5 year old still hates puzzles & can't figure them out without much help - what's the problem/issue?

[Anonymous]

He's never liked them so I've never forced them. Today I was clearing out some toys he's outgrown, so he of course became interested. It was a 24 piece puzzle of jungle animals labeled 3-5 yoa. He kept saying "it's impossible" and "I can't figure this out", so I started giving him tips, like "start with the corners" and look for similar colors. He understands shapes, told me there are 4 angles in the rectangle, knew what every animal was and knows all his colors. He understood the sky and sun needed to be on top, however it never dawned on him to rotate the corner piece to make it fit into another corner. Even after I showed him a couple of times, he couldn't comprehend that a puzzle piece could be turned different ways to fit. (If he picked it up and it was rotated upside down, he'd believe that it had to go onto the puzzle board in exactly that manner.) I've never been that great at the spatial problem solving myself and wondered if this is the problem he's having, and if so, is there any way to help him improve on this skill?

It was a battle getting him to finish one puzzle, so practicing a puzzle doesn't seem possible. I've bought puzzles in every interest he has, so even getting different puzzles will not work. Thanks for any ideas!!

[Anonymous]

PS - he will be 6 in December, is in K and was in preschool for the past 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Can he do the ones that are within a frame? Most kids start with those and move on. If he has never really done them, maybe he just hasn't figured it out (and doesn't want to, it sounds lik.)

[Anonymous]

Some kids just don't like puzzles. Some kids just aren't good at them. He probably other things that some of his peers would say, "impossible."

[Anonymous]

I hate puzzles. I'm 36 and a successful attorney.

[Anonymous]

I'm 39 and have always hated puzzles and was never good at them.

[Anonymous]

Puzzles are hard for right-brained people, which he might be. You can be really smart and just suck at puzzles. That section is the lowest-scored on the LSAT. Analytical people tend to be good at them but they can be tough for many. There's nothing wrong with him.

[Anonymous]

I scored 170 on my LSAT and went to a top 10 law school. I was never that good at, or interested in, actual puzzles. Part of the issue for me is that I have no depth perception due to eye surgery/strabismus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I scored 170 on my LSAT and went to a top 10 law school. I was never that good at, or interested in, actual puzzles. Part of the issue for me is that I have no depth perception due to eye surgery/strabismus.

Funny, a lot of lawyers on this board this morning! I scored a 174 on the LSAT, and had a perfect score on all but the #$@#$ games section. I've never liked puzzles either. I think it's just a different style of thinking that dominates. I have very fast processing speed for verbal information, but very slooooww processing speed for spatial information. Hubby is the converse. He has a harder time on standardized test sections that involve reading and critical analysis, while he LOOOOVED the LSAT games and could do them a lot faster than me.

[Anonymous]

Fine motor/visual processing. As long as his K has no concerns about his writing development, don't worry about it!

[Anonymous]

I'm 38 and I hate puzzles and can't figure them out.

[Anonymous]

^^^ Ha. I am also an attorney. I'd didnt read the other posts.

[Anonymous]

My son only liked those chunk piece puzzles. He had no interest in jigsaw puzzles.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback, I won't stress too much. I was worried he'd fail at geometry or some other "important" life skill.

The puzzles I was referencing were frame puzzles, though he has plenty of both types.

Right brained - hmmm I'll look in to that. He is very creative, artistic and musical. I think I'll keep him.

[Anonymous]

You can start with sequence boxes and build from there. It's about organizing bits of information. And, of course, building confidence! Sequences are puzzles of a sort. Once he's gotten that under his belt, maybe trying very large piece puzzles and teach him the tactic of building the frame first. "Let's grab all the pieces with straight lines first." A system may help. It can easily seem so random, overwhelming in detail, and frankly impossible.

You could also have him draw a picture and cut it into a puzzle, then put that together. It'll link the pieces to a larger picture from the start. Making sense of a dozen tiny pieces is a cognitive skill that can be cultivated.

Building a house out of blocks is also a puzzle, if you think about it.

You got this! You're already learning so much about how DC operates. We're not all built the same. DS is a pattern genius. DD simply cannot be bothered, so I know where you're coming from, OP. It takes more time and will look different, but you'll get there. It's the competency that matters, not the delight! DD will help DS build a floor puzzle but won't do a simple frame puzzle on her own. I see that she is able to link a piece to the whole and am satisfied she has the skill. DS is left-handed, so I was surprised to see how well he could master puzzles. It's the abstract thinking rather than systematic ordering that allows him to do so well with this.

I think it's about working with DC to learn how he thinks through a puzzle. It's the same way once they're learning to sound out words and with how they approach a math problem. It's part of the adventure of parenthood. Don't be hard on yourself.