Why (Some) Kids Don’t Like Art

Did you know there are grownups who are afraid of making art?

It’s true. I’ve met them. Grown ups with big important jobs, who can scale mountains, who deliver presentations in front of large crowds. But put a blank canvas in front of them and they feel sick.

The saddest part of my job as an art teacher is when a child tells me they are not good at art. What that tells me immediately is that at some point, a grown up (inadvertently, I hope) instilled a sense of fear in them about MAKING ART. And now that child has begun to question their own creativity.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

This summer I taught an art class to a group of toddlers in a day camp. I’m talking babies in diapers who could barely sing the ABC’s.

So what did we do?

We laid out HUGE pieces of paper on the ground outside. We spread out plastic containers filled with non-toxic washable paint around the paper. We picked out paintbrushes that were bigger than their little feet.

When the kids came in to the art space, we didn’t read them a story. We didn’t list off a bunch of rules. And we certainly didn’t tell them what they were going to make.

We just let them go.

I have a magic phrase I say to myself before I begin a new art project with preschool kids. I don’t say it on purpose, it just comes out. I take a deep breath and I say, “Let’s see what happens.” Whenever I catch myself saying that, that’s a sign this is going to be a good class. Because it means I have let go of control.

When those babies stood in front of the large sheets of paper, no one had to tell them what to do. We didn’t ask them to name the colors. We didn’t ask them what they were going to make. We didn’t teach them how to mix colors.

We didn’t know what would happen. We just let them walk to the art and begin.

When I work with toddlers, I actively choose to stay in a place of unknowing so that the children can thrive. Children aren't afraid to not know. That’s when they do their best work.

But what does it look like when a child is making art with a grown up who is afraid of art?

Often it begins when the grown up has expectations for the art project that don’t come naturally for the child. Frustrations rise.

A list of steps is announced that the child can’t reproduce independently. So the grown up steps in to finish it for them. Ineptitude sinks in.

Lastly the child sees a demonstration of what their art was supposed to look like. Now the child thinks they’re not good at art.

They stop believing their efforts are valuable and start expecting grown ups to do their art for them. The child begins to lose their instincts for creativity.

If that grown up never had an art teacher give them the opportunity to express themselves freely, they likely don’t realize they’re operating from a place of fear. But fear is not forever.

That’s what the art room is all about: Overcoming, trying new things, and being brave enough to live in the unknown.

This is my first suggestion for grownups who want to feel more brave in the art room with kids:

Let a child teach you how to be an artist.

Don’t do an art project for your child.

Do your own art project next to them.

Talk out loud about your process. Mention how you are both making different choices.

Watch how the child paints and note to yourself how different that is from you. Observe how their fingers explore the material.

Cheer when they shout, “TADA!” because they’ve decided on their own that they are done.

If you see bravery fading from a child, here are my suggestions:

• Try to ensure that fear and restriction and control is not their only experience with art.

• See what happens when they decide what they are making instead of you. Whatever they tell you, agree with them and ask for more.

• Ask them to tell you the story about their drawing. My prediction is their ideas will be better than anything you or I could come up with.

Once I realized people are actually afraid of making art, it changed my approach to teaching. I don’t see it as a class about technique and skill sets, rather a class in courage.

When I am in my art studio, working by myself, my own fears still creep in. It can take a long time to overcome. But when I am in the art room teaching children, I still say, “I wonder what will happen.”

The only answer I have at that moment is, I don’t know. It’s children who have taught me that is the best outcome you could hope for.