The benefits of colouring in for children

With so much technology on the market it can be difficult to pry children away from screens and get them involved in simple activities like colouring. But there are many benefits to your child’s development which is why you need to ensure it’s something that you encourage regularly. At Little Learners, we’re all about encouraging children to make their mark! Whether that’s through colouring, painting or messy play – it’s all about making learning fun and engaging.

We offer a range of free colouring and activity sheets for you to print off and use at home which include our unique early writing programme characters, The Mark Makers – encouraging children to mark make whilst they colour in. The simple and fun activity of colouring can have so many benefits, not only does it keep children entertained, but it can enhance their development too.

“Colouring in is an excellent way for children to express themselves, develop their motor skills, relax and enjoy quality time with other family members. In such a busy world this age old favourite is one of the best ways to slow down and enjoy the simple joy of childhood,” explains Sarah J Chinnaraja, Managing Director, Keeko Kids Ltd.

These are the benefits of colouring in for children.

Develops fine motor skills

When your child colours in they develop a better grip on the pens or pencils they’re using. This action and precise grip aids in the development of the muscles in the fingers, hands and wrist. Through the development of these fine motor skills it can help them to become better at typing, as well as sports and other activities too.

Encourages patience and relaxation

Colouring is great for encouraging your children to feel more relaxed and comfortable whilst they create their picture, it also helps the progression of patience in a child.

Helps with concentration

Over time your child’s concentration levels will expand.Concentration is required to focus on a single activity for a period, so colouring activities can help to develop this further

Assists with language development

If you can spend time with your child as they colour, it can help with language development as you talk about descriptive adjectives and the colour names as they take part in the activity. When they learn these skills from a young age, they’ll feel more confident using them in different situations too.

Further handwriting skills

Make handwriting come more easily and naturally for children by encouraging them to colour more. This is down to the hand strength, dexterity and attention to detail that are all developed when colouring in, and go hand-in-hand with what’s needed when they learn to write.

Encourage colour recognition

The use of different colours when colouring in gives children the perfect opportunity to explore different colour combinations, giving them the ability to see how they’re able to change the look of a picture. It can also be useful in making them aware of lesser known colours too.

Preparation for school

Having colouring sheets is the perfect way of introducing children to the concept of learning and working from a piece of paper, something that they’ll be doing whilst in school. 

Boost their confidence

Build a child’s self-esteem and confidence by encouraging them to complete a task, it might seem small to you, but when they colour in a whole picture they’re bound to feel confident in their ability. When they see that their picture has come to life it’s going to give them a sense of pride and achievement.

Help relieve stress

It’s hard to imagine that children can get stressed, but it does happen, and just like it does for adults, colouring in can have a calming effect. This is particularly helpful in children who struggle to process their negative emotions and frustrations, as colouring in will help them vent.

Promote creativity

Stimulate the creative thinking of your children with colouring in, thanks to giving them a choice of a drawing style, choosing the colours and picking what they colour in first. As they get more confident with colouring in they’ll be encouraged to try different things when it comes to colouring in, such as new colours, patterns etc.

To find your nearest Little Learners class go to littlelearnersuk.com. We look forward to seeing you!