A few years back, I had bought a Disney princess painting kit for my friend’s 4 year old daughter. When I gave it to her, we took the paint out and started using it on the picture of the princesses. The mom soon interjected and was criticizing her daughter's painting and giving tips - telling her that she should be painting within the lines and such.
I was shocked. What I saw was society telling a little girl how to be creative. Let me tell you something, kids don’t need anyone to tell them how to create. It comes instinctively for them. Give them something and they’ll make something else out of it. Art is not about coloring within some predefined lines, it’s about making your own rules.
This is, of course, only one area where society pushes its preconceived notions on the next generation.
Sure, there are important principles to follow for some disciplines in order to achieve anything worthwhile. If we think about fitness goals, for example, we know that we must follow a specific set of rules in order to attain a specific set of results. If we don’t, then who knows where we’ll end up.
Don’t touch the arts though. Let kids do what the heck they want with the pen and paper. Maybe the only rule they should have is not to draw on the walls?
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