Introducing your child to glass art as a hobby can be an exciting and enriching experience. Glass art offers a unique way for them to express creativity while learning about various techniques (e.g., fused glass, stained glass, glassblowing).
Arts are a joy to explore, not to mention teach you a bunch of valuable skills and life lessons. If you get your kids started on arts early, you’ll provide a constructive way for them to spend their time and help them become fine human beings down the road. Practicing an art form can help them be more comfortable with themselves (and their body), express themselves better, and build up self-esteem—which can be helpful to any youth, but especially those with disabilities. HABATAT Galleries offers some tips on how you could get your kids involved in the arts and covers specific benefits of some popular art forms:
How to get your kids involved in the arts
All kids have inherent talents and likings. Getting your kids involved in arts is all about finding what works for them and then giving them opportunities to engage:
- Show them beautiful art: Introduce your child to popular art forms and share some stellar examples to spark their interests. Take them to art shows, plays, and live music concerts; read books and stories; and get them acquainted with cultural classics.
- Help them find their artistic passion: Help your child find an art form they love. Most children are better at some arts than others (e.g., drawing, theater, writing). It could take some exploring. A disability won’t hold your child back; most art forms are accessible to kids with disabilities, and as Passionate People points out, many famous artists had a disability of some kind.
- Offer to pay for lessons: Art is fun but not always easy. Providing lessons to your kids will help them improve their passion and make them more likely to pursue it long-term.
- Reward them: Kids are much more likely to engage with something if rewarded for it. You could praise them, shower them with affection, buy them toys, and encourage them when they practice their art.
- Put it in galleries: There are many boutique art galleries open to artists of all sorts, and kids can sell online through social media or Etsy. If your youngster is old enough to meet the LLC age requirement, they could even start a business venture. You never know where their art journey could lead!
Popular art forms and their unique benefits
While art, in general, is excellent for your child’s overall development, every art form comes with unique benefits. For example, if your child has a learning disability, drawing and painting can help their cognition. Here are some popular art forms and their unique benefits:
- Drawing and painting
Drawing and painting are beautiful avenues for teaching fine motor skills and developing new connections in the brain. They teach children colors, shapes, and spatial relationships, as well as how to technically translate objects from real life into paper-based representations. They can make children more creative and imaginative.
- Visual art
Helping your child create videos can be fun and rewarding as you explore creativity together. You can easily turn their ideas into visual art with a free video maker—without needing any advanced skills. Start by brainstorming themes or stories, then guide them through filming short clips or creating simple animations. Use the video maker’s easy drag-and-drop features to edit, add music, and include fun effects that bring their vision to life.
- Music
Music is terrific for self-expression and creativity. Even just listening to music is soothing and healing. If your child has difficulty expressing themselves or their emotions, music offers an excellent outlet that can help them free up their trapped emotions. You can teach your child a musical instrument, how to sing, or both.
- Dancing
Dancing allows kids to get to know their bodies better. It’s a nice workout and improves balance, flexibility, and physical coordination. It’s also a powerful stress-management tool and can help kids work through any negative thoughts or feelings they may be having.
- Theater
Acting and roleplaying put kids into other peoples’ shoes and foster empathy, social skills, and communication. As NY Metro Parents explains, it can make kids more confident and teach them valuable people skills. It can also teach teamwork and collaboration.
- Glass art
Introducing your child to glass art as a hobby can be an exciting and enriching experience. Glass art offers a unique way for them to express creativity while learning about various techniques (e.g., fused glass, stained glass, glassblowing). Start with simple projects, such as making glass pendants or suncatchers, which are perfect for beginners and provide instant, gratifying results. You can explore more intricate designs and processes as they become more comfortable with the medium.
Once your child finds an artistic passion, they will pursue it happily. The best thing you can do for them is to get them set up initially. Head to some galleries and museums for inspiration. Then encourage them to follow their hearts, whether starting their own LLC or making a space to get messier. You never know where it could lead; in the meantime, you’re giving your youngster some terrific tools for self-expression and personal growth.
Article by: Cary Maloney
