Easy Doodles for Kids that Will Boost Their Thinking and Creativity

When you see your kid’s notebook scribbled with small random and meaningless drawings, like most parents, you might feel your kid is wasting time by drawing random things that don’t make any sense. You could tell him that a meaningful drawing or a drawing which makes sense is okay and shows the creative bent. However, you will be wrong in thinking and telling your child to do so because those spontaneous drawings or scribbles are more meaningful than anyone might think. Several scientific studies infer that doodling is a great hobby to improve creativity, build the brain and memory, and helps relax and keep the kids energetic.

What Is Doodling?

Doodling simply is drawing or making random and spontaneous marks on paper. There is no set pattern or shape or even medium for doodling. One can just make anything, whether it makes any form or not is irrelevant. Kids generally make doodles on paper with a pencil, pen, or crayon. It is believed doodles signify the random thoughts of a person and are the medium to express themselves. This art form doesn’t require much of drawing skills, and one can express oneself with any form, line, or shape. Though when a child puts his mind and effort into it, he can create amazing doodling artwork that can be interpreted like any other artwork.

Doodling is an important medium for kids to explore their creativity, grasp new concepts, stay focused, relax, and achieve better mental health. Many scientific researchers have found that kids who doodle are more relaxed and have a better memory. Doodling is, in fact, a creative method for anyone to express their random thoughts in the form of visual language to relieve stress. Doodling helps kids learn, think creatively, and communicate their thoughts.

Why Should You Encourage Your Kids to Doodle?

Doodling has been proved to be beneficial for kids and adults in many ways. You should encourage your kids to doddle because of the various benefits it has. Some of the benefits of doodle art for kids are:

1. Develops Literacy

Young kids lack structure when they start writing. A simple scribble is the starting point of creating a shape, whether in drawing or writing. Doodling helps them develop and improve their fine motor skills. Therefore, it is the first step towards writing and drawing.

2. Improves Hand-Eye Coordination

As your child keeps on doodling, his ability to draw improves, and this results in developing and improving his hand-eye coordination. You kid would also learn the concept of space and distance as he starts drawing or creating everyday objects.

3. Develops Fine Motor Skills

Your kid needs to develop fine motor skills, and as he holds a pencil or pen to doodle, he develops the ability to manipulate the pencil or pen as per his imagination. When kids see their doodles, they can understand what they have imagined and what they have created. As time passes, they learn to create what they imagine or see, hence develop their motor skills further.

4.  Builds Memory Power

Doodling helps kids’ brains stay alert for a long period. It benefits them to process more information and retain it as compared to when they are not doodling. As they grow up, they will be listening to long lectures, and they need to stay alert without losing interest, or their brains will keep switching off from what is being said. Doodling, as they listen, engages their brain without them losing interest in the lecture or what the teacher is saying. It also helps their brains to think and process the information simultaneously.

5. Improves Focus

Most people think that as one is doodling, they are not focused and are distracted by scribbling. On the contrary, doodling doesn’t distract but helps a person stay focused by engaging and making them alert. Doodling improves the concentration as it keeps the child from daydreaming and keeps his focus on the things going around him.

6. Relieves Stress

Doodling helps relieve stress as drawing continuous patterns or lines over and over helps them relax and unwind. As doodling is done without any pressure of making a good drawing, it lets the kids feel free and relaxed.

7. Boosts Creativity

Doodling activates different areas of kids’ brains. Some of these areas are usually dormant when the kid is processing word-centric information. So when the kid doodles, these dormant areas become active and help him arrive at a creative solution or improve his creativity and non-cognitive skills. Your kid might, in the beginning, draw in-comprehensible doodles; however, if asked to describe the doodles, he will give an in-depth description of their creation. Explaining doodles will help him construct a story and unleash his imagination. This will encourage your child to explore his imagination and boost his creativity.

8. Express Emotions

Doodling is mostly the reflection or visual expression of the unconscious mind and feelings. So, doodling helps the kid express his inner feelings freely and relieve stress if any. Expressing thoughts can boost your child’s confidence.

9. Improves Health

As your kid doodles, he relaxes, and his heart rate improves. Some equate it with meditation, and as meditation helps your mind, emotions, and body to relax, so does doodling. It helps develop harmony with the deeper self and improves awareness. And just like meditation, doodling improves blood pressure, digestive patterns, muscle function, heart rate, and rhythm.  So, it improves your kid’s health, wellness, emotional well-being, and immune system.

Tips to Encourage Kids to Doodle

To encourage your kid to doodle, you can do the following:

• The best way to encourage your child to doodle is to start it yourself. Instead of asking him to do it, just start doodling yourself. Your kid will see and follow.
• Keep colourful markers, pencils, drawing books, etc. in the commonplace. Your kid will see them lying and use them to doodle.
• Doodling is an effortless and spontaneous activity, so don’t ask or remind your kid to do it. Give them the drawing book and pen when they are watching tv, or while talking on the phone. They will unconsciously start doodling while mindlessly doing other things.
• Don’t teach your kid how to doodle or copy what you have doodled. This will curb their creativity. Let the children doodle whatever they want.
• If you see your child wondering what to doodle, suggest some theme or topic, to begin with.
• Doodling has no right or wrong ways. It’s a free drawing of whatever comes to your mind. Therefore, when your child shows you his doodle, never judge or critique the artwork. Appreciate the efforts; it will encourage your little one to doodle more.
• When your child shows his doodle art to you, ask about the thoughts behind it or what the scribbles mean. This will encourage him to communicate.
• In case your child is unable to draw, a good way to encourage him to start doodling is to let him use shapes to draw and then fill those with colours or patterns. You can also draw the shapes to ease your child into doodling.
• A good way is to ask your child to draw one of his daily activities like a game, or a favourite cartoon, etc. Kids enjoy these things and its easy for them to doodle the things they like.

How to Make Fun Doodle Art With Kids

In the beginning, to encourage kids to doodle, parents need to doodle with them. This will develop an interest in the kids, and they will eventually enjoy the activity. To make fun doodle art with your kids, you need the following:

Things You need 

• White sheet of paper or drawing book
• Pencil
• Coloured Pen
• Black marker
• Crayons
• Coloured pencils

How to Draw

Before starting a doodle drawing, the first thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong way doodle. Anything and everything is the correct way. Just let your and your kid’s creativity loose and draw whatever you want.

However, for beginner’s doodle art for kindergarten, you may guideline follows these simple steps:

• Take the white paper or the drawing book.
• Draw lines with multiple curves to make big loops or shapes that you can think of. The lines should cross at many places to make different shapes. A large number of shapes will make the doodle art more colourful.
• In case your kid doesn’t want to draw a line, let him draw whatever he wants. It should be effortless and spontaneous.
• Now ask the kid to colour the shapes or forms he has created in the colours of his choice.
• You child can use crayons or colour pencils, or he can also fill the shapes with lines or different patterns made with the colours. There are no standard types and styles of doodling, so everything is possible.
• After colouring, highlight the shapes with a black marker.
• Your child’s doodle art is complete.

Doodling is not just a means for kids to unwind and be creative, but it is a beneficial exercise to improve their brainpower. It helps kids to improve memory, increase concentrating power, boost creative thinking, accelerate learning, and relax. Doodling is an interesting way for your kids to learn art, unleash their creative side, and enhance both their cognitive and non-cognitive skills.

Also Read:

Fun and Exciting Creative Activities for Children
Educational Games for Children
Best Brain Gym Exercises for Children