What
do you say to a painting toddler?
Tips for encouraging your child's
natural creativity.
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- Always remember that the process is much more important than the product.
- Let the child explore art materials in his/her own way. Don’t insist that they be used only as we adults intended.
- Avoid value statements.
- Instead of labeling an artwork as “pretty,” “wonderful,” or “awful,” try
to
describe what the child has done:
“ You’ve made a wavy orange line with lots of little blue dots.”
“ You’ve really filled your paper with color!”
“ Hey look! When the blue bumped into the yellow, the paint turned green. You’re mixing colors!” - Try not to ask, “What is it?” (This can be confusing and/or limiting.) Instead, try to ask them to tell you about their creation.
- Young children are not making “pictures.” They are exploring with the media. If you praise a child excessively for making a shape that happens to “look like something,” he/she may begin to repeat that shape at the expense of future exploration for example.
- Relax.
- Exploring art is a “total immersion” experience for children. Body decoration is to be expected. The materials are (usually!) washable!
- Try to avoid patterns, stencils, coloring books and prefab art projects. They may sometimes be pleasing to the adult eye, but they are surefire creativity killers for young children.
