If you have school-going kids, flip through their notebooks.  It is very likely that you will find random, yet creative and fun-looking lines, marks and shapes going in all directions. In the language of art, this boundless, free flow of creativity is called doodling.

Doodling as an activity is as engaging and fun as it sounds. But, is it just about fun or is there something about this art form that triggers brain development?

As a child, you, like many of us, were probably often scolded for filling your books with meaningless scribbles. However, we know today that any activity that engages the brain and allows it to ‘just bleed’ is beneficial as therapy, and lets us focus better in our daily lives. A stream of consciousness writing, doodling, humming, free movement are all very effective. In this article, we explore the many benefits of doodling for children.

1. Doodling Improves Attention Quite a bit of research validates this. Kids who doodle tend to have their focus fixed on one activity, which often is not the case with children today, what with the many distractions and demands that surround them.
2. Doodling Boosts Memory Increased attention means increased retention. Try asking your kids to take down notes by sketching whatever they are learning at school. Known as ‘sketch noting’, this technique challenges their creativity and imagination and helps improve memory and retention power.
3. Doodling Enhances Creativity Doodling is a form of art. As an activity, it does not require any particular attention to detail or the need to follow the rules. Hence, it lets your kids put whatever is running through their minds on paper. It not only focuses their energies in one place but also enhances their creativity by leaps and bounds as they continue to give shape to their already vibrant imagination. Creative kids grow to become creative adults which means out-of-the-box ideas are just a doodle away. Who says workplaces and creativity don’t go together? We live in an era where creativity and innovation are sought after skills.
4. Doodling Reduces Stress Kids and stress? Sounds absurd but from the time they take their first breath, kids start facing stress. It is the seemingly low intensity of tension that makes adults brush it off as nothing. Peer pressure, the pressure to score better, and to perform like a pro- they face so many such situations. A de-stressing mechanism that they develop in childhood can go a long way in building happy adults. What better way to get there than to doodle?
5. Doodling Improves Mood Doodling and other free forms of art improve mood. When a person is engaged in such activities, the blood flow to the prefrontal cortex increases. This is that part of that brain that simulates mood and controls emotions. The prefrontal cortex is, therefore, in a way, responsible for the sound and healthy growth of a child.

Here’s how you can encourage your kids to doodle often:

1. Buy them sketchbooks just to doodle.
2. Set time aside especially for doodling.
3. If that does not work, hand them their sketchbooks when they are watching TV or listening to music, when they are not fully aware of doodling as an activity.
4. Adding colors to doodles adds more fun to the activity as a whole.
5. Why not join them sometimes?
6. Do not force doodling or set rules. It is something that should flow naturally.
7. Gradually, give them some themes to doodle on or ask them to sketch a story they like.

Doodling is not just for kids! Adults too can doodle or draw their worries away. In adults, it relaxes you and lets you get back into your routine with a more refreshed mind. Also, doodling keeps the brain active and simulated which can prove healthy in the long run, especially as we age.

The Talking Canvas aims to inspire kids to do more and enhance their creativity by using their doodles as artwork on apparel. So, if you’ve got the doodles going already, hop on over to our Design Lab and upload your child’s artwork there.

If selected, they get a chance to feature on our website, while their designs appear on some amazing apparel. Find out more and submit here.