Children can start playing with simple puzzles from around 2 years of age, depending on their development, interest and ability to handle the puzzle. Younger children can begin with large-piece wooden puzzles, shape boards and matching activities. As they grow, they can gradually move to interlocking puzzles, string puzzles, logic puzzles and brain teasers with increasing difficulty.

The important thing is to choose a puzzle that is challenging but not frustrating for the child's age and experience.

Choose a puzzle based on your child's age, experience, attention span and interests. Beginners can start with simple wooden puzzles, matching activities and easy string puzzles. Children with more puzzle experience can try interlocking puzzles, logic games and challenging brain teasers.

For string puzzles, choosing different difficulty levels can help children progress from easy challenges to more difficult puzzles as they become comfortable with solving them.

Puzzles provide children with hands-on opportunities to observe, think, experiment and solve problems. Depending on the type of puzzle, they can encourage logical thinking, concentration, visualisation, patience, hand-eye coordination and problem-solving.

Puzzles also give children an opportunity to try different solutions and learn from mistakes. Completing a challenging puzzle can provide a sense of achievement and encourage children to become more confident in approaching new challenges.

The best puzzle depends on the child's age and previous experience.

2–4 years: Wooden shape puzzles, matching games and simple educational puzzles can be good starting points.

4–6 years: Simple jigsaw puzzles, beginner interlocking puzzles and easy string puzzles can introduce children to more challenging problem-solving activities.

6–8 years: Children can explore more complex interlocking puzzles, brain teasers and string puzzles with different difficulty levels.

8+ years: More challenging string and rope puzzles, interlocking puzzles, logic games and strategy-based puzzles can provide greater challenges.

String puzzles can be particularly interesting for children who enjoy hands-on challenges, because they require observation and a sequence of movements to discover the solution.