Why is drawing important for kids ? #Blogchattera2z

From the time a child is a toddler, we teach him how to draw. But what does drawing mean ? In simple terms, a drawing is a picture made with a pencil, pen or crayons rather than paint.

Science has proved that drawing helps in a child's emotional growth. It is true that a child's grip is not firm but some toddlers are able to scribble early. Mostly kids who are above two and half years old start drawing . With time you will notice how much he enjoys and how vast his imagination grows.

Importance of Drawing for kids :

Improves their Fine Motor Skills :

Fine Motor skills includes any specialized movements of hands, wrists and fingers. When a child draws, he uses his fine motor skills, which are very helpful to develop a firm grip.

Improves hand eye co-ordination:

When a child draws he is uses his finger muscles and it helps in improving the hand movements along with his co-ordination. This hand eye co-ordination is very helpful for a lot of other areas, like sports and other areas of child development as well.

Improves Creativity :

When you give a paper and a pencil to a child and ask him to scribble, over time you will notice that his creativity improves a lot. A child's imagination has no boundaries. Whatever he imagines, he tries to express on a paper. This is very helpful at later stages in a child's life too. Being creative can help him choose his career too.

Boosts Confidence:

You should notice a child's expressions when you tell a three or a four year old , how well he has drawn something. When you display his masterpiece on the fridge or in your room, his level of confidence has no limits!  He is happy and wants to do even better. This confidence helps him in other areas of his life too. Once he is confident, he will always want to do better in life.

Helps in Early Childhood Education:

Science has proved that drawing stimulates both sides of the brain. It is a form of expression. When a child draws, his brain is relaxed. it helps in the growth of emotional and physical aspects of brain. This further helps in increasing the capacity of child's memory, attention and  concentration. Also it helps in developing a child's reading skills, children do better in math and science.

Encourages Visual Analysis :

Children do not understand the basic science behind so many things. Drawing becomes the perfect opportunity for learning of so many things. Having a child draw specific items, helps him perform a visual analysis of so many things which he sees in everyday life. To support this kind of drawing, prompt your child at home to draw examples of big and small, far and near, rough and smooth.

Builds Concentration :

You will notice as your child starts to enjoy drawing, his concentration levels will increase. He will learn how to observe small details, concentrate on achieving  specific results and practice till he becomes perfect. This will also help him do better academically.

Teaches Creative Problem Solving :

Along with visual analysis and concentration, drawing encourages your child to solve problems creatively. As he draws, he finds out he best way to depict emotions or connect body parts or describe various textures.

Tips to encourage a child to draw who doesn't like drawing :

Being a mom myself, I understand that we want our kids to draw but there are some kids who do  not have an interest in drawing. To help those kids to draw, one could use below tips and methods of encouragement :

Give him something interesting to draw with :

Sometimes pencils becomes very boring for the child to draw with. Give him other options like soft pastels, pencil colours, sketch pens, wet chalk and coloured liners.

Other interesting things to draw on :

Sometimes the regular drawing book becomes very boring to draw. Give him other interesting options, like get a clipboard and take the drawing outside, draw on a big cardboard box, draw on a really long piece of paper or a very small piece of paper.

Do not force him to draw :

Some kids shy away from drawing because they feel that they cannot draw properly. Give him lots of options to draw, do not force him to draw and let him be alone when he is  drawing. By doing this he will not be conscious that someone is watching him.

Make it interesting :

Show him a flower or blocks or his favourite toy. Ask him to draw what he sees.

Give him interesting reasons to draw , like someone's birthday card, a thank you note to his teacher, a Diwali card or a Christmas card.

Help your child see objects :

If you are sitting with your child, show him different shapes around you. For eg, the bed is rectangle in shape, the cushion is a square. Show him the beautiful flowers around him.

Draw with your child :

This is a wonderful way to spend quality time with your child. Draw along with your child. This will encourage him to draw with you and he will definitely use his imagination to draw  better.

Be positive, not critical:

Your child will definitely make some distorted shapes and figures. Appreciate his efforts and praise him for what he has drawn. With time he will certainly draw better.

Keep the drawing supplies handy :

Keep all the drawing  books, sheets pencils , crayons at your child's reach. This will help him pick up the paper and pencil whenever he wants to and will definitely start drawing on his own.

Be patient, kids take time to build an interest in any activity. 

How did you inculcate an interest in drawing in your child ?Do share your experiences in comments.