# How good is your 4 year old at puzzles?



## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

It's a silly question, it's just because I'm honestly impressed with how well my kid does puzzles.

But then again was thinking, maybe it's not anything unusual at all









It doesn't even matter if it's unusual or not, I was just curious, you know?


----------



## SoulCakes (Dec 23, 2009)

What kind of puzzles?

My daughter (just turned 5) was always surprisingly good at jigsaw puzzles for a 3 or 4 year old. She does other puzzles and plays games on the computer, too, but I don't really look over her shoulder that often so I don't know if she solves them quickly or slowly, much less how quickly other children her age can solve them.

Sorry, I guess I'm not much help.


----------



## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Sorry, yeah, I meant jigsaw puzzles.

Like, would a typical 4 year old be putting together 100 piece puzzles, that sort of thing.


----------



## MJB (Nov 28, 2009)

My 4 yr. old has been doing 100 piece puzzles since 3.5. He is gifted though so I don't think that's typical. I think typical would be more like 50 pieces at 4. I do think 100 pieces at 4 is within the normal range, though.


----------



## LynnS6 (Mar 30, 2005)

I'm pretty sure that typical for 4 is about 25 piece puzzles.

One of my kids is quite good, the other is not. The one who isn't has motor planning issues, and has a very hard time orienting the pieces. He never got much pleasure from puzzles.


----------



## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

My ds never took to puzzles so he wasn't even doing 25 piece ones at 4. That's probably his level now at 8, lol. But he was excellent at mazes.


----------



## LeslieB (Feb 17, 2006)

My son can barely do a 10-piece puzzle. He just doesn't care for them much. I need to find some new, more interesting ones so maybe it will hold his interest when it gets tough.


----------



## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Thanks! Again, it was silly of me to even ask. DD isn't gifted or anything but I thought it seemed kind of cool. It's just nice when your kid shines at something.


----------



## Joyster (Oct 26, 2007)

We've been working on large puzzles since he was 3.5. As long as it has dinosaurs or ocean animals, he's good for up to around 200 pieces. He's not gifted, just brilliantly bright like his mother.


----------



## StrawberryFields (Apr 6, 2005)

My ds just started doing puzzles. I bought him a 35 piece with a busy scene and he did it REALLY quickly. So I am guessing that maybe twice that would be more appropriate for him? I'm not sure, he really hasn't been exposed to puzzles very much.


----------



## redpajama (Jan 22, 2007)

My son just turned five. We didn't really discover that he loved puzzles until he was 4-or-so--at which point he could do 24-piece really quickly and easily, a 70-piece puzzle kept his attention and was engaging and challenging, but not difficult, and a 100-piece puzzle was doable, but he would sometimes get overwhelmed by it and walk away for a while before returning to finish it.


----------



## lyterae (Jul 10, 2005)

DD just turned 4 and can easily do 60 piece puzzles. The 100 piece puzzles are overwhelming for her though.


----------



## dex_millie (Oct 19, 2006)

DS does 24 pieces at 3. I am thinking at 4 it might be 50 pieces, we'll see. He is very active and puzzles is one of a few things he does quitely.


----------



## Daffodil (Aug 30, 2003)

No way could I see my 4 year old doing a 100 piece puzzle. I doubt he would even attempt a 10-piece puzzle by himself. For some reason, neither of my kids have ever seen puzzles as something they could sit and do by themselves - they expect me to help. DS has been interested in puzzles lately, and he can find some pieces that go together, but if he, 7 year old DD, and I do a 100-piece puzzle, I probably do at least half of it, DD does most of the rest, and DS does maybe 10%, with a lot of help.


----------



## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *laohaire* 
It's just nice when your kid shines at something.

Yes, it is!

My son is 3 and does 48 piece puzzles, with a little support from me. He wouldn't do them alone, but enjoys it if I am there saying "Hey, here's the green dinosaur's head!"

It's cool, though, because my 9 yo dd _really_ never couldn't master puzzles when she was small. We would both just get frustrated, lol. She watches her 3 yo brother do these puzzles and is just amazed and impressed! That is kind of cool and sweet in its own right









But, my dd is incredibly gifted in other areas. It really is amazing to see them reveal their individual interests and strengths


----------



## Enudely (Jul 2, 2005)

If I could keep them organized, I might find out!


----------



## velochic (May 13, 2002)

I think some kids like puzzles and others don't... those that do probably excel at them because they are interested. It's certainly not silly to ask about it! These are things parents get curious about.

My mom lives with us and she does the big 1000 piece puzzles. Dd, who just turned 8 last month, has been helping her for years. A large part of that is she enjoys puzzles but also she has a long attention span and patience. She was doing 100 piece puzzles by herself at 4 because she enjoyed them. I don't attach labels to her, so I have no idea if she is "gifted", but she's the top of her class in an academically rigorous school that you have to test into, so I suppose it could be that. However, IMHO, I think it's more about enjoyment and patience than anything else.


----------



## Landover (Oct 12, 2007)

My 4.5 year old doesn't like puzzles (neither do I) and he won't even put together a 25 piece puzzle. That being said... he has been reading at a 1st grade level since he was 3.5. Doing puzzles has a lot to do with interest level, family involvement and interest level, and desire to do them versus intelligence.


----------



## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

DD1 (who will be 5 in May) went through a crazy puzzle phase about a year ago. Daily, she would take out all our puzzles and do them all over the upstairs floors. They ranged from 35-100 pieces. Now she can regularly do the 60 piece puzzles within a short time and the 100 piece ones in a bit of a longer time frame. Ds1 (7-1/2) has absolutely no interest in puzzles and I doubt he has even finished a puzzle on his own unless you count the wooden baby ones







.


----------



## minkin03 (May 28, 2009)

my dd just turned 4 in december and has loved puzzles for as long as i can remember. right now she's capable of doing 300 piece puzzles but takes her several days.

eta: she hasn't been tested, but i suspect that she's gifted.


----------



## zoshamosha (Apr 15, 2006)

Mine has been dong 100 piece puzzles since she was 3. I think she's crazy good at puzzles.


----------



## karemore (Oct 7, 2008)

DD was doing 63/64 piece puzzles at 4. She could do 100 piece but didn't enjoy them as much. She would do anywhere from 3-8 of them in a sitting.

I love puzzles though and she's always had them and always sees me doing them.


----------



## lovingmylife (Nov 1, 2009)

My son turned 4 a couple months ago and can do 50 piece puzzles very easily and the 100 piece ones he needs a little help with, but does them mostly on his own.


----------



## Tizzy (Mar 16, 2007)

DS1 is still in the middle of a puzzle kick, until just before he turned 3 he couldn't have cared less about puzzles - despite having a fairly large collection of them at his disposal.
Then something just clicked and he has been OBSESSED with puzzles.
He comfortably does the 60+ piece ones on his own and likes it if I sit and help him out with the 100 piece ones.
I don't consider him to be "gifted", I just see puzzles really fitting in with his learning style. For him, it's like fixing something and that really makes him feel good


----------



## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

DD is in the middle of a big puzzling week right now... DH is a big puzzle guy and so they sit and puzzle side by side. Sometimes she helps with his adult ones, but she can do certain 36-63 piece ones on her own, and the 100 piece tall rainsforest one we have overwhelms her until we get part of it going for her. I think a lot depends on the puzzle, hwo easy it is to divide into sections and match things up... we will often do a puzzle once with her and then she can do it totally on her own. (they are all floor puzzles) She's actually been at this level for a good year so it will be fun when she can tackle the big ones on her own!


----------



## Alathia (Nov 18, 2005)

DS1 (will be 5 next month) loves puzzles, and has always been interested in them. This year he's kind of relaxed on doing puzzles since it's so nice outside but he was doing 500 piece puzzles after Christmas (took him a couple of days). He's very visual spatial though, and likes putting things together.


----------



## Just1More (Jun 19, 2008)

Dd can't do it alone. Well, I don't think she can. Actually, I KNOW she CAN, but she won't. She got a 48 piece and an 100 piece puzzle for her birthday. A teenage friend helped her with the smaller one by regulating which set of pieces she would hand her, and I helped with the larger. It wasn't that she couldn't do it on her own, but that she felt over-whelmed, and didn't really care. She can do fairly impressive math stuff in her head, too.

She does great in other areas, though. And she has a super long attention span and always has. I think puzzles just don't speak to her. She has never needed a "busy" outlet, and think she resists the organized thought and puttering puzzles require, lol. She'd much rather sit quietly on the couch and let her mind wander, lol.


----------



## hakeber (Aug 3, 2005)

ds can do them on the computer fairly easily, since he was three, but has a hard time with the dexterity it takes to manage the small pieces, even now at five. He likes the ones that have pieces big enough for him to hold on to, usually the 25-36 piece ones.


----------



## Autumn Breeze (Nov 13, 2003)

My 4 yo can manage anything from 10-48 pieces, but the 100 piece puzzles we have, have too many pieces that look exactly the same. She gets overwhelmed and discouraged by that, but if she can find the 'central image' she can still make it about half way through that part before givingup.


----------



## kgianforti (May 22, 2009)

My just turned 4 year old can put together 100 piece puzzles with some help and 63 piece puzzles alone. I don't think we have anything in between!


----------



## pizzalover (Feb 19, 2016)

*1000*

My daughter was doing a 1000 pieces before she turned 4.


----------

