How to teach your kids to appreciate and enjoy art

Both practicing and appreciating art is essential for child’s development, so say numerous studies. Kids who love arts study better, have better motor skills, develop more rapidly, and even have a lower risk of developing some neurodegenerative diseases. But what can you do if your little tyke scorns musical instruments, sleeps through plays and uses crayons as weapons instead of art instruments?

If they aren’t naturally inclined towards it, you, as a parent, have a duty to teach your children to love art. You’ll need to use various methods when doing this as kids respond differently to these approaches. So, be sure to observe your children and take note of what works best.

How to Teach Children to Love Art: 3 Secret Techniques

1.     Turn a visit to the art museum into an adventure

The majority of kids are outright bored with museums. They are even more so with art museums as they are yet unable to appreciate the fine beauty of artwork. Therefore, you need to make this visit interesting, and educate them in the meantime.

Many museums today have specialised guided tours for kids. You can find their reviews on popular family traveler websites, like GonewiththeFamily, EveryDayWanderer, or MotherofAllTrips. However, there’s always the risk that your children won’t like the scripted program. Therefore, it’s up to you to have a backup plan.

The easiest way to make your kids study the art and think themselves great adventurers while doing it is to organize a scavenger hunt. However, instead of a treasure, you’ll have to ‘hunt’ for notable art pieces. To do this, you’ll have to prepare thoroughly.

• Research which artworks are displayed in the museum.
• Show their images to kids with a short bio of the artist or history behind the paintings.
• Let them loose in the museum and give them ‘points’ every time they find a work by the artists you covered.

This is a highly educational experience that will require a lot of work on your part. Try to focus on small but interesting facts from the artists lives or find fun allegories for their works. Kids will be able to remember those easily.

2.     Show your kids real-life art

Children might have a hard time understanding the value of pictures hanged by a dozen in stuffy rooms or classical music enjoyed only through rare concerts. So show them that art is everywhere in real life.

Take your kids on the Street Art & Graffiti Tour in London or to some street performers’ shows. Show them that the art isn’t only classical or confined to galleries and concert halls.

In fact, make it your mission to explore as many types of art as you can. This will help your child discover what they truly like.

3.     Let your kids practice art anytime

Making mud sculptures and finger-painting are forms of art. They might be primitive, but our ancestors started there as well. You can start teaching your children to love art by pointing that out and showing images of the pre-historic drawings found in caves. Now, don’t they look just like the masterpieces on your fridge?

Bringing the art closer to life is essential for teaching your kids to both appreciate and enjoy it. However, the most important thing, is to allow them express their creativity. So, you must never tell your children that what they are doing isn’t ‘real art’. And be sure to keep them away from anyone who can say such a thing.

As long as your kid creates something with their own hands, they are making art. Be that a ketchup-painting on a dinner plate or a castle built from twigs and rocks. Take a look at some modern art made of trash and understand that your kid’s eccentric way of expression might lead to a bright artistic future.