Why Scribbling is Important

What is the connection between your child’s scribbling and cognitive and motor skills? Like many parents, when your child brings up a paper with scribbling on it and tells you it’s a family portrait, you probably wonder what they are seeing that you’re not.

But even though the picture itself might not be a masterpiece, it is a critical milestone for your child’s development. Before you tell your child to stop scribbling on that piece of paper consider the learning that’s taking place:

• Scribbling is essential in the development of hand and finger control and overall dexterity.

• It develops very important hand-eye coordination skills which many children struggle with.

• It is helps to develop imagination and independent thinking skills

• When your child begins to form basic shapes through scribbling, they start to recognize writing and drawing as communication channel.

• It can help your child communicate difficult emotions that they can’t express in words.

As you can see, scribbling is your child’s first introduction to basic reading and writing.