What Are the Benefits of Coloring Books?

What are coloring books for?

Which child doesn't like to draw, coloring everything that comes to hand - dad's papers, walls, doors, themselves?

Coloring pictures is not only an interesting, but also a useful activity. Coloring pictures helps the child expand their knowledge of the world around them, get acquainted with color and shape, master the technique of neat shading (suggest first carefully coloring the element along the edge and only then shade it entirely), get acquainted with the features of working with pencils and paints, develop fine motor skills, make the brush more flexible, which in the future will save you from problems when mastering writing. Working with colored pencils and paints helps the child develop color perception, practice the implementation of fine motor skills, and gain experience in understanding perspective. Coloring books introduce the little person to the art of painting. Also, in the process of coloring, visual and kinesthetic channels of receiving information work, interhemispheric interaction develops. And, of course, the child gets positive emotions.

Coloring books will teach your child to reduce the range of their hand when drawing - when little ones start drawing, they don't really track the edges of the sheet and often their pictures, sometimes partially, and sometimes completely "climbing" onto the table, floor and your favorite wallpaper.

Coloring books help your child comprehend the laws of the world and embody their own color discoveries. If your child colored the crocodile crimson or purple, don't scold them. Perhaps they have their own opinion on this matter, ask them about it (by the way, this approach allows you to identify color blindness in a child at an early age).

You can start coloring pictures from the age of one and a half. For such kids, there are special coloring books where you need to draw not with brushes and pencils, but with your own hands. Arm yourself with finger paints and go!

In such coloring books, the drawings are extremely simple and clear. Make sure that the objects depicted are familiar to the baby, for example, a ball, a rattle, a spinning top, an apple, etc. The pictures should have a wide outline - about 1 centimeter. It will be difficult for the baby's unsteady hand to crawl beyond such an outline. This allows you to hide natural errors and gives self-confidence. The outlines of the pictures should be smooth, without angles and complex curves.

Give preference to those coloring books in which all the images are accompanied by text. It will help you introduce the baby to a play situation, arouse his interest in coloring and expand his understanding of the world around him.

When coloring, the baby can supplement the pictures with a variety of details at his own discretion. Decorate toys with dots or stripes, draw a leash on the dog, a perch on the parrot, feed the mouse with cheese, and draw pebbles and seaweed around the fish.

At 3-4 years old, children are already quite experienced "artists". They are more confident and free with a brush, and enjoy painting with paints. And they perceive coloring books as already created images that require a color solution. And therefore, they do not start to draw freely, like 2-3 year olds, but rather to color, acting within a given outline, trying to repeat its curves.

Unfortunately, many modern coloring books are compiled without taking into account the age interests and capabilities of children. But there are so many of them and they are so different that it’s time to get lost. Often, coloring books for the little ones are overloaded with details, complicated beyond recognition and not very attractive. They do not support interest in drawing and do not give impetus to independent creativity.

How can you determine how good a coloring book is and whether it is suitable for your baby?

Here is a simple “test” that will help you make the right conclusion.

1. All the images in the coloring book are large, without small details.

2. The images in the coloring book are specific and easily recognizable, they are cute, kind, interesting.

3. The wide contour line will hide the natural errors of the "labor" of the child's clumsy hand.

4. The outlines of the pictures are smooth, without angles and complex curves, so it will be easy for the child to repeat their silhouette inside the contour image.

5. The coloring books evoke a bright emotional reaction and invite drawing.