by Margaret Telsch-Williams

Created on: October 21, 2008

After a long day of work, picking up the dry cleaning, mowing the grass, loading the dishwasher, and cleaning the toilet, it's refreshing to think that your child can be occupied for a moment with the simplest of pleasures: a coloring book. This is the original childhood intoxication, second now only to television. These few and far between moments of self-occupation and creative expression are lifesavers for mom and dad when a little peace and quiet is essential.

Not only is coloring in a basic coloring book a plus for the parents, but also the act of coloring enhances the child's ability to create, develop hand-eye coordination, and learn self-reliance. It's not just that junior can color in between the lines, it's that they can choose which color and where to color it. Concepts like this are huge in developing a healthy child that can make decisions for themselves and pursue being engulfed in their own creativity. This doesn't happen often for children. Think about it.

Your son or daughter goes to school all day where they sit in their seat, they raise their hand when they have a question or know an answer, they are told when it is snack time, bathroom time, or lunch time. It takes a lot of energy to control that little body and not get up and run around the classroom. When it's art time, at school or home, they finally have a chance to make the rules for themselves. They decide how dark to make Curious George's hair, or if the flower is blue, or pink, or purple. This can be exceptionally freeing for them if they are praised for their work and encouraged to continue. If the child at this stage in the game is teased or taunted for not doing a good job it could be an equally crushing blow to their still forming sense of self.

Perhaps the best thing about coloring books is that they are fairly simple and extraordinarily cheap. Hundreds of designs and cartoon characters are available and now a lot of coloring books are also listed as activity books. These new and improved versions often have games, puzzles, and learning activities inside in addition to pages devoted to coloring. Another thought is to let your child(ren) use a pen or permanent marker to create their own coloring book pages. Once they have drawn all of the outline pages, you can bind them together with staples, string, or glue. A brand new, homemade coloring book right from your children's minds. If you wanted to take it step further, have your child create a story where each page advances the plot until the end. These pages can be photocopied, turned into books, and given as gifts to friends, cousins, or siblings. Talk about a sense of accomplishment for your little one!

At the end of the day, every parent wants their children to be good, kind, and helpful adults. A child that grows up in an encouraging home, with a sense of belonging and a knowledge of their abilities is more likely to be able to help others than one that still hasn't learned self-worth or believes their abilities are not enough to gain positive attention. So often it is true in life that we usually take for granted the simplest of items. With a clean coloring book and a nice box of sharpened crayons, you can not only color the page but also color a child's world.

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