flowers).
Although I’ll list these jigsaw puzzles in order of difficulty and number of pieces, there isn’t a right or wrong age to try puzzles. As a pediatrician, I want to reassure parents that kids learn puzzle skills at different ages.
You can find most of these puzzles in my Amazon Shop here.
Free beginner puzzles for toddlers
The easiest way to introduce the concept of puzzles is by covering part of any picture. Then, see if your child can guess what it is!
This playful activity encourages children to pause and notice details, such as color and texture, parts of an animal or object, and identify what is missing.
You can cut pictures or covers on boxes (eg, cereal, snacks) in half to see if your child can put them together.
When your child has mastered matching halves, cut the picture into quarters and eventually more pieces and shapes.
You can also print online photographs and glue them onto cardboard for extra sturdiness.
Cut and voila – a free jigsaw puzzle for beginners!
Best knobbed puzzles for toddlers
Wood knobbed puzzles are an excellent first puzzle for toddlers and preschoolers. Knobs promote pincer grasp, strengthening fine motor muscles that will later be used for handwriting.
These puzzles usually have the image as a whole, so the goal is to match the outline of the puzzle piece.
Since we are raising bilingual kids and encouraging them to speak Chinese consistently, I also bought bilingual puzzles to make our language fun and normal at home.
Favorite Jigsaw puzzles for toddlers and preschoolers
We love sturdy puzzles for toddlers! These were some of my children’s first jigsaw puzzles when they were little.
Melissa & Doug 12-piece wood puzzles
Each puzzle set comes in a wooden box with four different puzzles. The back of each piece has a shape to give kids a clue about which pieces go together.
Mudpuppy 48-piece fuzzy puzzles
When your child is ready to solve a more challenging puzzle, the Mudpuppy puzzles give a bonus sensory experience with their fuzzy texture!
Recommended: Awesome Animals and Continents Activity
Puzzles for preschoolers and elementary school kids
Ravensburger is our absolute favorite brand of jigsaw puzzles for preschoolers and elementary kids! Every puzzle piece is unique and fits together perfectly.
From 60 to 500-piece puzzles, below are some designs we’ve completed over the years.
- 60-piece puzzles – railway station, dinosaurs, construction, puppies
- 100-piece puzzles – puppies, safari, dinosaurs
- 200-piece puzzles – solar system, Orca paradise, ocean turtles
- 300-piece puzzles – world landmarks, underwater adventure, solar system, animals
- 500-piece puzzles – tropical waters, pencil pushers, legendary landmarks
3-dimensional puzzles
In addition to being a fun challenge, 3-dimensional world globe puzzles make a cool decoration!
Jigsaw puzzle globes
- Ravensburger 540-piece Earth puzzle globe – I’ve gifted these cool globe puzzles to my children’s friends, and everyone is always impressed! My daughter had so much fun working on this, and she has this proudly displayed in her bedroom.
- Ravensburger 180-piece Earth puzzle globe – This simpler version is perfect for beginner puzzle solvers.
Related: Best Montessori Geography Activities for Kids
More 3D jigsaw puzzles
Here are other highly-rated 3D puzzles on our wish list:
Puzzles for big kids, teens, and adults
Thanks to the pandemic, my daughter had a chance to finish her first few 1000-piece puzzles! I have yet to complete my first 500-piece puzzle independently, but here are her recommendations if you’re a puzzle aficionado like her!
How to save unfinished jigsaw puzzles
We usually leave our work-in-progress in the corner of our living room. But if you need to move your puzzles out of the way, Buffalo Games has various puzzle-saver solutions here with rave reviews.
Best tips for helping kids with puzzles
While many of my photos show peaceful puzzle work, it’s important to know that frustrations are normal along the way.
Children often have insight into what they are ready for. They will express interest in tackling a challenge independently, or they may beg us to stay by their side. Sometimes, they need to come back and try again some other time.
And when they do try, we celebrate the journey – the baby steps, the momentum that comes with persistence, the resilience from trial and error.
We let them know that we support them no matter the outcome. Whether or not we finish the whole puzzle, project, or plan, we’re learning and growing!
Here are tips that you can share with your children:
- Look at the big picture.
- Find a comfortable space to work on the puzzle.
- Turn pieces from the picture side up and organize them by color.
- Focus on 1 step at a time (eg, assemble border).
- Patience, practice, and perseverance.
- Take breaks.
Which jigsaw puzzles were the best for your kids and family?
I’d love to learn about your family’s experience! Did your children get to try any of these jigsaw puzzles? Please leave a comment below.
More educational gifts for kids
What is your child curious about? Here are more educational gift guides for holiday and birthday shopping!
