Finger Paint fun with your Toddler

I can not call myself cleanliness freak. I do like a nice clean house but mess makes me go mad and now after living with a kid for more than 2 years I have mastered the art of ignoring the mess. I still try to keep the house as organized as possible. 

I strongly believe not everything messy is bad, some of it is good; like they say "Daag acche hain". When this mess helps your little one learn something new, it sure is VERY GOOD. One such activity is finger painting, I'm a huge fan of finger painting... I started finger painting with Zoe when she was 15 months old, both of us totally love it. We were engrossed in some finger painting over the past weekend and I thought a post on Finger painting would be just right

Many parents I know, avoid finger painting because its messy and can be stressful for them, think again... if done in the right manner with the right supplies your experience would be enjoyable (to say the least). Let us look at the benefits of finger painting for your little one:

• Exposure to various textures
• Chance to express themselves creatively
• Exposure to sensory details, particularly related to vision and touch
• They get to see different colors
• Use hands, fingers, elbows & feet to paint (yes I know I said 'FINGER' painting)

If you want to make your experience completely stress free, Momsters suggests:

• Try painting in a balcony or somewhere out. If not, then keep the high chair on top of a mat. If you do not want to use the high chair make your child sit on the mat.
• Cover Up... You sure do not want to stress yourself about dirty clothes. I have a small apron for Zoe and that keeps the mess away. If not an apron, use an old over size T-Shirt. During summer months you can opt for painting in diapers. 
• Home-made paint: If you do not want to use paints available in the market you can have a look at the amazing Finger Paint Recipe I found online. 

Whenever I set out to paint with Zoe, I always remind myself:

• Let the mess be, you need to know your baby, your pet and some of the belongings will get messy. You should remember, kid friendly paints are washable so you should not really bother. Keep things you are extremely particular about out of reach.
• Toddler finger painting will NEVER be perfect, and if you expect the little one to draw a perfect circle you must be kidding. Lines will never be neat and colors would be all mixed up, but the mess will teach your toddler a lot and help them develop their fine motor skills. Relax and have fun with your baby. 
• Get ready and make sure you have all your required supply handy. You need to keep paint, paper, water, towel, everything you need close by. You sure do not want to leave your toddler and go to fetch something you might need. 
• When you are done, stock up your supply away from the reach of your little one. 
• Do not attempt to multitask (cook, attend a call or write a post) while you are busy with your toddler. You need to stay focused and keep you eyes on the baby. 
• Make sure you paint with your child, it will be double the fun. 
• If all these points do not help and you still feel stressed, you should just stop the finger painting. Else, you would end up shouting at your toddler. Your little one might throw a tantrum (if you stop him/her midway) but you should know when you need to stop them. 

You can try painting the ideas shown below, but before that your toddler need to used to finger painting. 

Congratulations on choosing finger paint with your toddler, you are sure to enjoy it. Share your experience with Momsters.

I have used the following paints:

• Toy Kraft - Finger Painting Kit you can read my review here.
• Early Learning center Finger Paints (you get these in Shoppers Stop)