HOW THEY GROW

Despite occurring completely spontaneously, your baby’s creativity can be predicted. According to art therapists, creative milestones occur at specific ages, so look out for them as your baby plays with crayons and paper.

14 MONTHS

Your baby can make purposeless marks with a crayon. The “picture” will be shapeless and quite primitive because your baby will be making sweeping arm movements from her elbow or shoulder, as she doesn’t quite have much muscle control yet.

TIP Give your baby large, chubby crayons that she can grip in her tiny hands and large pieces of paper to scribble on at this age.

18 MONTHS

Your baby can now include circular elements while scribbling, that are interspersed with lines. This comes from the greater control she has over her hand, wrist and arm muscles.

TIP Let your toddler do what she does best at this stage – get her hands in everything. Encourage her tactile explorations by providing her with different materials to play with.

24 MONTHS

Your toddler now has even more control over her arm, wrist and finger muscles, which means she can exercise more precision over her scribbles. You will see more angles and lines, crosses and even a few zigzags, that will gradually increase to form recognisable images. TIP Your toddler will love play dough at this stage, and it will help draw out her creative tendencies.

36 MONTHS

Your child can now draw isolated, restricted lines instead of just scribbling across an entire page. She can probably draw a circle as well. Art psychotherapist Samantha Davis says, “The circle is the earliest representation of the self, or of people. Viktor Lowenfeld said that the representational attempt as a person is usually a circle for the head and two vertical lines for legs. Other forms develop later. Your child may also change the meanings of her artworks at the drop of a hat – what was a flower ten minutes ago might now be a person.” Your child will now learn to respect the boundaries of a page and will enjoy experimenting with different media – such as paint, crayons and pastels – on the same page.

TIP If your child has not yet started to favour a certain hand when drawing or painting, there may be cause for some concern. Speak to your child’s nursery school teacher or paediatrician if you’re concerned.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Creativity needs to be fun for your child, and it should be allowed to develop freely. Provide your child with a secure and contained space in which to express herself, where she can just play without feeling the pressure of having to produce an amazing artwork. Samantha says, “Adults have often forgotten what it is like to play and be in the present, and may then bring anxiety into the creative process. Let your child be in charge of the process, and remember that the activity can just focus on the playing and not necessarily have a finished product at the end of it.” Samantha says that creativity and exploration need not be limited to only crayons and paper. Almost any action can be expressed creatively. As your baby begins to point at objects and pick up smaller objects like raisins with her fingers, you can begin to encourage her creative expression. Give her objects and materials that she can mould with her hands, like a piece of bread that can be squashed and rolled or pieces of jelly.

“Encourage messy play with sand, water and paints to develop your child’s interest in touching and using different textures. It will also help develop her drawing and construction skills.”

Allow your little one to explore and express herself through a tactile medium. Spray shaving cream onto a plastic table and let her spread it around with her fingers. Be sure that she doesn’t put any in her mouth, though! Encourage your toddler’s tactile awareness further by giving her pictures and pieces of paper that she can tear out and then glue together and paint to make “models”. Your child can also “draw” on water using a stick or her finger in sand.

CREATE A MASTERPIECE

Encourage your child’s freedom of expressing by allowing her to direct her creative process. This doesn’t mean you should let her draw on the walls at will, but when she is drawing or painting, try not to restrict her by naming her picture for her, or telling her what to draw. Rather let her tell you what she drew, and remember that to her that indistinguishable blob really does look like a flower, or like the dog. “Allowing your child to have control over her creative process gives her the validation that encourages self-esteem and selfempowerment as she feels she has control over her imagination,” Samantha says. It’s also important to talk to your child about her efforts at art. This kind of admiration encourages her to do more and to be open about her feelings. Include realistic, informal praise when talking to your toddler about her work, and be sure that she knows that there is no right or wrong when it comes to creative expression. Remember that the meaning of a drawing changes for your toddler, so cats turn into flowers, which then turn into people. Don’t try to correct her on this, but allow her to express herself freely. Your child should be drawing and painting because it’s fun for her and not because you expect something from her. That is probably the most important lesson your child learns while playing Picasso! ●