Month 17: Puzzling over puzzles—what the progression looks like
The days of putting together 1,000-piece puzzles with your child are still years away, but the cognitive elements of puzzle building have already started to connect in your toddler’s brain. When babies and toddlers start to manipulate toys and other objects to fit into a particular space, a number of skills are developing in their growing brains and bodies.
THESE TODDLER PUZZLE SKILLS INCLUDE:
Fine motor practice
These are the small, more precise movements babies and toddlers work so hard on when they play with physical objects, like grasping, pointing, clutching, squeezing, etc.
Hand-eye coordination
This refers to the way hands and eyes work together to complete a task.
Gross motor practice
Movements that work the larger muscles of the arms and legs, such as walking, jumping, and climbing, all develop gross motor skills. Puzzles tap into this too, especially the large-format kinds, like floor puzzles.
Recognizing shapes & spatial awareness
Toddler brains benefit enormously from practice with figuring out how things fit together, how to orient and rotate objects, and predicting which shapes might fit a particular space.
Memory
Solving puzzles, even the simplest ones, is great for building short-term memory and forming neural connections in your toddler’s brain.
There’s a lot more going on, too, especially as your toddler gets older. Puzzles offer practice in resilience, teamwork, managing frustration, and even mathematical concepts like parts of a whole and symmetry.
What does puzzle-solving look like at each stage? Remember, as always, that every child develops differently and may have a trajectory with puzzles that differs from these benchmarks. It’s also good to give kids at all stages plenty of time to experiment, play, and explore—even if it’s not the “right” way to solve a puzzle.
HERE IS THE GENERAL PUZZLE-SOLVING PROGRESSION BABIES AND TODDLERS GO THROUGH:
One-piece puzzles
Babies start to work with simple, one-piece puzzles around 6-8 months. Much of the time, that means mouthing the puzzle piece—that’s okay!
The pincer grasp
Close to their first birthday, your baby may start working on their pincer grasp (grasping objects between thumb and index finger). This allows them to start removing puzzle pieces more easily and even fitting one inside its resting place. Your baby will probably also love taking completed puzzles and dumping them on the floor.
Multi-piece puzzles
Toddlers start to work on multi-piece puzzles with simple shapes between 13 and 15 months; circles are a great way to begin. Especially if you offer some guidance, your toddler may start noticing when pieces do and don’t fit into a particular space.
Different shapes
Your toddler is probably ready to start working with different shapes when they’re around 18 months old. Whether those shapes are geometric, animal, or otherwise, there is a newfound understanding that different shapes fit in different places.
Jigsaw puzzles
An introduction to jigsaw puzzles might be just right when your toddler turns two—maybe even a little sooner. Simple, oversized jigsaw puzzles are a great way to practice this new way of fitting shapes together, and they lay the groundwork for more complex puzzling down the line. You can also introduce floor puzzles at this age, which engage the whole body in fun new ways.
In this post
The Babbler Play Kit
Full of things to support your toddler’s renewed curiosity, communication, and language acquisition.
Learn more
Keep reading
0 - 12 Weeks
3 - 4 Months
5 - 6 Months
7 - 8 Months
9 - 10 Months
11 - 12 Months
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
19 - 21 Months
22 - 24 Months
25 - 27 Months
28 - 30 Months
31 - 33 Months
34 - 36 Months
Why wooden toys make the best playthings
Wooden toys are a staple of Montessori learning. They're durable, beautiful, and inspire wonder for a child's budding imagination.
3 - 4 Months
5 - 6 Months
7 - 8 Months
9 - 10 Months
11 - 12 Months
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
18 - 48 Months+
Why children are so attached to their loveys (and what to do if your child loses theirs)
Loveys, also known as "transitional objects," help babies and toddlers through transitions. Learn why these blankies, stuffies, and more are important and what to do if one goes missing.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
19 - 21 Months
22 - 24 Months
Updated Lovevery Play Kits featuring larger, more complex developmental Playthings—plus, a new subscriber-only shop
After play studies, weeks of in-home testing, and thousands of customer surveys, we are excited to announce our updated Play Kits for one-year-olds.
16 - 18 Months
Month 17: Puzzling over puzzles—what the progression looks like
Puzzles build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving strategies. Here is the progression of puzzle solving for babies and toddlers.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
DIY Popsicle Stick Color Pockets
DIY popsicle stick color pockets | Lovevery
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Toddler Balloon Play
Sometimes all it takes to keep your toddler busy is a balloon. If you happen to have a balloon in your house, use these ideas to make the magic happen.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Painting with Nature
Bring home stick and leaf collections from your neighborhood walks and turn them into paint brushes with this DIY.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Vegetable Painting for Babies and Toddlers
Use this taste-safe paint recipe made of veggie scraps for a great new way to connect with your toddler through art.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Pom poms and tubes
Dropping a pom pom into an opening requires a variety of skills from a child, from lining up their hand with the opening to knowing when and how to open their fingers to release. Try it with this activity.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Pom pom and pitcher sensory bin
Sensory bins of all kinds allow young children to explore different materials with their hands. In this case, you'll use pom poms that can be squeezed, rolled, bunched, tossed, and poured with a pitcher.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
DIY ball chute box
In this activity, which repurposes a cardboard box, your child’s evolving understanding of object permanence is combined with a fun DIY ball-rolling activity.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Painting with An Egg
Use eggs, balls, or marbles in place of a paint brush in this fun activity that's a fit for young children.
13 - 15 Months
16 - 18 Months
Easter rock painting and rock hunt
Short on eggs? Painted rocks are a great substitute for your annual Easter egg hunts.
16 - 18 Months
Welcome to The Pioneer Play Kit for months 16-18
Watch Lovevery CEO Jessica Rolph introduce the Pioneer Play Kit for months 16 to 18 of your toddler's life.
16 - 18 Months
Month 18: Introducing the Wooden Stacking Peg Board—the Montessori way
Watch Lovevery CEO Jessica Rolph and Montessori expert Jody Malterre as they show some of the many ways your toddler can use the Wooden Stacking Pegboard.
16 - 18 Months
Month 16: Rethinking milestones—when to relax and when to talk to your pediatrician
Here are some thoughts to consider if you find yourself battling worries over your toddler’s milestones or suffering the effects of child comparisons.
16 - 18 Months
Month 16: When should my child be able to stack 6 building blocks?
Research confirms what kids, parents, and teachers have known for centuries: playing with blocks is fun for your toddler and promotes many kinds of learning.
16 - 18 Months
Month 18: 4 concepts your toddler’s brain is ready for now
Heavy and light, loud and quiet, big and small—developing brains love to grapple with opposites. Here are some fun ways to explore opposites with your toddler.
16 - 18 Months
Month 18: Why “you worked so hard” beats “you’re so smart”
A growth mindset leads to resilience, grit, and stamina, and teaches your child that their intelligence, capabilities, and talents can grow the more they learn.
16 - 18 Months
Month 17: First, next, then—giving your toddler comfort and structure
For toddlers, routines provide comfort, structure, and a way to predict what’s going to happen next. Learn how to establish and maintain toddler routines.
16 - 18 Months
Month 18: It’s okay to cry—letting our children know they can feel sad
It’s a fact of life: babies and toddlers cry. Here are some ways to help your toddler work through big feelings.
16 - 18 Months
Month 16: Collecting and transporting
Walking while carrying or pushing an object requires significant coordination and motor skills. Learn how pushing and transporting benefit your toddler.
16 - 18 Months
Month 16: Throwing and rolling and flinging, oh my! How to support your baby’s love of making balls move
Throwing, rolling, and flinging are all a natural part of how toddlers play and are early lessons in cause and effect. Here are 6 safe ways to practice.
16 - 18 Months
Month 17: 17 ideas for screen-free play, by Lovevery CEO Jessica Rolph
If you dread toddler travel, the first step toward a less stressful experience might be to reframe how you think about it. Here are 17 ideas to get you started.
16 - 18 Months
Month 18: When will my toddler learn to sort?
Sorting is the beginning of pattern recognition, a foundational math skill. Here are some ways to practice sorting with your toddler.
16 - 18 Months
The case for messy sensory play: ideas for right now
In order for any of your child's individal senses to give them meaningful information about the world, they need to be linked in the brain—this is the case for getting messy.
