Why Arts and Crafts for Kids: Benefits Cognitive Development & More

June 25, 2020

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Is your child always drawing and making crafty stuff? Kids usually enjoy this type of activities because it’s fun, but the fact is there’s more to that.

Arts and crafts appear to only be fun for kids, but did you now that it is also crucial for your child’s development? Here are a few reasons why you should incorporate fun projects and hobbies with your child as much as you can.

Arts and Crafts Improves their Hand-Eye Coordination

Engaging in arts and crafts from the youngest age is a great way to improve hand-eye coordination. Crafts such as cutting, coloring, and drawing require the use of both hands at the same time. This is quite important as it helps with some more advanced skills later on, such as writing, typing and tying shoes.

It’s never really too early for your children to draw and color and it’s suggested you start introducing these activities to them from the earliest age. You can begin by providing an environment to encourage new activities, a simple way is to get a arts and crafts table for them to enjoy.

Arts and Crafts Improves Motor Skills

Because almost all arts and crafts require hands and fingers, they help with fine motor skills development. The simplest activities such as coloring and drawing help improve their control and strengthen their muscles.

Ever noticed how kids learn how to color better as they grow or how they don’t make as big of a mess when they eat? This is because over time their motor skills have improved and they gained more control over their movements. Fine motor skills help later on with more complex activities.

Arts and Crafts Increases Dexterity

Arts and crafts are also an ideal way of increasing dexterity and agility of a child. The more your child practices, the more it will develop fine motor skills. With this, its manual dexterity, artistic talents, and speed will also increase. These crafts and arts are a lot of fun even for the youngest kids who usually get bored quickly.

Arts and Crafts Helps with Visual Processing Abilities and Memory

These abilities are something you must practice even as an adult, so it’s understandable why they are crucial for children.
As they learn colors, notice patterns, and physical improbabilities, their visual processing skills are improving. It’s essential that this happens at the earliest age.

So, crafts like building stuff from blocks or even color paper are some of the activities that can help. Help them out while they do that and try to identify objects and colors with them. This will boost visual processing ability which is something all kids will need later in life.

Arts and Crafts Promote Executive Functioning

Another crucial thing your child should develop early on is executive functioning. It means learning how to focus attention on one thing and control impulses. It also refers to using working memory.

Arts and crafts promote all of these skills. It would be a good idea to get some crafts supplies such as craft paper, glue, crayons and scissors for the next time you sit down to play with your child. This way, you promote planned behavior which is crucial for later academic and professional success.

Arts and Crafts Increases Self-Esteem

This is one of the most critical stages of development that can have a significant influence throughout your kid’s life. It’s important to work on this with your child as early as possible.

Arts and crafts empower kids as they get positive emotional responses. So, when your kid creates something, encourage them by showing that you love what they made. This responsive behavior promotes creativity, and before you know it, your child will be proud to present you with a drawing.

Arts and Crafts Teaches Kids to Express Themselves

Much like how it helps boost their self-esteem, they can also help your children to express themselves. Kids are usually very visual about what happens around them, and you’ll have a lot of fun looking at how they portray that with their art.

This is especially important for children who are shy. This way, you can have a better insight into what your kid is thinking and feeling as it almost always projects onto their art.

Arts and Crafts Encourage Creativity and Make Them More Productive

Promoting crafts and arts is by far the best way to encourage creativity in kids. They get more and more comfortable with it as time goes by, too.

Imagination has no limits, so just let your kids do their thing. Let them explore this and see how they turn it into something productive. For example, do a fun project of making Christmas decorations with your child. This will encourage kids to be innovative, productive and creative.

Arts and Crafts is a Flexible Activity

Don’t try to impose a scheduled arts hour on your children. It’s something they can do with some friends or by themselves and should be able to do it when they feel like it.

It’s flexible, and you can use it as a bonding activity between your kids and their friends, but it also might develop into their hobby. This way, kids turn to these activities when they are alone and want to have fun.

A big art’s table like the ALEX Studio Table is great for your kids to enjoy hobbies with friends.

Arts and Crafts Improves on your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills

As they learn colors and shapes, your kid will start to think more critically about their work. What colors will they use? How will they draw a cat or a tree? These choices inspire them to think critically about their art and change something the next time if they feel like they should.

This helps them think about different options and become more comfortable with switching things up. Also, arts and crafts encourage decision making as they come up with new ideas.

Arts and Crafts Helps with Socializing, Bonding and It’s Fun

Kids will make stuff and will want to see what others have made, too. Large groups are great for kids who are shy, too, as they’ll get to connect with other creative children.

Kids are curious, and after a while, they won’t have any problems approaching one another. If a child likes something that another child has made, it will ask questions and maybe even join in on the project.

It’s also a fun bonding experience for you and your child especially if you don’t really get to spend a lot of quality time together.

Arts and Crafts Promotes Self-Control and Patience (Self-Regulation)

This is something they will need more and more as they grow up, so it’s a good thing for them to practice. Encourage certain activities that require patience and waiting, such as doing anything crafty with glue. See what your kid does when it’s time to wait for the glue to dry.

Another great thing about this is that you can see how the child behaves if things don’t go exactly as planned. Does it think about how to fix it or does it give up? Keep in mind that younger children have shorter attention spam and maybe won’t like to sit through the glue drying process.

Arts and Crafts Sharpens Decision-Making Skills

The older they get, the more decisions they’ll have to make, so encourage them to do so from the earliest age. Have your kid pick out the next arts and crafts you’ll do together or merely the next color for the picture you’re painting.

These small steps will help your child become more comfortable with this in the future when it’s expected of them to make individual decisions.

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