“I Can’t Stop Laughing At It”: 39 Times Kids Proudly Presented Their Wild Drawings As Art

Drawing is one of the first ways kids start to express themselves. Some children might even start drawing before they start talking. Experts estimate that kids start doodling at around 12 to 18 months. Since they don't have fully developed motor skills yet, kids usually move their whole arms to draw, requiring large sheets of paper and sizable crayons, markers, and pens.

Early kids' drawings don't make much sense. When they're two or three years old, they might draw circles, lines, zigzags, and so on. Colors become interesting, too; toddlers feel especially proud of deciding which color to use. Given that, kids of this age can try to draw something familiar or things that remind them of something. However, most times, as you'll see from this list, they're rarely successful.

As they get older, kids start drawing figures, especially humans. A circle with two sticks usually represents a person, and kids aged three to four start depicting that in their drawings. At this age, children also start trying to name what they're drawing, often including letters in their pieces, even if they can't read and write yet.

By the age of four to five, kids begin to tell stories with their drawings. When sketching their family, kids will make the most important person to them the biggest; for example, Mom. A new style might emerge for some kids, which experts call "X-ray style." An example of that would be a house that we can see inside of from the outside.

Drawing helps kids refine their motor and develop their cognitive skills. But that's an unlikely reason why they like it so much. Kids would much rather draw something than, say, learn or do another kind of strenuous mental or physical activity. That might be because it makes them feel happy (duh!) and helps them regulate their emotions.

A 2021 study showed that drawing distracts children from being in a sad mood. It didn't matter what they were drawing, whether imaginary or real scenes; all that mattered was the process of drawing itself.