Coloring Is a Great Parenting Tool
Children love coloring so we decided to show you how to adopt it as a practical parenting tool.
George W Bush, 46th President of the US, once said that he would go to Vietnam again to fight the Vietcong rather than rear his two daughters Jenna and Barbara.
That’s pretty much every parent’s standard observation about parenting.
To some, it is simply considered as the most difficult job in the world. But does it have to be that difficult?
The truth is it shouldn’t be, but since the job is about the well-being of the little people we create it’s hard to be completely satisfied.
Raising children was never meant to be easy and until you are in it you really have no idea what’s involved.
I have always found that keeping kids active through coloring is a great practical parenting tool.
What Is A Practical Parenting Tool?
Take my four year old who wants to see how sharp is the blade of the juicer by putting his own fingers inside.
When I stop him from this divine pleasure he believes his world will end and screams blue murder. He has no idea that I am trying to protect him, and his fingers.
How do we learn this supposedly natural talent of being a parent?
Luckily, we can get ideas from various sources and use practical parenting tools without torturing ourselves.
The internet is full of parenting advice and some of it out there is from studies, research and government initiatives.
According to UNICEF, Child Psychology is one of the most researched topics online.
So, if you want to educate yourself with practical parenting strategies it is easy enough to do.
Coloring Will Keep Kids Engaged
A practical parenting tool you can make available to yourself easily is coloring pages.
Coloring pages are a great way to entertain and educate your kids and the possibilities are endless.
They are free, easy to store, easy to throw out, time-consuming and great for development.
These pages are universally loved by children and adults alike.
I regularly use them for my two kids who both love coloring in multiple pages per week.
The oldest one considers himself the next Valentino Rossi and gets smitten every single time I give him a motorbike page.
My four-year old seems to be a car enthusiast and has around 50 artistic creations of different sizes and shapes. His favorite is Cars coloring pages and his room is literally covered in Lightning McQueen.
The rare solitude I so desperately want can sometimes come to me with the help of several coloring pages.
There are oodles of coloring pages and for practical parenting tools I highly recommend using them.
Here are my top tips so you can incorporate coloring into your parenting strategies.
Practical Parenting Tool – Kids Coloring Pages
Coloring Pages For One-On-One Time
Children crave and need one on one time with both parents. By investing some quality time you will notice their behavioral pattern improve exponentially.
The positive attention and emotional connection they receive will fulfill their need for love and affection.
It will also help them stop seeking out attention in the wrong ways. Seen in negative activities like throwing stuff, crying, not wanting to eat and a million other tantrums.
Coloring together is the perfect way to spend some one on one time with a child of any age.
I sit by both of my kids at different times and watch them color their favorite coloring pages and time simply flies.
You can also grab some coloured pencils and have a go as well. It is a fantastic practical parenting tool as stress relief and meditative practice.
Adopting A Routine
I encourage our four year old to color his favorite pages in the afternoon before dinnertime.
I got this parenting advice from my mom. She told me that getting kids to do their favorite thing at about the same time daily creates good habits.
Having kids follow a routine is something that every parent loves. It makes life easy and kids flourish because it makes things so much easier for them to remember.
This practical parenting tool will teach your children to follow routines and coloring pages can be great help. We find that coloring just before dinner time is a way to calm the kids and help them wind down for the evening.
Household Chores
As soon as my kids finish coloring I encourage them to arrange everything as best they can.
They take the intact pages back to where they are taken from and put the unusable in the bin.
This simple activity teaches them to put things back where you got them and keep the house tidy.
A practical parenting tool, this helps them learn to contribute to household chores.
Having Fun With Your Kids
Every time my kids finish a coloring page they rush over to me and show me their newest masterpiece.
You can see the sense of completion and their faces light up with pride.
Every parent relishes those moments when their children are happy and proud of something they have done.
I also join in and they see me participating, enjoying and engaging so it encourages them.
Every child feels insecurity and they crave acceptance.
When they see you participate and enjoying their favorite activity they feel safe, accepted and have a positive attitude.
Releasing Frustrations
Coloring pages are a great way to calm kids and release frustration for your kids.
When they color it may help calm them and allow them to relax.
Let’s face it calm and relaxed kids are the best to have around. Use this activity as a practical parenting tool to reign in frustrations.
Learning and awareness
When your children spend time coloring they develop their sense of spatial awareness.
They start learning about different shapes and colors plus limitations and boundaries.
All these help them in recognizing the environment around them and being observant.
These skills will increase their confidence and awareness and may help them steer clear of hazards.
Conclusion
As you can see we love coloring for our kids and ourselves. Our practical parenting tool is that coloring with your kids can teach them many skills.
The above parenting tips are gathered from personal experiences.
I’ve shared them with you in the hope that a mostly difficult role can become the most beautiful as well.
Read more parenting advice in one of our many recent articles.
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
