We say five but in reality it could be five million, art is beneficial for children for so many reasons that when you finish reading this article you will be rushing out to buy your children new markers!
Let’s see what kinds of development, (and how much!) art fosters in the little ones, so…let’s get started!
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Although plastic art is not based on verbal ability just by talking about their artwork, children already experience a great development in their vocabulary and language. If we add to this the knowledge that this discipline provides about quantities and order, numbers, classifications and symbolic representation, to name a few, it is inevitable to understand that the creative process greatly stimulates both sides of the brain.
Did you know that scientific research has been conducted on this subject? A study conducted by the School of Education at U.C.L.A. (University of California, Los Angeles) showed that art plays a fundamental role in the learning of reading, writing and arithmetic.
Children who do art, whether it be visual arts, music or dance, not only read better, but also get better grades in math and science. This was also attested to by the results shown in the scientific journal Nature of another research study conducted in Rhode Island in 1996. What was it about? Well, they took a group of children between five and seven years old who were behind in all subjects in class in relation to the rest of their classmates, and after giving them an extra hour of music per week they saw that seven months later they had reached the same reading level and had surpassed them in mathematics! Isn’t that amazing?
2. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Now that we have seen some of the benefits of art for children’s great little minds, let’s move on to the benefits it brings to their bodies.
The concentration involved in both creating and viewing art helps children pay more attention to the physical space around them, thus reinforcing their notions of spatial relationship.
As for the creative process, it enhances motor skills and laterality, increasing the development of hand-eye coordination, as well as the development of the smallest muscles involved in the work. Art also stimulates children’s perceptual development, the perception of shapes, color and space, and significantly increases their sense of rhythm. Creating is like partying!
3. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
When a child starts to create, their self-esteem and self-confidence are automatically increased once they see the result of their work. To this, we can add the feeling of freedom that invades the little ones when they are exposed to the infinite possibilities that the creative process offers them. Through the exploration of these possibilities, they discover new visions and choose where to look when creating, this leads them to find their own taste and affinity. Thus they begin to forge their own opinion, contributing to the formation of their personality.
When they create, it is inevitable to reflect, either on themselves and/or on the world around them, thus gaining an invaluable awareness of themselves and others, which leads us directly to the next point.
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Art provides a means to break through stereotypes, barriers and other kinds of prejudices, fostering a beautiful sense of respect for the environment and for one’s peers. On the other hand, it facilitates social interaction by encouraging dialogue through their works and explaining them, telling where they come from and what they mean and then, when it is the other’s turn, being fascinated by discovering the choices of others, respecting them in the same way they do their own. By creating and sharing, communicating and listening, the collective conscience of the little ones undergoes an enormous development.
4. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
And what would the rest of the benefits be without it? We take it for granted that children are freer, more carefree, that everything is easier for them, and by everything, we could simply mean living. Yet, despite the great truth behind this fact, it is also true that much of this is due to their vulnerability, their trust and innocence.
¿Por qué los adultos envidiamos tanto a los niños?¿Puede ser que pase porque creemos que en algún momento dejamos de serlo?¿Y cuándo nos sucede esto?, pues precisamente de pequeños.
Due to the amount of expectations and pressure in our society, children also suffer, fear and feel anxiety accumulated from day to day or in some cases as a result of certain events. Childhood is, therefore, a great time to focus on art, highly useful and recommended to enter a state of meditation and introspection that brings the beneficial relaxation that is so good to encourage at an early age.
Emotionally creating has wonderful benefits. Children experience great fun when they are creating their own art, and the fun increases bonding, whether alone or in company. To this we can add how the act of creating enhances communication with parents, who can get to know their children better by listening to them talk about their creations, likes and interests. Also, it enhances communication with oneself, since art helps to express the inner world, also offering one’s own vision of the world without fear, thus reaching psychological maturity.
But that’s not all, the creative process brings the sensitivity implicit in the expression of all these emotions and sensations in the healthiest way, getting to discover some unconscious and thus gaining a magic key to transformation and elevation.
So, dear moms and dads, art basically nourishes the human soul, you know we always talk about the superpowers of art…, well, now you also know that we do not do it metaphorically, it is literal. Let’s use a metaphor to finish: for your children to fly happily, just teach them that they have wings. It’s as easy as that.
Text : María Porras Calduch, illustrator and copywriter with “Superpoderes” of the Plom team.
Photos : Plom.
