Many parents have anxiety regarding their child’s development. The need for them to gain physical, cognitive, emotional and social skills is essential for their mental and social well-being, and it can take time to teach these abilities – especially when you’re busy with a full-time job.

Be assured that your child is learning all the time, simply by watching and engaging in play pursuits such as arts and crafts. Discover how this straightforward leisure activity is helping to promote healthy development.

1. Encouraging creativity

Arts and crafts projects require you to use your imagination which encourages creativity. It’s important to allow your child to be creative as this will help them express themselves now and as teenagers which is key to establishing self-esteem, and contributes to the ability to cope with different feelings.

Once your child has grasped the basics of using your chosen materials, give them free rein to use them how they wish. This could be as basic as making birthday cards with mixed-media decoration or more complicated such as stitching without a pattern. You could start by giving prompts if the leap from instruction to unguided is too overwhelming initially.

 

2. Honing motor skills

Spending time on arts and crafts will also benefit physical development, introducing your child to movements that cross over into other activities and are required for life.

Using simple papercraft essentials such as card, stencils, scissors and glue, your child can hone and expand their range of fine motor skills – the ability to control the small muscles in your hands and wrists to make precise movements. These include drawing, tracing, cutting, measuring, pasting and squeezing objects, and are more challenging to develop than gross movements like running and jumping.

3. Promoting problem solving

Stimulating mental growth is another advantage of your child engaging with arts and crafts. These pursuits help you form original ideas, and striving to reproduce these mental images promotes critical thinking and improves problem-solving skills.

These abilities support healthy brain development, teaching children how to approach new tasks and the advantages of considered decision-making. Learning how to resolve issues without help will also create strong new brain connections (synapses) for effective cognitive progression.

 

4. Supporting mental wellness

Children should indulge in self-care activities just as much as adults, and arts and crafts projects are a fantastic way of supporting their mental wellness. These pursuits enable you to escape into another world which promotes relaxation and mindfulness. Overcoming challenging tasks also teaches resilience, and creates a satisfying sense of accomplishment linked to dopamine – the ‘feel-good’ hormone.

As an act of self-expression, arts and crafts also help children identify and process difficult emotions which can cause anxiety or depression if left unresolved. Learning how to regulate emotion will help your child navigate mentally challenging situations, now and in the future.