Puzzles from Santa - Getting the perfect gift for your toddler shouldn't be a riddle and can be the best investment you ever made for many reasons.
Toddlers are a busy, imaginative group of individuals. Their minds and needs have progressed past the impulsive desire to chew every thing their fingers grasp into slimy shreds. They love colors and will not forget about an object simply because mommy has hidden it out of sight.
Toddlers are also natural problem solvers. Don't believe me? Then why the need for a million dollar baby proofing industry, constant parental supervision and a great deal of improvising when the fancy toddler proof containers fail to keep your toddler out?
Work with it
This Christmas as you select holiday gifts for your toddler use these natural impulses to select gifts that stimulate these natural tendencies and capture the imagination. To that end puzzles are the perfect gift.
What kind?
The latest trend in holiday gifts or newborn baby gifts is the childrens personalized step stool. Choosing a childrens personalized step stool can be one of the more unique ways to add the enjoyment of having a puzzle along with their own name engraved in the stool. The stepstool not only promotes independence, it encourages learning to read with dexterity.
Of course your toddler will not enjoy a 1000 piece puzzle of Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces, but you are not too far off the mark. The best kind of puzzles for a toddler will take into account their fine motor skills and love of colors, learning and imagination. If you do choose a landscape type puzzle, choose one with a large pattern or picture. Too many intricate details will mean that this puzzle is dumped and abandoned for mom or dad to piece together again.
When selecting a puzzle for toddlers keep the following things in mind:
-Toddlers might not chew on everything, but will be tempted to take a nip or two every once in a while. Choose puzzles that can handle that kind of wear and tear without falling apart and creating a choking hazard. To this end wooden or foam puzzles work best.
-Nimble toddler fingers adept at defying the childproof cap still have trouble with fine motor skills. Puzzles with tiny pieces which lock together might confuse and frustrate them. Choose puzzles that have larger pieces and whose pieces fit into their own slot on the puzzle board.
-Some puzzles come with little knobs or handles attached to each piece. These are especially easy for even the youngest puzzle enthusiast to master.
-Bright colors and themes to match and stimulate your child's interest are best.
Making it fun
One of the elements that make puzzles fun for your little one are the wide variety of character, themes and age appropriate educational pictures that appeal to children of that age. Puzzles featuring the alphabet or numbers help your child to learn as they play. Fun characters or puzzles with cars, princesses or bugs stimulate imagination and foster your child's interests in and awareness of the world around them.
Perhaps the best part of a puzzle for Christmas is that this gift often creates moments of one on one play with you and your child. What parent or toddler doesn't love more quality time spent in simple play?
About the Author:
Edie Mindell is the writer for http://www.simplyuniquebabygifts.com/
. Parents, grandparents and other "Santa's" will love the large selections of unique newborn baby gifts
, including a childrens personalized step stool
, ready for any holiday or baby shower. Enjoy free shipping (lower 48 states).
