At What Age Do Kids Start Colouring Inside Lines

Your child is ready to draw and colour as soon as he/she can hold a large crayon comfortably. Allowing kids to scribble frequently can help them gain control and strength in their fingers now and eventually teach them that markings and dashes can represent objects, shapes, and letters. Although here’s the question that arises in almost every parent’s mind: At what age do kids start colouring inside the lines? 

Well, children normally pass through this stage of development between the ages of three and five, but experts warn against expressly pushing kids to colour because they can lose interest if you do so. Do not be concerned if your preschooler continues to colour outside the lines. Keep some wet wipes handy for messy hands and allow them to mess! 

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Here Is An Age Wise Guide To When Kids Start Colouring Inside Lines

12 to 15 months:

Your child will probably be eager and ready to hold a crayon securely enough to make marks when he has acquired the pincer grasp. At this age, children tend to use crayons more for huge, random arcs, blobs, and inadvertent scrawling, which is more of a study in enjoyment than technique.

1 year:

Your youngster will probably progress from scribbling and colouring to expressive interpretation. In those swirls, you might not be able to make out the forest or the trees, but you’ll start to notice colour blocks and clearer marks and patterns.

1+ to 2 years:

The paper will probably get increasingly crowded with his doodles. At this age, every crayon mark your child makes has meaning for him/her; the wavy loops could be a puppy, or the vivid stripes could be his father.

How Do Colouring Books Help Develop Skills?

Colouring books instruct kids about particular topics through drawings and can be an entertaining and fun way for them to learn. Discuss what they’re colouring in a fun way while sitting down with your child. 

• Mention how fascinating it is that firemen reside in a firehouse. You can explain more about the subject if your child is unaware of it. Kids will equate learning with fun and spending more time with you if you do it this way.

• Colouring pages that depict interactions between cartoon characters can help your child develop social skills. When your child begins to draw within the lines, it may also indicate that she is growing in social awareness. Children soon learn that lines are intended to be drawn in, whether in the classroom or elsewhere, and they may try to follow suit by staying within them to emulate other kids or even to please you.

Once a toddler starts kindergarten school they watch other kids colouring inside the lines, they learn about boundaries and words like above, between, below, or under and they start understanding these boundaries. Parents should expect their toddler to colour inside the lines before they start kindergarten. Till then let them scribble and let their imaginations flow freely.

Cover image source: freepik