Scribbles can measure kids' development - Child Development - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Dec, 2001

When is a scribble not just a scribble? Child development experts say kids' scribbles can indicate to a parent the progress in toddlers' learning, demonstrating the relationship between their motor and intellectual skills. Typically, toddlers draw to see what kinds of lines, shapes, and colors they can create. Drawing their own symbols through scribbling is a major milestone in children's intellectual development. In fact, a toddler's drawing is a direct result of fine motor coordination of the arm and the hand, as well as a reflection of a burgeoning imagination and intellect.

While they know that toddlers love to pick up crayons and make marks on paper--and walls and floors, too--many parents are unsure as to what the drawings represent. According to Jaime Goldfarb, Director of Product Development at Brilliant Beginnings, Long Beach, Calif., "A child's first scribbles are a sign that they are beginning to realize that those marks on the paper stand for something significant, like words and letters."

Because the pace of motor development varies from child to child, there is a wide range of what to expect in analyzing toddlers' scribbles:

* Before their second birthday, toddlers scribble frequently, but rarely attribute any representational significance to their creations.

* Two-year-olds also scribble with enthusiasm, but they sometimes end by telling parents or caregivers what their drawings are supposed to be--i.e., mom, a tree, or a dog.

* Older two-year-olds are typically drawing squiggles and making simple shapes on paper. The earliest ones are likely to be circles and rectangles.

* By their third birthday, many toddlers will be able to create a very simple representational drawing that may be recognized by adults for what it is intended to be--i.e., a flower, dog, or person. Their ability to do this will depend, in part, on the amount of time they spend drawing and watching other people make representational drawings.

Before toddlers are able to create recognizable drawings of animals or people on their own, they sometimes can create them with help from others or complete an unfinished drawing a parent starts. Goldfarb suggests that, "When you draw together, it isn't important for your toddler to draw clearly recognizable pictures, it is important for her to find the experience of drawing fun and rewarding and to think of herself as good at drawing. This provides an opportunity for your toddler to experience a complex emotion, such as pride."

Should a parent ask questions, about the art their youngster created? The evidence indicates that the answer, at least initially, is probably no. A child's first scribbles are usually smooth and flowing lines, reflecting the exercise of simple motor skills. Later, kids begin to add redirections to a line--i.e., an angle or a corner--indicating that they are trying to draw a picture that represents something else. This is the time to say, "That's wonderful! What did you make?" This gives toddlers an opportunity to apply language to objects, and use their imagination to pretend that the image is a dog, a dinosaur--or even you.