More about Self-Care Hobbies for Special Needs Parents: Puzzles

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Puzzles make a great self-care hobby for special needs parents.

There are various skill levels and endless pictures to choose from! Let’s look at some tips to get started. We will also explore strategies to make puzzles fit into your special needs parenting journey. (No pun intended!!)

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Why Puzzles Make a Great Self-Care Hobby

Puzzles are a great solo or group activity. They can be done quietly or while listening to an audiobook or a movie.

Puzzles can be done for short or long time periods. You can sit down for a few minutes or a few hours.

You can choose to complete the same puzzle multiple times. Or you can glue them and decorate your home.

Puzzles come in a variety of sizes, piece counts, and pictures. It is easy to find something for everyone! Puzzles are both calming and cognitively challenging. Taking time to focus on a puzzle gives your brain a break from worries.

Bonus: Children who are less talkative, may open up while working on a puzzle. In fact, having a puzzle out has helped both of my children acclimate to several in-home therapists.

Teacup on a saucer with a lemon wedge on a tablecloth with bright florals.

Ways to Make Puzzling Safe for Specific Special Needs

If leaving a puzzle out in the open is not an option, there are several ways to save progress.

If your child has pica and might eat the pieces, there are ways to store puzzle pieces safely. This is also a good strategy for children who may throw the puzzle or rip it up when angry.

Puzzle piece sorting trays are useful in the moment and for putting up and out of the way. Puzzle mats also allow you to roll or lift up puzzles in progress. I also like to use a large poster frame like this one. I use the poster frame flat as if it were a table top. The edges prevent pieces from sliding off. Plus I can easily move the entire puzzle to the floor, to another room, or out of the way if I need space.

Image of 2 Pack Roll Up Puzzle Mat + Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Pieces - Macaroons Puzzle Included.

Green cup on the corner of a table with a white blanket in the background.

Getting Started

New to puzzles? Or has it been a while? Try some of these tips to get started.

Start small. Puzzles come in 500 piece sets and even 250 pieces.
Start large. Picking a puzzle with larger size pieces is helpful when learning the ropes.
Sort the pieces. Before starting the puzzle, sort the pieces into groups. Edge pieces and center pieces are two main groups. If your puzzle has specific colors you could also sort center pieces by color.
Edges first. If you can put the outer pieces together first, you will have a frame to start the rest of the puzzle. Finding the four corner pieces is another helpful first step in this process.
Easy areas next. If the puzzle has a few main images that are easy to spot, start there and then move on to hard areas like the sky or water that may be more of a solid color.

White oblong saucer with a white cup with coffee and heart-shaped foam.

Puzzle Suggestions

To get you started, here are some puzzle suggestions. This is just the beginning of the variety of options available!

500 Piece Puzzles

Image of Ravensburger Cozy Retreat 500 Piece Large Format Jigsaw Puzzle.

Image of 500 piece puzzle featuring rows of rainbow colored melting popsicles.

Image of 500 piece Puzzle Crush Patisserie by Joy Laforme.

1000 Piece Puzzles

Image of 1000 piece puzzle with the image of Van Gogh's painting SUnflowers.

Image of 1000 piece eeBoo Piece and Love picturing a Swedish Fishing Village.

Image of 1000 piece puzzle picturing a scene from the Wizard of Oz movie.

Unique Puzzles

Image of round Bgraamiens Puzzle-Geometric Colorful Mandala-1000 Pieces Creative Geometric Round Blue Board Colorful Mandala Jigsaw Puzzle.

Image of UNIDRAGON Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle image of Charming Owl.

Image of CubicFun 3D Puzzle for Adults National Geographic Eiffel Tower Model Kit Paris Architecture Puzzle.

Puzzle Glue

When you complete a puzzle, you may want to display your hard work. I tend to use school glue that dries clear. There are also specialty puzzle glues available, such as this one available on Amazon. I like to put the glued puzzles on bookcases and drawers and prop them up against the wall. I rotate puzzles as I finish them or to fit the seasons. You could also frame them and decorate your home or give them as gifts.