How to Encourage “Cope” With Children’s Creativity

A concerned mom wrote:

“So help me out here, maybe others reading this can relate: Johnny, turning 5 in Oct, has been begging me to paint pictures. Fine, but this summer we’ve only had two weeks of sun, so while it shines, outdoor activities we do. Yesterday it rained, big shocker, so Danny remembered me telling him we only paint on rainy days. I couldn’t go back on my word, so we pulled out ALLLLLLL the painting things – it’s a chore in itself! I told him that if I pull it all out, he must paint for more than 10 mins. You know, “I’m bored mom, I’m done” after only coloring/painting for two mins. And then, I told him he must paint, not create a giant mess! You know, mixing all the colors on the plate and then painting in one spot, causing the paper to rip and in turn painting all over the dining room table. So, the question is, how do I cultivate this little desire to paint and have fun, but teach them to actually paint something of “substance?” I’ve already banned playdoh from the house for making too much of a mess, I can’t legitimately ban painting too because he just wants to make a mess, not actually paint. So help me out Oh Wonderful Artist! What do I do? And please, don’t tell me his mess is a beautiful creation because really, it’s just a mess! Poor little guy, after he finished he asked if I liked it and I just looked at it with indifference and said, “I love it because you made it, but honestly, it looks like a mess to me!” To which he got this really pouty lip and said in his saddest of sad voices, “You don’t like it, do you mom!!!??” Ahh, what to say, what to do! Perhaps I need a little cultivating too!”

An understanding mom responds:

First, I want to begin with the fact that as I write this, my 4yr and 2yr old are on coloring on either side of me with crayons, making their own little “masterpieces.” Combined with my background as an art instructor of k-12, I am no stranger to young creatives! That said, I want to thank the writer for her candid honesty as any mother knows the amount of work that goes into cleaning the “messes” that accompany creativity! We don’t want to discourage the creativity, however if we overpraise everything a child does, they may grow up to assume everything they do is great despite the amount of effort. So I am providing my experiences on how to keep creativity from turning into cry-itivity! There are even some photos of the “masterpieces” that currently hang on our walls!

THE MESS

PROBLEM:

But it is so messy! I can relate… at 30, I still make huge messes as I create (this is why I work in an entire paint-splattered studio). Even as adults creating, we know that the simplest crafts can become disasters so it would be hard to expect young hands to keep paint off the table and play-doh off the floor.

SOLUTION:

Time for you to get creative! Clean up is easier if you anticipate and ward off the mess. SO if your little nugget uses so much water that he paints holes through the paper, give them cardboard or canvas to paint on instead. If you are worried about the table, tape a trash bag down first. Play-doh on the rug? Only sculpt outside where the rain can wash away all those tiny chunks of clay that kids under 5 insist on making. Another tip: your old t-shirts work better than art aprons for painting (because we all know that paint can end up in crazy places)!

PAINT SOMETHING “GOOD!”

PROBLEM:

Let’s be honest, is the finished piece any “good?” Well, probably not….if compared to the Great Masters of fine art. BUT kids don’t care! Even professional artist’s rarely paint masterpieces, however they learn something with every work. So take comfort in knowing that your little one is finding knowledge, joy, and expression in each creative session. There is a freedom and beauty in a child’s creativity. For them, it is all about the process and no concern for what others think about the final product!

SOLUTION:

Limit the palette. It is a fact that if you give a young child a paint blob of every color in the rainbow, they will quickly turn it into a puddle of brown. Kids don’t understand color theory! So if you really want them to paint something wall-worthy, limit their choices (teach them color blending techniques a little later in the game). A tip is to give them an analogous color scheme – or colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. For example: only reds, oranges, yellows OR just blues and greens. But not red and green! They, and any colors across from each other on the color wheel are complementary colors (complementary colors mixed together = some ugly shade of brown). Keep it analogous and when the inevitable mixing begins, their work will be a blended masterpiece!

Color Wheel

Neutral palette: once dry add sketches

Limited palette: only greens and blues

Another tip which also helps keep or work with those short attention spans is to guide the project in steps. For instance, encourage them to paint a background and cover all the paper in their analogous colors. Then, let them take a break while the background dries and come back to add another layer…this time with crayon or ink. The following piece was created by my daughter’s when they were three and one. We painted different textures with different tools. I offered a foam brush for the background, a flower for the texture and their hands for the final layer. They rotated their colors for each step and the breaks between each color allowed them to play and refocus!

Left: Age of 3yrs, Right: Age of 1 1/2 yrs

Lastly, remember to have fun! While the process may only last a short 10 min, the developmental experience and the memories will last them a life-time. And as they grow, so will their neatness and skill. Creativity is key to surviving in today’s world. Even if there is no chance that your child will become a professional artist, they will use creative thinking and problem solving (even some glue and paint) throughout their entire life. Take pictures of them creating or of the final piece (so you don’t have to save them all) and embrace the mess…after all, whether they use paint or mud kids will always find something to “create” with.

As they grow, paintings will grow too!