Our Top 5 Tips for Painting
Painting is one of mine and my son’s favourite activities. As soon as I tell him that we are painting when he wakes from his nap he can not wait to get downstairs. Painting is wonderful for babies, toddlers and children’s development. However painting can be stressful and messy. But with a little bit of prep beforehand it doesn’t need to be. So here are our top 5 tips for painting with toddlers, babies and older children.
Prepare the sink
We always paint in our kitchen diner because we have a sink close by. The first thing I do before painting is fill up the sink with warm water, baby bath foam, a flannel and put a clean towel next to the sink. This ensures that the moment my son has finished painting he can go straight into the sink to be washed. It also avoids any paint covered fingers, arms, legs or feet touching the walls / soft furnishings etc.
2. Cover the floor
I always put a shower curtain down on the floor to minimise paint going on the floor. I use this shower curtain for every type of activity because it contains so much of the mess and can be put in the washing machine when the activity is finished.
3. Consider the paper you are using
I also always use a piece of big card when painting. My son likes to use a lot of paint and I found the paper just disintegrates. A lot of our paintings get cut up into different shapes to create cards and put in frames so card works well for us.
4. Keep a wet flannel handy
I also make sure I have a flannel close by just in case any paint ends up on the floor or wall!
5. Use a water based paint
Our final top tip for painting is the paint we use. I would recommend this paint as it is water based and it comes out of clothes and off walls. However both my son and I wear our oldest clothes just in case…
And a Bonus One: Enjoy
After following top 5 tips for painting with toddlers, babies and children , most importantly… Enjoy painting together.
