// Kids + Coloring = Fascinating?//

Today, a friend of mine sent me an email entitled: Question of the day.

The question was: Why do little kids find coloring so fascinating?

Of course, I had no legitimate answer, but amongst blurting my immediate thoughts out, I discovered an answer of my own:

Little kids find coloring fascinating possibly because, to a certain extent, there are no lines. They can color zig-zag, up and down, side to side. And, there is the “magicalness” associated with moving a rod and color coming out of it.

Or could it be that kids are not really truly that fascinated by coloring, but it’s just what society tells them to like and do? Look at third world countries. They do not have crayons. They do not color. Instead, they draw. So, there is likely a societal factor involved since coloring is not a universal fascination amongst children.

So this makes me wonder…if coloring limits imagination.

Because every kid, to a certain extent draws. And drawing comes before coloring. You must have something to color. But drawing, you must have absolutely nothing first to draw.

This reminds me of the difference between my sister and me. I was the draw-er. She was the colorer.

And the difference between us is, I like creating/building, and she likes organizing/putting things in place.

So I don’t think kids universally are fascinated with coloring. I think it is just something that we are taught that we must do. Just like how we must put our books back on the bookshelf.

But then, whoever said that drawings HAD TO be colored? Coloring mimics reality right?

Anyway, I do believe that coloring is not a natural fascination. It’s just a motion we are taught to adopt. It is a correctness. It is one of the steps to growing up. It is a standard. And I think the fascination that we perceive when we see kids coloring, is really the fascination that they have in creating something.

The desire to create / change / affect is intrinsic to human nature, and coloring is one of the most elementary ways to create / change / affect a visual tangible.

What do you think?