At first glance, puzzles may seem to be nothing more than a ‘just a toy’. However, puzzles can play a critical role in the mental development of both children and adults.
Puzzles help to build problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Puzzles also engage minds by helping with memory and pattern recognition skillsets, too! Not only do puzzles help with mental development, but manipulating the individual pieces also helps youngsters improve their motor skills as well as spatial geometry (what shape is compatible with other shapes) skills. One more thing that's beneficial about puzzles is that they can help to introduce new spatial reference words into the lexicon of young children. Words like “flip”, “turn” and “rotate” are easy to visualize with puzzle pieces. Lastly, the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that comes with successfully completing a puzzle helps to build self-confidence and pride. As you can tell, puzzles can play a very important role in the development of children while being disguised as ‘just’ a fun activity!
But what about the benefits of puzzles for adults? For many, there is nothing more relaxing than a quiet evening with mellow music playing on the radio while totally immersed in a jigsaw puzzle. For millions of people, the hours can just disappear while enjoying this fun, relaxing hobby! Also, over the last 7 years of selling Puzzometry puzzles and talking with puzzle-loving customers, I’ve heard many stories like the following:
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“My mother lives with my family because she has advanced Alzheimer’s.
She finds it virtually impossible to focus on anything for more than a few
minutes. The other day, I happened to leave one of your Puzzometry puzzles
on the kitchen table when I left to go to the mall for a few hours. When I
returned, I discovered that mom had been sitting at the table for the last two
hours totally immersed in the puzzle and enjoying herself while being fully
engaged in the activity.”
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Now, to be clear, I have no experience whatsoever with anyone close to me having Alzheimers, so I don’t have any experience with which to put stories like that in context, but trust me, I bet I’ve heard about 8-10 similar stories from customers over the years. I suppose what we can gather from this is that if keeping a few puzzles around the house can keep an Alzheimers patient occupied, safe and mentally engaged then perhaps the few bucks to buy a puzzle might very well be money well-spent.
Additionally, in todays’ world where EVERYTHING seems to be internet connected, has touchscreens and needs batteries constantly recharged, it’s a nice respite to find fun activities that have no joysticks, touchscreens or charging cables. Puzzles fit the bill perfectly!
Of course, I’m hopeful that you’ll check out ALL SEVEN of the puzzles in the Puzzometry family of puzzles, but regardless of which type of puzzle you like, consider adding one (or more) to your household. They are tons of fun and have plenty of benefits!
Jim
P.S. - Puzzometry Puzzles ALWAYS ship for FREE to U.S. customers!