Should my child be allowed to color in coloring books?

Question

My husband is going to school to be a teacher and he says that he learned that coloring books stifle creativity. I colored probably everyday of my childhood because it was one of my favorite things to do. I think I am still creative.My husband says when our kids become of age they will not be allowed to color in coloring books only on blank sheets of paper. I say, its fun let them do it, if they want. Why take away a fun activity? Does everything in a child's life have to about education or can we just let them be kids and enjoy some non-educational things every once and a while?

Answer 1

I colored when I was little and it hasn't stunted my creativity in the slightest.  I am still very creative, draw, paint, sculpt on occasion and write.  It doesn't stunt creativity.  

Everything about a child's life shouldn't be educational.  That's why we send our children to school, to get an education.  They should be allowed time to be children and explore and play and color.  

I'm still trying to figure out why people who consider themselves to be good members of society, stable and social won't let their own children partake of the same things that made them that way.  You didn't miss out on your childhood, why should your children?

Answer 2

Yes! I think they should be aloud! Let them have fun..

Answer 3

Your husband's weak argument is based on when a child is forced to only color within the lines. They used to do this in schools. (Then rewarded those that did.)

I don't remember many kids who always did this. We colored on the walls once and really got in trouble.

I'm surprised he would allow coloring at all. The kid might get a crayon up the nose!

Answer 4

Children learn with everything they do and play, and that includes coloring. There is nothing wrong with it, My kids colour in a coloring book, and when given plain paper, still are very creative.

Life cant be about just educational items, though they are still a must. Kids need to play too

Answer 5

Wow, I've never heard of that one. He's taking things way to seriously. Let the kid be a kid.

Answer 6

YES!! Coloring increases creativity, what the flop's he on about? Dont dis-allow your child to do anything safe, it's perfectly fine, present them with choice, and therefore independance, right and wrong, decisions and knowing themselves.

Answer 7

"Does everything in a child's life have to about education or can we just let them be kids and enjoy some non-educational things every once and a while?"

Thats exactly right. I remember when i was younger, i would color on plain paper, and be done with it in a few min. I prefered to color in coloring books, it kept me entertained longer. And there are other creative things you can do with your child. Let the poor kid color in a book. It's fun.

Answer 8

If you provide your children with multiple creative opportunities then their creativity will not be stifled. Let them color in coloring books, but also allow for free-hand drawing on paper, chalk drawing on the sidewalk, painting with brushes as well as finger paints, make collages with natural materials such as leaves, twigs, acorns, etc... and have them cut out pictures from magazines and glue them. There are numerous other things they can do. So no, I do not agree that allowing them to color in a coloring book will make them less creative.

Answer 9

That's the biggest bunch of BS I have ever heard. Coloring teaches discipline, ie staying inside the lines. If it was so bad then why did I have to color pictures of human organs and cell diagrams in my AP Anatomy Class in High School. Stay strong and let them color!

Answer 10

Well, maybe during the week they can just color on blank sheets of paper and then on weekends coloring books...compromise?

Answer 11

My now 13 year old did not like to color in coloring books so I did not force her to.  But she did like to do arts and crafts with glue sticks and magazine cut outs and she love macaroni art.  Now my 4 year old loves to color and I have this software that I can turn photos in to coloring books so he likes that I turn family snapshots into coloring books for him and he colors them all the time and we mail them to our out of town family and he writes little messages himself on the back.  Grandma loves her little notes from her big boy and his god parents love them to.  But as for it causing problems I doubt it it may depend on the individual because my son is a rocket scientist.  My husband cousin is a third grade teacher and she loves my son so much she says she can't believe how smart he is that it amazes her the conversations she has with him that he is smarter than half her class.  And she always tells me don't stop him from exploring.  Keep in mind my son is 4 and at two he could spell his full name and he does word building and he reads to my 14 month old every night.  Well I try to read to both of them and he takes over.  Now of course they are not novels but he reads all the time and if he sees a word he does not know he wants to know it.  He wants to know how it is pronounced and its great.  Now I don't know who he heard but he says smart children know take piano lessons and he wants to take them.  So that is our next step.  Just let kids be kids and don't stop them from taking in everything because it helps them.  My 13 year old jokes and says that her 4 year old brother will be helping her her with her Advance placement math this year.

Answer 12

of course you should let child color in a coloring book

Answer 13

Of course let your child color.

Answer 14

I am an early childhood teacher and in my classes they taught us not to use coloring books and ditto sheets or even art projects that all look the same. So I see what he is saying. However as long as you give your child the more creative materials along with the ditto sheets she will be fine. You should offer blank pieces of paper along with the coloring pages and allow her to make a choice.

My daughter is 9 and enjoys doing both and always have.

They are just saying in the classroom that you should try more creative things such as finger painting on large pieces of paper, giving them red and yellow to figure out how to make orange..........teach them to think outside of the box. They are not saying to never give your child a coloring book.

Answer 15

let the kids color,  jeez,  some of the things that are being come up with lately tells me some people have way too much time on their hands. im not saying your husband does, im saying whoever originally came up with that hair brained idea and handed it  on down.

im 34 and i still like to color with my daughter lol  ( my son isnt old enough yet)

Answer 16

Of course they should be allowed to colour in colouring books.

I think your husband is wrong here.  Colouring was my favourite thing to do when I was young.

They can still be creative with it!  They can make the clouds purple or the grass orange or whatever they want.

I think if you only gave them blank paper they would get bored of it pretty quickly.

Answer 17

Let your child colour in!!! Its all about being happy for goodness sake. Tell your husband that colouring in is about learning what colours go together without worrying about how good the drawing is! Not everything is about education...thats like saying you are not allowed to blow bubbles without knowing what the circumference of the sphere is! lol

Remember that your child is YOURS as well as his, so if you want them to colour in, let them. And tell him to leave his "teacher face" at school, and not bring it home with him.

Answer 18

coloring is a very important hting for a child growing up.  it helps them learn and keeps them busy  dont worry about it education is alot but not everything

Answer 19

Hi! I am a teacher and I give the children in my class a lot of different creative things to do and one of them is coloring. As long as you do more than just coloring, coloing won't effect them negatively in the least. Some of my most creative children love to color. You should hear the stories that they write and see some of the pictures that they draw coloring hasn't stifled them at all!! I am not saying that coloring made the creative but it definitely doesn't have a negative effect. The number one creativity stifler is TV are you going to disallow TV in your household and keep them from watching the next pixar movie thats out? Are you going to keep them from playing games on the internet? That would be more benefitial than taking away the coloring books. I bet you will still allow them to do those things though. Think about it that way.

Answer 20

Oh my goodness it did just the opposite for me!  I colored in coloring books as a child and I am highly intuitive to art.  I had a minor in art when I attended college and plan on taking more art classes when the children get older.  

Color books are not only fun, but they do encourage creativity and they encourage coordination and fine motor skills.  Not everything *has* to be about child education.  Let the kids have fun!  Go nuts!! :)

Answer 21

i think your husband means that children should learn to be creative

he is obviously caring, and making a wrong decision with good intent is better than not doing anything for the child

i think there is no harm in letting them colour, as long as you introduce them to other things later

anyway, there is an element of creativity in colouring - choosing the colours!

Answer 22

How about using both? Blank paper is more difficult to carry around in a diaper bag and since drawing is one of the best ways to occupy a little one at a restaurant or anywhere, it doesn't make sense to limit yourself. It really doesn't make a difference, my daughter prefers and makes better drawings with blank paper (also useful for painting or writing, when the time comes) but, I keep a coloring book in my diaper bag to make it neater and easier for me. Helping your child to be creative is great but, limiting them (especially in this way) is a bit overboard. There will be plenty of opportunities in life (both home and school) for them to be creative and express themselves, so why get wrapped up in things like this?

Answer 23

Actually, coloring is important to fine motor skills.  It teaches children to stay within the lines as well as several other objectives (that honestly, I can not remember without looking up).

Children should be encouraged to do their own drawings, but also allowed to color in coloring books if they so choose.  It is also regularly used in the early grades in school, such as coloring a picture of the Flag for Social Studies, a picture of a bird when learning about the letter B, etc.

Younger children do not have the ability to make their own drawings, only scribbles (which are also a beautiful thing).  Coloring books aid in their later being able to draw.

I would fully disagree with your husband on this matter.

Coloring IS education-in fact, everything in a child's wife is educational in some way-from playing with balls (gravity and motion) to playing in the bathtub, EVERYTHING.  Education can be fun-in fact, it should be.  I would argue that school itself often stifles a childs creativity.

Answer 24

youre husband sounds ignorant.

they are COLORING books. [books made for coloring]

wont be "allowed to color in coloring books"??? im 27 and still color with my kids. [and without them sometimes]

they are kids. they will turn out fine. you colored and sound alright to me....

Answer 25

see wot i mean about the world gone mad ! children love to colour !!!!! put your foot down mum and you tell dad that your kids are allowed to colour !!!!!! x

Answer 26

what? no coloring books!!!! that's crazy. BUT i see where he is coming from. Drawing on a blank piece of paper needs more thinking and creativity, but i think coloring in a coloring book will allow them to be creative also. I think its hard to have a parent who is a teacher because there is so much emphasis on education, which is not a bad thing, but sometimes you need a break from all that to just be a kid.GOOD LUCK

Answer 27

That's why I don't like schools. By keeping away coloring books, he's limiting them, even if he thinks he's opening options. Why not keep a craft table out and let them choose what they do? We have a plastic bin with hanging file folders, that has all colors of paper as well as copies of pictures from coloring books so that they can color the same page over and over if they like.

If he honestly heard that from a teacher, he's in the wrong classes. I did teaching classes and never heard that.

Answer 28

I am a special education teacher and I believe that children can learn a lot from coloring in coloring books as well as being encouraged to draw and color their own pictures.

They can be very creative while coloring in their books exploring choice of color, fine motor skills by staying in the lines, recognizing fiction from non-fiction characters, and making up stories to go with the pictures.

Not all children are going to be artists and be able to draw well on their own.  Give the kids a choice.  I personally liked to do rubbings of things in the house.  I made a very nice patch work paper on the kitchen floor.

Answer 29

OK i think ur husband is going a little overboard i liked the compromise suggestion