The Benefits of Colouring for Children

Keeping children away from the screen is a challenge for the parents. Trying a simple activity like colouring can be a great idea. Colouring is an awesome hobby and it offers many benefits too. Many people believe that colouring may even benefit the child’s development. Drawing and colouring are some of the simplest activities for young children and they can also be very addictive in a positive way. If you can adequately raise the interest, the kids may be encouraged to stay away from the mobile phone.

Here are some ways in which colouring may help young children.

1. Improves Focus and Concentration

There are so many distractions around us. The inability to focus can cause academic problems. Colouring is particularly useful here because it helps children improve their focus. When they are fully engaged in an artistic activity such as colouring, they achieve a state of flow, which is much like a meditative state. When they are intensely focused, they can easily lose track of time and mental chatter.

Besides, working with colouring sheets helps children learn to be patient while they are finishing something. It introduces them to structured work, which will help them in their future lives. Colouring can also counter overstimulation, which happens from overexposure to mobile and television screens.

2. Teaches Colours, Structures, Boundaries

Every child needs to realise the importance of boundaries. It will help them in their discipline in every aspect of life and stay with them even when they grow up. The kids may grow up to become rebellious artists one day. Even then, it is essential for them to first know the rules before they break them. Colouring sheets will give them the feeling of organisation. They will teach about the physical boundaries and shapes.

Colouring will teach the children about curves, lines, patterns, geometry, and structures. Teachers will surely help them learn about the colours with their names. They will also help with the shapes and patterns. In these vector images by Depositphotos, there are many shapes, symbols, and icons that the teachers can use. However, real learning for children will happen when they use colours. They will learn to experiment with different color combinations. They can even learn geometry when the teacher asks them to color a red circle.

3. Colouring Improves Fine Motor Skills

When they are colouring, children develop a better grip on the pencils, crayons, and pens they are using. The grip and action help develop the muscles in the hands, wrists, and fingers. It improves both hand strength and fine motor skills. In time, the action of colouring, will improve their typing and also writing skills. They will also do better in sports that require wrist, finger, and hand skills.

4. Improves Hand-to-Eye Coordination

Hand-eye coordination helps us process information received from the eyes and then use proper hand action for various activities. Without proper coordination skills, children may avoid some physical activities, grow slower physically, become clumsy, face academic issues, and even have problems socially mixing.

Colouring is a great exercise to improve hand-eye coordination as they have to work within the boundaries of various shapes. Colouring improves basic coordination abilities like sharpening the crayons, holding them correctly, and knowing which color to use when. Besides, colouring also prevents cognitive decline, especially when they work with difficult and complex sheets.

5. Colouring Fosters Creativity

Filling up those blank white spaces with crayons and coloured pencils may promote creative thinking. Sketching and colouring will introduce children to a fantastic imaginary world, which will spur creativity.

Often, they will come up with unusual color combinations and effects, which is normal as young minds are full of ideas and concepts. Always encourage them for an effort and tell them to do whatever comes to their mind. Do not be upset even if they are colouring outside the lines. These are small issues that will be sorted out easily with time. Colouring and drawing will give them a space where they can express themselves openly. Slowly, with time, they will learn how to transform the ideas into reality.

6. Improves Confidence

When children complete tasks successfully, it builds their confidence and self-esteem. Colouring is a fun and easy way of doing this. Colouring will improve the sense of achievement. A sense of mastery is very important for healthy development. Children will surely make mistakes but when they finally succeed, they will learn the importance of persistence and resilience.

7. Preparation for School

Introduce colouring sheets and encourage them to fill them up. These sheets will introduce the concept of working with paper, something they have to do when they go to school.

Drawing and colouring are both fun activities. They offer many benefits too for mental and physical development. Very little clean-up is needed, which will make the parents happy as well. Add colouring to your list of activities for children. Always encourage them to be more innovative.