The Importance of Art and Craft in Child Development

From the time a child is conceived, they are growing and developing…

What starts as just a cell, blossoms into a beautiful and unique human being.

But, the growth doesn’t stop once the infant has exited the womb.

Children continue to grow all the way until they have fully matured and reached adulthood. And, during this time that they are growing, the things we as parents incorporate into their lives is vital to who they will become.

During this time, their brains are growing and developing – their mathematics skills, their creativity, their language skills, their personality, their likes and dislikes, and much more. And, there are several outside factors that play a major role in their development…

One of those being the active participation of arts and crafts.

Sure, arts and crafts can be messy, but children of all ages love them and it is actually good for them.

What kind of arts and crafts should you do?

The types of arts and crafts you incorporate into your child’s life can vary and are based on several things:

Their interests, their attention span, and their learning needs (what they need to focus more on). But, of course, trying to incorporate several arts and crafts projects that touch on a variety of skills is best to ensure your child is well-rounded in their development.

A few good arts and crafts projects to try out with your child include:

• Baking
• Creating cards for other people
• Taking photos
• Painting
• Drawing
• Home-made projects such as sewing
• Scrapbooking
• Arranging flowers

Grab some art and craft supplies and give some of these a try!

Each of these activities requires the exercise of several motor skills and allows your child to become more independent as they learn to do these things on their own. In addition, these are fun and useful skills that they will be glad to know how to do later in life.

The idea behind each craft is to work on developing their feelings, their thinking, and their coordination skills. At first, try helping them out and leading by example. But, eventually, you should allow your child to complete the project on their own, giving them a sense of independence and even more pride as they know they were able to do it all on their own.

Personally, as the mother of an autistic child, craft workshops and art activities were an important part of my son’s development process. They helped both with his academic development and his personal development. Through crafting he developed self-control and learned to express himself through crafting.

Another important aspect to his success was the advice I received from professionals such as which crafts to try and understanding why each one was important, like we will discuss below. Take a look at why arts and crafts are important in the life of your autistic child:

Why are arts and crafts important?

Arts and crafts are important for several different reasons…

They help in the developmental growth in children of all ages in a few areas:

1. Motor and Coordination Skills
   
   Simple tasks such as using a pair of scissors or holding a paintbrush helps enhance fine motor skills.
   
   Arts and crafts are also a great time to help your child learn things like how to hold a pencil correctly. The sooner they learn, the easier grade school will be.
   
   
2. Language Development
   
   When a young child makes something new, they enjoy sharing it with others. Encourage your child to discuss with you what they have made and how they made it, as this will help improve their language skills.
   
   
3. Academic Skills
   
   Through arts and crafts, children can also improve their academic skills.
   
   For example, they are faced with counting out the correct number of beads, reading the instructions, or writing a few words on the project.
   
   
4. Creativity
   
   Creativity is actually a learned skill – we often block out creativity, so it is important to help our children practice it so they don’t lose that skill.
   
   Encourage your child to put their own creative spin on the project or allow them to determine how to display the project in a creative fashion. You will be surprised what goes on in that little imagination of theirs!
   
   
5. Decision Making and Critical Thinking
   
   Your child will need strong decision-making skills and solid critical thinking skills for the rest of their life. In fact, these skills will be a vital aspect of their professional development and success later in life.
   
   Creating something can teach them how to make decisions through deciding what they will do with the finished piece, what colors will they use, what materials will be best to use. They are faced with the challenge of thinking critically in terms of deciding the best route for going about the project and decision making based on all the aspects of the project.

Who doesn’t like to make learning fun? And, thanks to arts and crafts, you can make learning and development for your child fun.

These activities are great to do with your child and also great for them to do alone. Next time you are stuck inside on a rainy day, try incorporating one of these projects into your schedule for that day and see what a difference just that little bit of stimulation can make.

Now, we want to hear from you: Why do you think arts and crafts are important? What is your favorite project to do with your child?

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Annabelle Short is a writer and a seamstress of more than 5 years. Annabelle is a mother of two and she loves making crafts with her two children, Leo (age 9) and Michelle (age 11). Annabelle likes to write about crafting, sewing, and parenting. She splits her time between London and Los Angeles and writes for Content Blossom.