Is Colouring Good for You?
Is colouring good for you? What is the purpose of using colouring books? Should children be using colouring books or is there a better option for them to try? Let's find out if colouring is good for you by reading more below.
Is Colouring Good for You?
What are Colouring Books?
Colouring books are collections of line drawings or illustrations, typically printed on paper, that are intended to be filled in with colour using various art supplies like crayons, coloured pencils, markers, or paints. There are different types of colouring books including ones for children and ones for adults.
The Purpose of Colouring Books
They are designed to encourage creativity, relaxation, and artistic expression, and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.
So we know that colouring books can promote relaxation and creativity and artistic expression, but what are some cons for using colouring books with your children
Is Colouring Good for You? The Cons of Colouring Books
Limited Creativity
Restricted Expression: Since the images are pre-drawn, colouring books limit creative freedom. Users are confined to filling in someone else’s lines instead of creating their own unique art, which can reduce opportunities for freeform drawing and imagination.
Focus on Staying Within the Lines: The emphasis on staying inside the lines can discourage experimentation, especially in children, and promote a more rigid way of thinking about art. This can be a challenge for children, who have anxiety, or who like having things be perfect all the time they might get really frustrated.
Repetitive or Boring for Some
Lack of Engagement: For people who are more advanced artists or prefer more dynamic creative tasks, colouring books can feel monotonous or uninspiring after a while, since there is little challenge beyond choosing colours.
False Sense of Artistic Skill
Over-Reliance on Pre-Made Images: Colouring books might give users a sense of accomplishment in finishing a page, but it may not significantly develop core artistic skills like drawing, composition, or original concept creation. This can create a false sense of artistic ability without fostering deeper learning.
Limited Educational Value
Not a Substitute for Art Education: While colouring books can be fun, they don't teach more advanced skills like sketching, shading, perspective, or how to create original compositions. Using colouring books exclusively may hinder the development of broader art skills.
Commercialization and Stereotypes
Overly Commercial Themes: Many colouring books, especially for children, are tied to commercial products like TV shows or movie characters. This can limit a child’s exposure to more diverse and imaginative content.
Gender Stereotyping: Some colouring books may reinforce traditional gender roles by featuring certain themes or images (e.g., princesses for girls, superheroes for boys), limiting exposure to more varied themes.
Alternatives to Colouring Books
It's important to introduce children to a variety of different art materials and different art techniques so that they can try an experiment and discover what type of art they like making and what type of art they are good at making.
Art is so much more than just colouring books and we want to give our child as many different art opportunities and ways for them to be creative on a daily basis.
There is no need to wait for your child to be a certain age. Even if you have a toddler that is that young as 18 months you can start by making art with them.
Some Other Options to Colouring
I have created a variety of different symmetry drawing sheets for kids of all ages, and there are lots of different themes and seasons related to my symmetry drawing sheets. These drawing pages are educational, and a great way to combine math, measuring, counting and symmetry with the art of drawing and improving drawing skills.
You can learn about the three benefits of symmetry drawing by clicking here.
Check out my free symmetry drawing for kids in grades 1 to 3
Check out my free symmetry drawing for kids in grades 4 to 7 on figure drawing
Check out my free symmetry drawing for kids in high school
Like a colouring book I have also created my own symmetry drawing book that is available on Amazon. This is a drawing book that focuses all about trying to symmetrical half of different animals and it's for kids who are ages 9 to 15 you can purchase the book by clicking on the button below. It makes a really great gift for kids that love animals and as well if you are looking for another alternative to colouring books.
Acrylic Painting or Other Painting
I have a lots of different acrylic painting tutorials on my YouTube channel these are painting tutorials for kids ages seven and up to try you can check out my playlist on kids painting tutorials by clicking on the button below be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and like the videos to show your support and to be notified when new videos are released
Explore and Experiment
Let your child have access to different art materials. There are so many art materials out there from pencil crayons, pastels, markers, crayons, mixed-media, sewing, knitting, crocheting, leaving there are lots of different art materials, and art techniques to teach your child and let them play and experiment with.
Children learn through playing, so keep art fun and give them lots of opportunities to be creative and experiment without pressure.
Show Them Other Artists From History and Present Day
Take your child to different art galleries, or museums to look at art from artists of history, as well as contemporary modern day artists. There are lots of different books you can get from your local library that have lots of pictures of different types of art and different types of artists. It's really good to expose the children to the idea of what is art and that can really be anything.
Conclusion:
It's important to use colouring books in moderation. If your child only art exposure is colouring books then yes they are going to get bored. They are not going to reach their artistic and creative potential and they might not be challenged by colouring books and only using the same materials to colour and draw with.
By using colouring books in moderation where we are giving our children, other opportunities to explore and be creative.
Let me know by commenting below if you think is colouring good for you and your children, are you going to use colouring books last with your family let me know your thoughts by commenting below
Related Articles:
Symmetry Drawing Book on Animals for Ages 9-15