Every child has an artist within them, but it is up to them later on whether art will be something they really care about or something they will pursue. For young children, all we can do is encourage them and give them the necessary tools to start creating art.

If you want to start teaching your child to draw, the most important thing to remember is never to press. Let them explore on their own with your guide and encouragement.

Try these proven ways to teach kids to draw:

Incorporate art into playtime

Keep in mind that when you have a 5-year-old or younger, your teaching is only limited to encouragement, spending time, and providing tools that will help your little one learn. With this, what you can do is incorporate art into playtime. Make drawing or coloring part of your routine.

Children will start making art through doodles and later, around age 2, they will have more control of their drawing materials and the doodles will be more defined and repetitive.

Provide different types of art supplies such as non-toxic crayons and clay, washable markers and paint, chalk, etc. Try to do the art activities with your child as much as possible, as this would encourage them even more!

Not instruct

Children learn by themselves with each doodle. Through art at an early age, they develop basic motor skills, creativity, self-expression, and invention. When you have a young child, your job as a parent is to appreciate, not instruct.

When your little one is drawing, sit down with him, let him share what he is creating with you and praise him. Do not try to correct and teach, as this will disrupt their natural learning process and damage their self-confidence.

Ask open questions

Contrary to popular belief, don’t ask your child “what is it?” when he presents this drawing to you. Instead, you can ask him to tell you all about his drawing. If your little one gets excited talking about his art, ask more questions. Ask for more details as this will further spark your imagination and storytelling skills.

For example, you can say “Where is the dog’s friend?” and you will be more likely to add more animals to your drawing and other details that you did not draw in the first place.

Remember, by teaching your child to draw, you are not actually teaching him, you are encouraging him!

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