Exploring quiet moments with our children can sometimes be hard for parents as we tend to have our brains full of worries and responsibilities of life. However, when we make the time to just “be” with our children, both the parent’s and child’s nervous systems regulate to a more balanced state.
Children learn to regulate their own systems by the adults around them, which is called co-regulation. Children are watching adults all the time. They are learning how to deal with their emotions and understand what behaviours are appropriate in the societies they grow up in.
Sometimes my daughter and I practice this by crafting together. Recently, on a pro-d day, my daughter and I had to wait for her brother to finish his outdoor program with the Human-Nature Counseling Society. To keep her engaged for two hours, I asked her if she wanted to spend time being creative with me. The idea I had was a muddled version of scribble art combined with colouring pages, and she loved it.
Scribble art is a style of art that is used in art therapy for adults and children to help focus on the present while they are drawing. It is often used as a relaxing technique as individuals learn to play in an unlimited way with colour and random lines. The idea is to doodle free-flowing lines on the page, and then after they are drawn, to colour them in. You can also use paints or another medium like felt pens.
I had a plan for the project to copy a printed image with carbon paper into a sketch book. I gave her a few horse images to choose from and then I added the one she chose on to the blank page. We both drew lines from the horse and then spent two hours colouring it in.
By being creative with them, we are allowing our children to learn to relax. And this relaxation is felt by parents as we remember what it was like to play. Adults often think that they are not artistic enough to do creative activities with their children but when we let ourselves be silly, we teach them it’s okay not to be perfect.
Countless articles online discuss why art and crafts are important for children but reading all of them can feel overwhelming. The articles often share how bringing creativity into our children’s lives gives them better skills such as fine motor skills. Each of these articles are trying to help you build stronger connections with your kids, while highlighting the benefits. Even reading just one can inspire new ideas. Similarly, articles that delve into the act of doodling share that it is more than a simple pastime. Doodling nurtures calmness and encourages reflection as lines flow freely on the page.
Being creative isn’t just about making some type of art or playing a musical instrument. A person can be creative with cooking, with 3D coding on a computer or designing garden patterns with flowers. When a child has a parent participating in whatever creative field they enjoy, it allows them to feel supported and loved.
By taking time to be creative with our children, it allows us all to enjoy the present. There’s more to it than just art. By allowing ourselves to play in art, we are teaching them other skills such as problem solving. It opens their eyes to the rainbows of life. By being creative with my daughter, it allowed us to have a fun and joyful moment together. Art can transform minds as it is healing to explore with colour.
