If there is one thing that puts fear into the heart of any parent it has to be when your toddler asks if they can get their paints out.
Whilst we all know that arts and crafts are great for the creative development of your child, kids’ crafts also tend to be messy. They can take time to put away but they can also cause you a headache knowing exactly what to do to keep the kids interested.
Often youngsters will become quickly bored, moving on to another activity or even giving up completely; frustrating for a parent when you have made the effort to get everything out.
That is why we are here to help, we have put together our favourite ideas for getting the splash mat out and indulging in a spot of creative play with your toddler.
Paint with Toys
If you are looking for a different tool to paint with then why not incorporate toys into the crafty time? You could paint the wheels of trucks or cars and roll them across the paper, or maybe even paint a ball and roll it around the page. Just make sure that you use washable paint so that it comes off easily.
Edible Painting
Why just limit your crafty time to standard paints? Crack out the yoghurt and biscuits and instead eat what you create. You can even add food colouring to vanilla yoghurt to create bright and colourful paints that you can use; just remember to have plenty of wet wipes on hand as yoghurt can very quickly go stale and stick to surfaces.
Go Large with Kids’ Crafts
Tired of going through endless reams of paper when drawing and painting with your child? Instead why not tape down several sheets of paper to a table or the floor and let them go crazy with the pens? You could even buy a roll of paper from your local craft shop which will give them plenty of space and make it all the easier for you.
Decorate Bowls or Mugs
Grab some sharpie pens or other fine tip permanent markers and decorate a bowl or mug with them. These make perfect gifts for Grandparents and are even great for your child to keep as their own special cup or bowl for dinner time. It’s always good when kids’ crafts produce something that they can keep.
Take it Outside
If you are worried about the mess, then go al fresco for your craft time. Doing this means that you can enjoy a spot of feet painting or perhaps papier mache or other messy activities. Whilst you will still need to clean up, it will be much less than if you were indoors!
In order to help parents around the UK we have put together our ideas for getting out the paints and paintbrushes and indulging in some arty crafty time with your little artist. The only thing that we can’t help with is the clean up after; so take a deep breath and bring on the mess, after all they are only little once!