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Home › Articles › Toddlers › Understanding Toddlers' Drawings

Understanding Toddlers' Drawings

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Rare is the toddler who will pass up a chance to scribble on any available canvas. Paper, walls, refrigerator doors young Picassos and Rembrandts generally aren't picky. Parents often take delight in praising the artwork of these young masters, but is there more to the seemingly random scribbles of toddlers than meets the eye?

Boy Drawing "At around 18 months to two and a half years of age, children mostly 'feel' the world through body movements, and they can share these feelings with others, " says Dr. Robert Winter, chairman of the art department and coordinator of the art therapy program at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina. A careful look at toddler's drawings can reveal much about their development, and can even provide us with clues to their well-being. According to Winter, parents can track the development of fine motor control by observing the progression of children's artwork "from loose random lines drawn with crayons to controlled lines drawn with pencils or markers."

Thus, even before their language ability permits them to converse freely, toddlers can use their artwork to convey important information to their parents and caregivers. But can a toddler's scribbles alert his parents to potentially dangerous situations? "Generally speaking, since children do not have a drawing schema in mind during the scribbling stage, it is extremely difficult to detect precise danger signals," says Winter. But children who don't express an interest in scribbling at this age may in itself be a sign of a delay in development.

When children begin to "name" their scribbles, usually between ages three and a half and four and a half, parents should take note. As they gain a broader understanding of the world around them, the elements in children's drawings will solidify and take on clearer forms.

The language used when talking to children about their artwork is crucial. Never put words in the child's mouth. Instead of interpreting their drawings "Oh, look, this is a flower, right?" parents should ask their children, "Can you tell me about your drawing?" Faced with such a question, Winter maintains, "the child will feel comfortable describing the drawing and, in fact, will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride." If parents put words into the child's mouth, "she will tend to please us by agreeing. Nonetheless, this is not the image generated in her mind," he says.

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