Don’t Judge Your Child’s Art — Here’s What to Do Instead

As adults, it’s easy to look at a child’s drawing and say:

“That looks so good!” or

“What is it supposed to be?”

But when we say things like that, even with good intentions,

we might stop something important:

🖌️ the child’s own thinking, feeling, and expressing.

🎨 What Viktor Lowenfeld taught us:

Art is not about making something “correct” or “realistic.”

It’s about helping children express their inner world.

When a child draws a sky that is green or a face with three eyes —

that’s not a mistake. That’s imagination. That’s freedom.

🧠 What Elliot Eisner believed:

Art helps children develop the ability to see, feel, and think in new ways.

It’s not just about the product — it’s about the process.

A child who learns to see differently can also live differently.

🌱 So what should we say instead?

Try asking:

• “Can you tell me about your drawing?”

• “How did you feel when you made this part?”

• “What was your favorite thing to do here?”

• “Is there a story happening in your picture?”

These questions open the door for conversation, not judgment.

They tell your child: “I care about what’s inside of you.”

Final Thought

Let’s stop asking, “What is it?”

And start asking, “Who are you becoming as you create this?”

That’s the kind of space we try to build in our art classes —

one where every mark, shape, and color matters,

because every child’s voice matters.

“Ask what they feel, not what it is.”

— Inspired by Lowenfeld

“Art is thinking made visible.”

— Elliot Eisner

References

• Lowenfeld, V., & Brittain, W. L. (1987). Creative and Mental Growth (8th ed.). Macmillan.

• Eisner, E. W. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. Yale University Press.

• Eisner, E. W. (2004). What Can Education Learn from the Arts about the Practice of Education? International Journal of Education & the Arts, 5(4).