All parents will agree with this statement: children love to colour and draw. Whether their strokes are bold or uncertain, whether they use all the colours or the usual two or three favourites, there is meaning and value in every piece of art.
It is so common to see a child coloring and drawing that we often forget the power and importance of this activity for their development and growth.
What are we actually doing by encouraging activities such as coloring and drawing?
We encourage the expression of emotions
Drawing is often the medium through which children express themselves by channeling all their emotions into a pencil or color. From their way of coloring and drawing we can understand many facets of their character, even those that we have not yet managed to grasp simply by playing with them or carrying out daily activities together.
Let’s not forget that children are, as I like to say, ‘brand new people’, they are still learning everything that is already established for us, they are experimenting, they are shaping their characters. For this reason, providing them with a means of expressing the complex world that is feelings is the trump card when it comes to raising emotionally healthy and confident children.
Training visual acuity skills
Simple activities such as holding a pencil in your hand and following a moving object with your eyes are not as trivial for a child as we may mistakenly think.
Regular coloring and drawing helps both of these skills to develop individually and to coordinate with each other, giving the child greater confidence and thus greater self-esteem.
Stimulating the imagination
Creativity is divergent thinking, it is initiative, it is stepping outside the box. It goes without saying that stimulating creativity and imagination can have many benefits, first and foremost the emergence of lateral thinking, which will enable children to have their own opinions and be able to express them, find solutions to problems and become aware of their own ideas.
Sounds like too much in one drawing? Try it and you will be convinced!
Discover Smart Tales
There is nothing children love more than coloring. That’s why Smart Tales now has a new feature – Magic Color – to let your children’s creativity run wild. Discover the entire collection of drawings to fill with colors, stickers, patterns or to complete freehand. Because there’s no limit to our imagination.
in Italy