Are colouring books good for children?

Yes, there are many benefits to children having colouring books. Children’s colouring books help promote fine motor skills and help develop hand-eye coordination. Colouring books also help spark imagination and give kids a way to be creative and express themselves. Colouring books are also an opportunity to educate and prepare younger children for school, as colouring books can help improve hand strength and the dexterity use a pencil and hold it in the correct way. Colouring can also help little ones learn the skills of patience and focus, plus a sense of accomplishment when they finish colouring a page. And let’s not forget colour recognition. Children’s first exposure to colours and their names can be through crayons and colouring books, helping them with early learning.

How can I get my toddler interested in colouring?

Try offering one crayon at a time, too many options can be overwhelming for a toddler. Choose pens or pencils designed for a toddler’s little hands like our Felt Tips for Little Ones. Remember, colouring is hard and getting a toddler interested in colouring takes time. Colour alongside your toddler and help them engage. Toddlers love to mimic and can learn a lot from watching you. Choose simple, colouring books without too many pages. Pick themes you know they love, like dinosaurs, unicorns or saving the earth. Remember to be patient and don’t expect perfection. Toddlers will colour with whole-arm movements before they learn precise movements with their fingers. Colouring for toddlers looks like scribble; that’s just as it should be.

Are stickers good for children?

Stickers are great for children. Stickers offer children an amazing sensory experience. The feeling that one side is smooth, and the other is sticky. Understanding which way the sticker needs to placed is conscious decision making. Plus, a lot of skill is needed to peel the sticker off the backing sheet and place it on the paper. Playing with stickers helps build small muscle in the hand and the important ‘pincer grasp’. Sticker books are also a great way to improve your child’s visual scanning and spatial awareness. Looking through the pages of sticker books searching for a specific sticker, teaches kids to visually scan their environment. Placing their stickers correctly to create images increases their spatial awareness. The best news is stickers are so much fun, children don’t even realise they are working on such important developmental skills.