Floor puzzles...

I am having a terrible time coming up with Christmas gifts for DD! She loves her dolls and plays with them quite a bit, but my mom gave her a whole bunch of my old doll stuff (highchair, bassinet, etc) this summer, so she doesn't really need anything for them. Plus, she doesn't seem old enough to really know what to do with most of that stuff...she mostly takes her dolls on high-speed stroller rides throughout the house

She loves wooden puzzles and seems to be pretty good at them (at least compared to DS), so I bought her one of the large, floor-sized puzzlesfrom Melissa and Doug. I am just not sure she will be able to do it for quite some time? I want to make sure she has some fun presents to open as DS has TONS of Thomas stuff that I have been buying from Woot! (I am a sucker for a good deal).

At what age did your kiddos start with floor puzzles?

 

I still don't think mine would be able to put together a puzzle like that and they are almost 3 1/2. They can do the easy ones that are basically just shapes, but nothing that is actual puzzle pieces yet.

 

I also wanted to add some gift ideas.

What about bristle blocks, or the little people building palace.

 

Thanks for the input! I have the tendency to buy them gifts that are too old for them and then they sit around...bums me out a bit! I will just wait on the floor puzzle

And for whatever reason, my kiddos just do not seem that interested in the "building" stuff. We have a Little People playground and a few MegaBlocks...they just never get used. I finally pulled them into the backroom and will bring them out in a few months. Maybe they will seem "new/exciting" to them again?

Thanks for the help!

 

My boys LOVE puzzles. Love love love them. I would say probably right before their third birthday on... Now-they have always liked them. But it's not something I take out a lot because of missing pieces, Annabella running off with them, etc. I have probably close to 10 of the Melissa & Doug ones(I was once a teacher). I take them out and do them with them-and they totally love them. They can't do them on their own, but can certainly try, and enjoy trying. You could always try with just one and see how they do. They got a 24 piece puzzle for their birthday and I was floored when Anthony put it together without any help. They are great for fine motor skills, spatial skills, etc.

 

We've been doing floor puzzles since the girls were 3 and they loved them! We started with simple low # of pieces and then got harder ones....

Mine love to play on them when they are complete....the advantage of large floor puzzles is it is hard to loose the giant pieces!

 

We started floor puzzles a few months before they turned three. I had to help put the puzzles together the first few times, but now my kids are pros and pull out the floor puzzles on their own. So I'd say your DD is probably a bit young, but maybe not?

 

We have a floor puzzle and it has some really odd shaped pieces. I still have to help the girls with those pieces and they are almost 5.

 

My two have been doing puzzles for a long time & they LOVE them. They started with the floor puzzles before they were 3. At first, I would help them with them but it wasn't long before they were doing them without me. I love to see them working together to do a puzzle!

 

My guys love puzzles and usually do 2 or 3 a day. They started doing the 24 piece ones before they were 2 and now do the 48. I'm always amazed at their concentration when doing them. I think it depends on the child for when they would be ready for a floor puzzle and also their interest in it.

 

Good to know, I got a couple for my kids' birthday.

Oh and my kids love bristle blocks.