17 fun puzzles that help kids develop cognitive and motor skills, according to a developmental psychologist

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Alyson Aladro/INSIDER

• Wooden and jigsaw puzzles are valuable tools for developing young children's cognitive, motor, and social skills.

Puzzles are a great tool for development. Even from infancy, encouraging tasks that focus on learning and problem-solving can give babies the confidence they need to extend their knowledge to other tasks and experiences, like self-regulating their emotions when confronted with a new challenge. As babies become toddlers and then school-age, they establish more techniques and behaviors that facilitate learning as they go, but it all begins with that solid base.

Also on the shortlist of benefits: building fine motor skills; bolstering other aspects of emotional development like perseverance; learning about different people, places, or things; and encouraging quality time with family at home. Personally, I enjoy watching my 5-year-old show her 2-year-old brother her tried-and-true strategies for solving puzzles, and seeing him give it a shot, too, or try something new on his own.

After raiding my own toy chest and researching some new, creative options for my own kids, I compiled this list of puzzles for babies to 8-year-olds.