How to encourage your child to draw more:
Sometimes you may see a change in your kids drawing activities. The child who once loved to draw may now be critical of their work or avoid drawing all-together. So how can you encourage your child to draw more? Here’s my top tips from teaching 9+ years of drawing classes for kids and painting classes for kids:
Compliment the process, not just the product
Praise and verbally commend your child DURING the drawing process, not just once they have completed a drawing. It’s important for your child to realise that the act of drawing is worthwhile no matter how the drawing turns out in the end.
Photo by Natasha Hall
Make drawing a regular part of playtime
I remember as a child we had a cupboard under our staircase that was filled with crafty odds and ends - toilet rolls, pegs, paper, pencils, fabric offcuts, empty cardboard boxes etc. Whenever my brother or I uttered the cry “I’m bored” we were instructed to search through the cupboard and make something. It usually didn’t take us long before the random assortment of objects at our disposal triggered our imagination and we were busily spending hours making robots, designing our own outfits, building life-size animals. You name it, we made it!
Photo by Kostiantyn Li
art lessons online
Enrol your child into art classes for kids
sometimes a child doesn’t want to draw because they feel self conscious about their drawing ability. This is when enrolling them in online art courses can be hugely beneficial. Following along with an instructor in a step-by-step manner can help them draw something they never thought they could draw. And it takes all the pressure out of making design decisions themselves. They can relax and enjoy the process of drawing without any of the pressure. And at the end they can be impressed by what they have achieved, drawing something they never would have attempted on their own!
Scottie and Cooper enjoying Artory’s online painting classes for kids
painting classes for kids
Let your child see you drawing
children often learn by example, so show your child you aren’t limited by or afraid of your own drawing abilities. This will encourage them to not be afraid of theirs. If you don’t feel confident in drawing, you could stick to abstracts or simple expressions of line and shape. Or you may want to enrol in Artory’s online drawing classes to help you brush up on your skills
Photo by Victoria Nazaruk
Encourage drawing for self expression
Whenever your child is feeling a strong emotion, encourage them to express it in a drawing. This can help encourage them to realise the act of drawing itself can be cathartic and it’s not reliant on creating a “perfect” artwork in the end. I always tell my students in my painting classes for kids, “the bin is a perfectly good filing cabinet for your drawings as long as you are not afraid to give an artwork a go and you see it through till the end. Every failed artwork is a lesson towards a better one.”
Photo by Phil Hearing
Display your child’s art
This shows your child that their work is valued and important. Of courses always ask your child permission to display the artwork first. In our Artory art classes for kids, we always have a mini exhibition at the end of each class where students are encouraged to walk around and see each other’s version of the artwork we created. Students are encouraged to compliment and point out the features of each artwork they like, but I encourage them to keep any negative comments to themselves (they’re allowed to dislike another person’s artwork, they just shouldn’t tell the other person that)
Photo by Anne Nyagard
painting classes for kids
If you found these tips helpful, you may like to share this article with your friends.
Anne
