When it comes to children and their physical, emotional and intellectual development, art is just as important a factor as unstructured play or guided learning at school, if not more so. In fact, children usually show a strong interest in art from the earliest of age. They’ll take great pleasure in drawing and coloring, they’ll dance and sing joyfully and be more than happy to make all sorts of sculptures out of clay, sand or mud. To them, it will be a fun pastime, but exposing your little ones to art also provides their brain development with a whole list of benefits. Here are some of them.

Improved cognitive function

Children will explore art naturally, without really giving it any thought. However, activities considered artistic, such as dancing, singing or drawing, require children to use all of their senses, which helps program their brains to gather information more efficiently and more successfully. For instance, children will have better special awareness, as well as learn about shapes and sizes of objects if they try to draw them or create them out of anything from playdough to old cardboard boxes and various plastic containers. By singing, they’ll practice speech and develop their verbal skills. Dancing contributes to their health, allowing them to gain more insight into their bodies and all the different ways they can move, as well as to count and recognize patterns through the rhythm of the music they’re dancing to. That way, they’re using art forms to develop their thinking process, to form mental images and representations of all the things they either see or imagine. Art also helps them observe the world and find the best ways to express their thoughts, as well as emotions, through things like movement, images and words.

Better academic performance

There are many aspects of art which can have a positive effect on your child academic success. For instance, one great thing about art is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. There are no rules for drawing or dancing. It’s exactly this aspect of art that encourages children to try new things without developing fear of failure. It shows them that mistakes are merely a part of the learning process and that, through making mistakes, they can sometimes even reach some results they otherwise wouldn’t. After all, knowing what doesn’t function well and why not is crucial for children’s understanding of the world and sciences. In fact, some of the most dedicated teachers are now introducing their students to innovative and creative STEM teaching tools, such as 3D pens, which promote learning math and sciences through artistic expression. In such classes, children are gaining practical and theoretical knowledge in these subjects, and since these tools are relying on arts, they also nurture kids’ creativity and imagination. Furthermore, art and math have a lot in common, from counting music beats and how long notes last and understanding ratios and proportions of whole and half notes, to making meaningful connections between visual arts and geometry. So, make sure your children are always in touch with as much art as possible.

Enhanced motor skills

Another crucial benefit of engaging children in art is the development of their gross and fine motor skills. If you want your child’s gross motor skills improved, perhaps you can suggest art projects which will make them move their whole body. For instance, they can make a chalk mural on one of your walls, or simply make sure that their canvas or pieces of paper they use for drawing, as well as their art supplies are large. Not only will this present a challenge for them and make creating art more entertaining, but it will do wonders for their gross motor skills. On the other hand, you’ll help develop their fine motor skills if you let them use different materials to make smaller things with their hands and fingers. For instance, simply letting your child shape some cookie dough when you’re baking cookies will do the trick, while allowing you to bond over something you do together. Kitchen is a great place to let kids be artsy, since they can make necklaces from string and pasta there, or glue raisins on a piece of paper to create their own little works of art, while you have your eyes on them.

Children can learn a lot by engaging in art. Their problem-solving skills can be enhanced, art can introduce them to different cultures and inspire them to think more creatively. Creating art can boost their self-esteem and make them more openminded. Plus, it can make them happier and healthier, so enable them access to anything art-related you can think of, and as often as possible. Their young and aspiring minds will develop that much more for it.