Word puzzles-5 Benefits for children’s development

It is absolutely essential for children to have a healthy and happy childhood and in order to provide this, it comes from the small things that parents do. From the kind of food being given to the kind of values being inculcated, the kind of interests being sparked in them and the kind of activities being introduced to them have a huge impact and they are bound to influence every aspect of children’s lives. 

Source: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/christmas-word-search-puzzles-for-kids-2809173

One of the most common aspect in which parents are usually worried about their education. In this day and age, quality of education and its difficulty level has increased by many folds as compared to the past and academics has essentially become a marathon for students whereby they are expected to compete with one another and stress about getting better grades than the classmate who tops the class.

This is the main reason why parents feel the need to ensure their children are on the “fast track” from the beginning; which basically means a child will be taught essential cognitive skills from a very young age which ensures that they are able to cope with the fast-paced education system. 

An excellent way to sharpen young minds is by introducing “brainy” activities like jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, Rubiks’ cube, chess, etc. Particularly, educational experts encourage parents to ensure that their children engaged in solving word puzzles as they sharpen the mind in many ways.

So, let’s take a look at the 5 benefits of word puzzles on children’s development...

#1: GREAT ENTERTAINMENT:

It is certainly a healthy source of entertainment for children because it only encourages healthy thoughts. Word puzzles are interesting, challenging and test’s children’s patience. This can keep children engaged for hours and in fact, it is a useful way of spending their time (instead of wasting it away by playing video games, etc.). While it may be taxing on the brain, it also eradicates undue stress and tension by diverting their attention in a healthy way. 

#2: EDUCATIONAL TOOLS:

Source: https://www.hamden.org/resources/test-page/educational-resources

Children generally have a very short attention span and hence they get bored by things very easily. It is therefore important to keep children engaged and make sure that they are learning continuously by introducing education in many different ways. Word puzzles are excellent practices which develop the vocabulary skills of a child. Being tasked to find out the missing words will enable children to think critically to find out and fill the blanks and soon as they find out answers, they would have learnt new words and they would have learnt about how to utilise them in their daily life (be it in spoken or written form) as well. 

Learning only through books can be boring after all! Different methods and strategies will keep children engaged and interested for sure.

#3: PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS:

We have established that word puzzles can be challenging and it compels children to think critically and analyse to come up with systemic solution. Every time children solve a puzzle; they will develop strategies to solve it faster the next time around as well as to solve them more efficiently!

#4: PATIENCE:

Source: https://medium.com/personal-growth/our-patience-will-achieve-more-than-our-force-edmund-burke-f80c694f8514

It will take a lot of time and effort to complete a sheet of word puzzle and this activity is a great way for children to develop patience, as well as for parents to find out how patient their children are. This will teach them to be tenacious, to be persistent, to persevere and not give up; all of these qualities are essential for children to conquer life.

#5: SPELLING:

Word games can help to reinforce spellings in your children’s minds because the ultimate aim of the activity is for children to spell linked words correctly to be able to complete the task. The more children practice over and over again, they will be familiarised with spellings and there is no way they will make careless mistakes in examinations!

BOTTOM LINE:

Today’s kids may be more likely to lose hours to computer games, but word puzzles are still a great way to pass the time and boost their learning. Even tuition teachers make it a point to incorporate this in their teaching style to make lessons lighter and more enjoyable. The benefits are numerous and it is parents’ responsibility to encourage their children to engage in healthy entertainments.