When weekends, light evenings and holidays come around many parents look for ideas on what to do with the kids that avoid being sucked into acquiescing to repeated requests to play that computer game again, to watch another DVD or trips out that will inevitably start costing a lot of money as soon as you’ve left the house.   Well here’s the good news - research undertaken by the Children’s Charity 4Children found that what children themselves want is to spend less time watching TV, that they are fed up with the amount of adverts aimed at them and what they really want is more time playing with their friends and family!  Indeed, rather than spend, spend, spend they want to save their pocket money and hanker after a more traditional childhood of fun and simple pleasures.  Well here’s an idea - how about using the time available as an opportunity to get creative?

We all increasingly worry about the impact of mass consumerism on our environment and the world our children will face in the future, many of us aspire to return to more simple pleasures – well there is nothing more pleasurable and fun than getting creative with the kids!  And as we all know, doing some art and craft with the children is good for them - Child Development experts tell us what we all know instinctively, that being creative is good for our children’s mental development, their manual dexterity, their hand to eye co-ordination and their dimensional awareness and most improtantly their self-esteem and their self expression.  We also know first hand how satisfying it is for us as parents sharing the joy and pride on our children’s faces as they show us their latest creations from playgroup or school.

So what is it that stops so many parents getting crafty with the kids?  Here at Crafts4Kids we have a few views on this gathered from our customer’s, personal experience and our own research.  Set out below are the main reservations parents have about doing arts and crafts with the kids and Crafts4Kids suggestions on overcoming these:

Arts and Crafts are for naturally artistic children, mine aren’t so they won’t get any benefit!

This could not be further from the truth!  Arts and Crafts provide great opportunities to develop all sorts of skills in children and with the time spent on creative activities having been squeezed in the school curriculum in recent years Crafts4Kids believe it is all the more important to find time to do this at home.   As well as developing a child’s artistic talents, being creative allows children to explore their imagination and show their feelings.  There are many other child development benefits for example:

• painting and drawing is great for developing concentration and hand to eye co-ordination.  There are great art and colouring books that will inspire if your child does not pick up a pencil or felt tip naturally – have a look at Klutz,  Rosie Flo and Mindware Colouring Books as a started for ten.

• Creative projects that cannot be completed in one go are great for developing commitment to a task and helping children understand the process of a project from design through to completion – skills that are very valuable generally.

• Creative projects such as building and construction and clay modelling help children to develop their dimensional awareness and manual dexterity

• Many creative hobbies are great for hand eye co-ordination (think of sewing, jewellery making and paper modelling as good examples here.

• Social interaction skills can be developed through creative activities that involve working the kids working together, for example wood modelling kits provide a great opportunity for siblings and parents to spend quality time with their kids learning together

• Don’t under estimate your Children’s creative and artistic talents.  Imaginations can be let loose through craft activities which is excellent for children’s development, try plonking a craft box on the table and seeing what they come up with!

I’d like to do more creative stuff with my children but they are simply not interested when I mention doing an art and craft activity!

This is an easy one – think about what they do like and find a creative kit or art activity that follows this theme – so for example if it is pirates build a pirate ship, dinosaurs build or paint one, clothes and fashion then become a fashion designer, Manga or Comics then design one, playing outside then build a bird café or get gardening, helping dad with the DIY then get building, Ancient Egypt then model a Mummy!  The list is endless, the point is that once they’ve enjoyed an art or craft project they’ll be more enthusiastic when you suggest another creative project. 

I’m creatively challenged myself – I’m not able to help my children produce anything good!

Creativity is like singing – most of us can do it even if we don’t think we can!  Don’t let this put you off and remember a couple of things.  Firstly child experts are pretty unanimous in identifying that it is the creative process that is the key benefit for children’s development and not the output and art & craft activity is a great opportunity for a child to demonstrate self-expression.  Secondly, the kids will really value you having a go at an art or craft project with them and will be immensely impressed with whatever you produce.  If you are nervous, choose products or projects that are realistic for your child’s age and ability level and that come with full instructions as these are most likely to be successful.  Take pride in your parenting skills at jointly considering and working on a project rather than focus on the output - you’ll find out it’s a lot of fun and will probably be surprised at the quality of the finished result!

I can’t stand the mess!

Lots of parents assume kid’s arts and crafts just mean lots of extra work for them!  The truth is many involve little mess – firstly children’s art and craft products have moved on a lot since we were young (there was no Claycrete ready to mix papier mache then!) and there are so many easy to tidy away options for children - sewing, woodcraft or paper modelling, jewellery making, scrapbooking and card making and drawing for example.  What the kids do require is time so you need to set it aside.

In Crafts4Kids’ experience most parents are surprised how much fun they have when they do get involved in creative activities and how much their children value it.  In our busy lives undertaking some simple art or craft projects together can produce plenty of family giggles – why not have a go at capturing cartoon likenesses of each other, making models of each other or the family pets out of colourful bake in the oven Sculpey clay or making some origami animals together!  Also remember that where mess is likely it always seems worse if it’s made by someone else so get in on the action and then share the cleaning load with the kids.

I can’t stand all the cheap and nasty, half finished craft items hanging around the house!

Some of us are just not inspired by the take a cardboard box and here’s one I made earlier approach to creative activity.  If you’re in that camp then buy good quality children’s art and craft or creative hobbies kits and products as these make a huge difference to the end result…but do try and remember that it is the process that counts – try and avoid manipulating the output into something that you as an adult are proud of.  Agree areas in the house where the kid’s art or craft work will be displayed and once it’s full get the children to deselect themselves that way they keep the pieces they are truly proud of.

I set off inspired but by the time I’ve got all the materials together, we’ve lost the moment.

They’ve a lovely ideas book or want to make something from their magazine or Art Attack now but of course you’ve never got the right materials just sitting around at home or there’s always something on the list that you can’t find in your local art and craft shop (if you are lucky enough to have one close by).  Time is precious and you feel this approach to creative activity is just too time consuming to even begin to think about.  Crafts4Kids have several suggestions here:

• Decide how to adapt the project of the moment to fit in with what you do have in the house (most of us have lots that could be recycled for kids arts and crafts activities it just needs a bit of thinking through)

• If you really do need a product that you don’t have to hand and can’t be substituted then agree ahead a time that you will undertake the art or craft activity with your child and put it in the and buy online!

• Keep a drawer or box stocked up with general art and craft bits and bobs so when the children are inspired by a creative project the moment need not be lost even if you don’t have the time to dedicate right then they can produce something else instead.

The Creative Kits in the High Street seem all packaging, not great quality and once they’ve stuck a few bits on it’s all over – the creativity seems to have been taken out!

We agree!  You may be interested to know that Crafts4Kids Ltd was originally set up in 2005 as an on-line supplier of children’s arts and crafts and educational, creative toys for children by two working parents frustrated at the difficulty in sourcing and buying high quality kid’s art and craft kits, materials and supplies on the high street.  Recent years have seen the demise of many local art shops and the concentration on mass produced, character products in the high street chains has continued (pink and plastic for girls and very little at all for boys that is creative full stop). 

Crafts4Kids saw an opportunity to specialise in offering high quality kids creative gifts, hobby kits, party ideas and party bag alternatives, and inspiring arts & crafts materials for kids which parents could source and buy on line regardless of where they lived.  That Crafts4Kids is now a thriving business is testament to the demand that parents have for good quality creative products for their kids.  Crafts4Kids only selects quality brands and specialises in bringing innovative small UK suppliers of kids arts & crafts kits to the attention of customers.  Crafts4Kids also looks carefully at the degree of packaging and plastic used and seeks to minimise this where ever possible. 

I can’t find an Art or Craft Class for my Child to Attend!

Some parents who know creative activity is good for their children feel the solution is to find an art or craft class for them to go but often these are not available  locally (Crafts4Kids get lots of emails from frustrated parent’s looking for recommendations) or they are quickly over-subscribed.  Crafts4Kids advice is not to rush at finding a class as the best solution - whilst some kids love organised activities it can inhibit others and put them off being creative.  Also it is wise to remember that creativity in children is often spontaneous and doesn’t fit into an organised schedule.  Go ahead with art & craft classes for children who are naturally keen but get stuck in at home too! 

We don’t have time to do arts and crafts with all the other activities and classes my children go to!

Think again!  Creative activity can be very relaxing for children and is a great way to unwind after a busy day.  Quietly drawing, building a model or sewing are perfect examples and doing them together is perfect for quiet down time that can be enjoyed together or alone.  It is easy to opt for the TV remote but remember what our grandparent's did in the evenings before the advent of TV...creative hobbies!

I have to spend a fortune on arts and crafts materials to produce one project and the cupboard is overflowing with leftovers!

It is easy to forget what you’ve got so keep basics well organised and try to be adaptive with materials – what can be recycled or used as an alternative that you already have at home rather than go and buy more of the same?  Most kids craft or hobby kits have just the right amount of materials included so are a good way of avoiding build up of left over materials.  However, often the kids want another go with a kit and all you need is the core basic material so keep essential art and craft basics stocked without over buying (for example spare clay, a good set of paints, good felt tips, a pack of felt, pom poms, craft glue and such like are always handy!).

Send us Your Feedback!

We would love to hear your own experience of undertaking arts & crafts activities with your own children, what works, what you have learnt and your tips for other parents.  Please do send us your thoughts – contact us.

The Crafts4Kids Team