The benefits of drawing for the all-round development of a child are not in doubt today - experts believe that the earlier a child starts, the more developed he will grow up, even if drawing is not at all his path.
Many parents, in an effort to provide their child with all the necessary opportunities, rush to buy drawing supplies as early as possible, however, both pencils and classic brushes for drawing have one big drawback - the child must have sufficiently developed finger motor skills to confidently hold them in his hands.
In addition, both options do not always guarantee complete safety of the composition and the possibility of easy cleaning from the surface of objects not intended for drawing, and pencils sometimes turn out to be too faded to interest a child. Therefore, in recent decades, experts increasingly recommend purchasing finger paints for babies.
What it is?
Finger paints are a rather unusual tool for creativity, designed to quench children's cravings for the bright and beautiful. Even the smallest child wants to paint with something bright, and if he is not yet able to hold a brush or pencil in his hands, it doesn't matter: you can use your hands directly!
Naturally, with such a level of motor development, it makes no sense to expect a child to create any masterpieces. However, for the children themselves of the age for which this product is intended (and these are babies from 1 year old) what is important is a bright abstraction, not an aesthetic plot.
Given the age of these young artists and their way of painting, manufacturers must be especially careful in choosing the composition. Primarily, the recipe must not contain any harmful substances that can penetrate the body through the skin, because the child's hands are not protected.
Finger paint options for the smallest should even assume theoretical edibility, although there should be a place for bitterness among the ingredients so that the baby does not use the product for other purposes.
Since this type of paint is created specifically for painting with your own body, it is not at all surprising that there is no question of observing any purity of the process. In such conditions it is fundamentally important that the dyes used are easily washed off both from the skin and from clothing. It should be noted that some manufacturers of low-cost products still do not adhere to this rule, dictated by logic, so the choice of a set should be approached with due care.
Finally, for the child's real interest, such paints simply need to be as bright as possible - fading threatens to lose the child's interest. Good color mixing is also considered good without the formation of dirt.
Benefit and harm
The benefits of using finger paints lie on the surface - we will list only some of the skills and abilities of the child, who will receive additional impetus in their development thanks to such drawing:
- Artistic taste. Constant observation of bright colors is necessary for a child in order to learn the most correct perception of the world around him.
An artist, deprived of such an opportunity in early childhood, will probably be limited to exclusively black and white graphics and, although there is nothing wrong with the latter, it is better to provide the kid with all the possibilities - suddenly he will become a master of artistic color transfer.
- Color perception. Modern bright life somewhat limits the possibilities of those people who do not see much difference between shades. Thanks to early work with the brightest tones, the baby gets the opportunity to quickly learn to distinguish between colors and their smallest shades. As a result, brain activity also improves.
- Motor skills. Although drawing with finger paints, due to its increased simplicity, does not seem to be a suitable way to develop physical activity, even such finger exercises can bear fruit. In the process of drawing, the child has to move his fingers more actively, thanks to which he will quickly learn to hold the same brush in his hands.
- Psyche. After all, drawing is simply a useful, soothing and entertaining activity. Thanks to him, the emotional background of both the baby and his parents is leveled, and in fact calmness and good mood are two important qualities for ensuring good health.
If the paints are made in compliance with all quality standards, then there will definitely be no harm from them. Problems are possible only if parents, in pursuit of economy, opted for a low-quality product that may contain toxic or harmful components, as well as leave stubborn dirt on various surfaces.
Types and composition
Classic finger paints are composed of traditional ingredients:
- pigments that give the mass the desired color;
- water base;
- binders used to combine all ingredients and make the mixture thicker.
The composition is balanced so that the mass always remains soft, at the same time does not become fluid. Ideally, good finger paints consist exclusively of natural ingredients that are not harmful to the baby's health - they are even edible, so manufacturers have to use special bitter flavorings.
However, in varieties for children from 3 years of age and older, some ingredients can be replaced with those that are undesirable for food. The use of natural ingredients also contributes to ease of cleaning - for example, paint based on aloe vera juice is usually very easy to remove from clothing.
It should be noted that some finger paints may be signed as gouache or watercolor.
If it says on the box that this set can be drawn directly with your hands, then you can give preference to it, but this does not mean at all that any gouache or watercolor is suitable for such purposes.
Modern manufacturers are doing their best to diversify the range of their products, for what they create new types of paint with unusual properties:
- The gel varieties do not dry out the skin, which makes them better suited for the smallest.
- Sensory finger paints are supplemented with special particles that give dried flowers a different roughness, which further develops the child's understanding of the world around him.
- Fluorescent paints are able to make any kid happy at all, because the drawings made with such material glow in the dark.
Since finger products are rarely designed for professional artists, they are sold exclusively in sets. For the smallest, a minimum set of 4 colors will be enough, but it will be appropriate to choose a set with stamps that allow you to quickly depict a particular picture.
For a child from 3 years old, you can purchase 12 colors that more fully convey the picture of the world.
From what age can you use it?
Different manufacturers on their products indicate different minimum ages for using such creative materials, and parents on forums with their mixed comments only confuse newcomers even more.
In general, the earliest age at which finger paints are appropriate, at least in theory, is 6 months. However, the benefits of such a parental venture are somewhat doubtful, since the child's physical activity at this age is extremely limited. Not a single conscientious manufacturer on their products will recommend paints for such tiny babies - unless in pursuit of sales.
Usually on the boxes it is written that the product is intended for children from 1 year old - this means that use is possible at an earlier age, but experts do not see the point in this.
It should be noted that not all finger paints are completely safe. Products for children that are labeled “3+ years old” are likely to contain ingredients that are undesirable to take into your mouth.
On the one hand, at this age, children are no longer curious enough to try everything, on the other hand, parents should be on the lookout.
How to use?
Unlike any others, finger paints do not imply instructions on how to draw pictures correctly - flowers or a tree can be depicted in any way possible.
Theoretically, in such a drawing process, parents should play an important role, who will help bring the child's vague idea to a certain logical conclusion, along the way showing him how to create a meaningful masterpiece. There are several finger painting techniques available to anyone.
Body parts
First of all, this is drawing with palms and fingers. For a baby of the first years of life, the end result is not so interesting as the process itself - he will gladly get dirty himself and dirty everything around. However, this also has an element of development, so you should not forbid the kid to draw even by himself.
Sponge or sponge
Finger paints are perfectly absorbed into the porous structure of the sponge, and are also easily squeezed back out of there, so you can offer your child such a somewhat unusual tool.
Prints and stencils
Many kits include special tools designed to make it easier for your baby to create various art forms. These include various stamps and rollers, as well as stencil boards with cut slots in the shape of something.
"Passepartout"
The artistic intention in the work can be completely left on the shoulders of the parents. In this case, the child paints the paper base at their own discretion, while mom and dad must cut out some figures (sun, flowers, butterflies) from colored paper and simply put them on the base prepared by the child.
How to do it yourself?
Many parents believe that it is better to prepare finger paints on their own at home, rather than trust little-known recipes from manufacturers.
This process is simple, but it can interest the child, it allows you to easily and inexpensively make an unlimited number of paints, and most importantly, it guarantees the safety of the baby one hundred percent. Difficulties may arise due to the lack of sufficiently bright dyes or containers for storage, but in general these issues can be solved.
On the worldwide web, you can find quite a few different recipes for homemade finger paints, but in general the ingredients are the same there - only the proportions differ.
You need to mix a couple of glasses of flour with a few tablespoons of salt (to taste, but the paint should taste disgusting - 5-7 tablespoons should be enough) and a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Then a couple of glasses of water are added little by little. The final consistency should resemble sour cream in its density; in case of deviations from the norm, more flour is added to thicken, and water is added to liquefy.
After the mass is divided into parts for coloring in different shades, dyes are added to them. The latter can be both natural juices from vegetables and fruits, and various seasonings or even brilliant green, although many prefer to use purchased food colors. You need to store such a homemade product in the refrigerator, in hermetically sealed jars.
There is an even simpler recipe that involves adding pigments to ordinary yogurt, but such dyes will naturally remain edible, so they can provoke a child to eat them. Parents often do not see this as a problem, but the habit developed can lead to the fact that the child will begin to lick brushes and other drawing supplies in the future.
If this particular recipe was liked the most and is planned for use, it should be borne in mind that the resulting paints should be used as soon as possible, since they do not have a long shelf life.
Brand rating
Many parents still prefer to rely on the experience of manufacturers - they are sure that if you trust a trusted company, it will not let you down. In many ways, this is true - companies with a worldwide reputation really did not gain such popularity in vain, however, in order to purchase safe paints for your own child, you need to understand brands.
Products of European and American production that have reached domestic markets are traditionally distinguished by a high price and appropriate quality. American paints Crayola are considered the best balanced option - they are safe, bright, and easy to wash off.
Similar in properties and Spanish Jovi, although the reviews say that their colors are still more faded.
Dutch paints Ses They are distinguished by an extremely responsible selection of the composition, which makes it possible to please even children with allergies to everything around them, but the cleaning process may be more difficult.
Among other foreign suppliers, brands should be noted Artberry and Baramba.
For almost three decades in our country, Chinese products have been in high demand, with very low prices. Some of its varieties, such as "Developers", while they also have good operational properties, while others - such as "Orange Elephant" disappointing because they are not bright enough.
As for domestic products, they are at their usual level. Comparatively good paints can only be called "Tsvetik", and even those have a pronounced drawback - they are difficult to wash. Brands with promising names like "Kalyaka-malyaka" or "Kids»Objectively do not deserve consumer attention.
Which one is better to choose?
In the selection process, one should focus not only on some subjective preferences, but also on certain factors that have an objective assessment. The very first children's finger paints for infants should categorically not contain any harmful components, they should consist almost only of pigment and water. After reaching the age of three, the composition can already vary somewhat.
For painting in the bathroom, you should choose gel paints in jars, because they do not dry the skin, and a special gouache in tubes for such purposes is much less suitable.
When choosing the first set, you should not chase after a variety of colors and large volumes - 6 shades are enough to start creativity, and a large number may be unnecessary if the child does not appreciate the new entertainment or it disappoints the parents with its quality.
Contrary to the adoration of the brightest colors by children, you should avoid kits with "neon" tones - there are no such dyes in nature, so these are most likely synthetic products of dubious origin. However, you cannot buy very pale paints either - they will not interest the baby.
It is worth carefully studying what is written on the packaging - at least once again re-read the instructions for use and pay attention to the shelf life and composition, as well as clarify the name of the manufacturer.
For information on how to paint with finger paints, see the next video.
