Is it typical for a 32 month old to be able to do 25 piece puzzles?

Question

Just wondering? My son all of a sudden likes puzzles and will do them over and over with no help. My daughter never really showed an interest for puzzles, so just curious.

Answer 1

Two of my sons could do puzzles at the same age. My youngest never showed an interest in puzzles.

Answer 2

My two-year-old daughter was able to complete a 25-piece puzzle 43 years ago; but, me, my husband, and her grandparents worked puzzles with her all the time. She was taught to recognize shapes, colors, and sizes. My daughter could play dominoes at the age of four. She was tested, at the age of eight, with an IQ of 140. She was the valedictorian or her highschool class, and in the top five percent of her college graduating class. She is now a CPA.

My youngest daughter is six years younger than her sister. She was not an outstanding student, was even in a Remedial Reading class in elementary school. She struggled academically in highschool, though she was an outstanding cheerleader, and attended two years of college on a cheerleading scholarship. She served in the military for eight years, graduated a beauty college, and eventually went to a junior college, graduated with a 4.0 grade average, and graduated from a state university in another two years with a 3.9 grade average. She is now a teacher.

There is no such thing as a "typical" child.

Answer 3

As a preschool teacher for many years I would prefer to refer to your child as a two and a half year old (almost three year old) instead of a "32 month old."

I have worked with children of all ages in preschool. I currently run a 3 year old program. Children, in general, have varied interests. Every child has their preference--sometimes it is on a daily basis, sometimes a weekly basis.

Puzzles and coloring are actually fine-motor skills that involve hand-eye coordination. My three year olds love puzzles, coloring, tracing, lacing, cutting with scissors, building with blocks and Lego's as well as playing with small cars. These activities involve hand-eye coordination/fine motor skills. Such skills are a building blocks for writing.

If your child is good at and enjoys these skills he will most likely begin writing his letters earlier than other children his age. We start our children writing letters using the dot-to-dot method--which is much like figuring out a puzzle (i.e. finding the next dot in the right sequence = finding the next puzzle piece).

Answer 4

i work in a preschool and i can tell you that most children of that age would not be able to do a puzzle that size , nor at two colour in between the lines.

however it is not unheard of, the only issue is you need to help him extend his learning, because he could become bored and begin to regress.

Some children excel in one area but not in another , just the same as no two children are the same, as can be seen with the differences between your two children.

Answer 5

As a kindergarten teacher I am super impressed with the coloring in the lines!  I feel he would be above average.  He is not quite 3 and the puzzle thing is great, but not unusual.  Both my kids did / do that.  My daughter is 2 and 1/2.  Loves puzzles, cannot color in lines!

Answer 6

Your child shows a great interest in puzzles mostly due that he found it successful in achieving his first task.  In this case, a puzzle becomes thrilling and exciting to him because he is able to succeed in this type of play.  I would recommend that encouragement on your part is greatly beneficial.  Provide him with more puzzles and not just the typical puzzles, but also with different types of puzzles that would be considered a manipulative.  This type of play improves not only his cognitive skills but also builds on self-confidence and self-esteem.  Join in as much as you can with your son only if he approves of it.  If he wants to build puzzles on his own, then let him.  Down the road he may tire putting puzzles together but he will have learned important skills such as concentration, focus, dexterity of fingers, and many more.  All these skills will eventually help him on other activities that he will find interesting and may even find being good at where even maybe he will make a career out of it…

The human mind is such a wonder…

Remember, the greatest moment for you and you son is when he was born; the second is when he finds out why…

P.S.  Stay away from monetary rewards.  Focus on internal gratification.  Not really praise but encourage his abilities, interest, and accomplishments on a daily basis and you will find out what he has to offer in return...

Answer 7

As he is almost 3 it is not unusual, particularly if he is bright in other areas. Children often do things repeatedly and do not tire quickly - like playing hide and seek.

Answer 8

well that only means your son will probably be interested in jobs that involve solving problems by himself...patiently.....    ;)     and yeah its possible...i mean a lil 4 year old from korea solves the rubiks in 30 seconds...so yeah...

Answer 9

I think not.  He sounds gifted. Get him tested.  I'll tell you why.  He may become board if not challenged when he is older and that may lead to those kinds of problems.