Benefits of Painting for Toddlers & Children

Flexing your creative muscles can offer many benefits no matter what age you are – but this is especially true for toddlers andbabies. Pick up some paints and paper and prepare to get messy with your little one. It will be so worth it.

What are the benefits of painting for toddlers?

Day-to-day family life can be chaotic, and it’s easy to forget to find or make moments for your children to be creative. But with so many benefits for your children (especially toddlers) fostering creativity should be made a priority.

If you’re stuck for inspiration, why not give painting a try? Painting is mutually beneficial for parents and toddlers – it’s a strong bonding activity, that creates memories and enables you to understand how your child thinks and operates creatively.

Here are just some of the painting benefits for toddlers:

• Emotional: Painting and being creative more generally can help your child identify and express their emotions positively.
• Creative: Being creative is like growing a muscle – it needs to be grown and strengthened over time. The more your child expresses their creativity, the better they will get.
• Physically: The act of painting offers a host of physical benefits, from fine and gross motor skills to hand-eye coordination, visual perception and spatial awareness.

How does painting allow toddlers to express creativity?

Getting in touch with their creative side from an early age can only benefit your child. One of the biggest benefits of painting for toddlers and babies is that it promotes individuality and creativity in children. By starting young, your child will have more time to tap into their creative side and it will come more naturally to them throughout their life.

Involving your child in creative activities will allow them to develop their imagination (a skill that is essential not only for creative pursuits but in the workforce and for their general enjoyment), become better problem solvers and learn how to express themselves.

Also, in a world where screen time is so common, having a tangible outlet to be creative is invaluable. Let them try new ideas in a creative setting as a way to celebrate their uniqueness and sense of self.

What are the emotional benefits of painting? 

On a deeper level, painting can be a kind of art therapy for children that allows them to express themselves in a non-verbal way. This gives children a creative outlet in a safe and welcoming environment.  

By engaging in painting with toddlers you will find that children can learn to regulate their feelings by using painting to show their feelings. This can provide a sense of control to children who find it difficult to express their feelings and thoughts.  

Painting can also help children of all ages to find a sense of relaxation as painting is known to reduce the feelings of stress and anxiety, that at a young age, Children might be unable to recognise. Painting with toddlers can also help to boost confidence by seeing their creativity come to life on the page.  

How does painting help a child’s development? 

The benefits of painting for toddlers are many, but did you know it can help with long-term development? Not only is painting a fun and creative avenue for children but it can help form the basis of a child’s creative thinking and problem-solving early in life to benefit them as they grow up. Physically, painting with children can help them to develop muscle control with small techniques and painting on large surfaces helps them to develop fine motor (small muscle) and gross motor (large muscle) skills.

The benefits of painting for preschoolers  

The benefits of painting do not stop with babies or toddlers, but preschoolers too. For some preschoolers, entering preschool or kindergarten might be their first time interacting with large groups of other children, and so painting and other art therapy provide an immense emotional benefit in social development. This kind of activity can allow children to bond and form friendships and creative connections in a low-stress and creative space. This can also teach your child how to collaborate, share and be kind to others.  

Group painting activities can also provide the opportunity for preschoolers to improve their attention spans and learn planning skills allowing them to plan for and think deeply about how they want their artwork to look.  

Fun painting activities for toddlers and babies

Now that you know why your toddlers and babies should paint, it’s time to learn how! Try out these creative painting ideas with your child:

• Painting with stencils: This is an easy way for toddlers to paint, as it allows them to follow templates and create interesting designs with pre-made or DIY stencils.
• Painting leaves: This is a fun activity that also allows you and your little one to get outside in the fresh air with your child and collect leaves. This is also a fantastic sensory activity for toddlers.
• Marble painting: This is a creative and fun painting activity for toddlers to try! Simply pour some non-toxic paint onto a piece of paper and allow your toddler to drop marbles onto the paint to create unique lines and patterns.
• Blow painting: This is a playful creative activity that helps children to develop and strengthen their mental and motor skills. Use straws to blow patterns onto paint and watch the magic unfold!

What are the benefits of finger painting for toddlers?

Finger painting is a more popular way for toddlers to paint – not only is it creative, but it also provides a strong sensory experience. This fun painting activity allows your child to strengthen their own creativity and spatial awareness. Some of the key benefits of finger painting are:

• Improves sensory learning: Finger painting encourages children to use sight, smell and touch stimulating the senses in multiple ways. Use finger painting activities with your children to improve sensory learning through touch and sight of coloured paints.
• Improves fine motor development: Help toddlers develop their fine motor skills and pre-writing skills with complex and small hand movements that help to strengthen small muscles.
• Creative expression: One of the biggest benefits of finger painting for toddlers is creativity. While finger painting might be messy, it is an excellent way to encourage creativity and teach children to be comfortable with controlled messes.

If you’re looking for more creative activities with your child, be sure to read about our arts and crafts activity ideas for toddlers