5 Low-Stakes, Mess-Free Art Prompts for Toddlers

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My kid is an Art Kid. At least at this phase of her toddlerhood. She especially loves the truly messy art supplies like paint and clay, so I try to let her explore when I can.

But I have to admit, at my core, I am not an Art Mom. I hate glitter and glue. I don’t like chasing my three year old through the house as she tries to touch every white wall from the canvas to the bathroom with her paint-covered fingers. I don’t like scraping Play Doh out of the upholstery. It’s not my favorite.

And yet, I know messy art play is so good for my toddler’s focus, fine motor skills, and creativity. Do you relate? If so, there are ways to let your kid have consistent, positive experiences with art that feel less overwhelming, overstimulating, and destructive to us parents just trying to make it through the afternoon.

Here are five ideas:

1 - Let them draw on cardboard. Bonus points if it’s one of those huge presentation trifolds. Busted Amazon box works too. There’s something about the not-smooth sensation of drawing on cardboard that really ups the sensory ante for my kid. I recommend these super washable markers, which will easily clean off clothes, skin, walls, floors, etc.

2 - Painter’s tape. When my daughter was around 2, she invented an art game called “tape on the wall.” The concept was to put tape…on the wall. I tore off a bunch of little strips of tape and stuck them to the dining room table, and she relocated them to the dining room wall. That’s it, that’s the tweet.

3 - Paint the fence (also works on brick, pavers, whatever.) Don’t run! When I say “paint” I mean definitely not paint. Give your kid a bucket of water and a medium sized paintbrush. Tell them to paint the fence. Commence scrolling your phone/doing housework/taking that conference call as you watch them through the screen door.

4 - Rainbow bath. This one’s good to pull out when the afternoon seems endless. First up, let them eat a popsicle in the bathtub. It’ll blow their mind. Next, give them a color theory lesson with Crayola bath dropz. (Yes, that’s dropz with a z.) For the grand finale, bust out of the bathtub markers. Unlike their counterpart the “bath crayon,” these actually do come off the side of the tub. Just have your kid stay away from the grout, if possible.

5 - Nature journal. Do you know what thrills a three-year-old to no end? Their own notebook. Give your kid a blank notebook and have them create a nature journal. Find leaves, grass, wildflowers, whatever, and tape it in the book. Then have them decorate the rest of the page with crayons or markers.

We hope these ideas give you a few minutes of calm and take some of the stress out of doing art at home with your kid.

Have a technique that worked well with your kid? Drop it in the comments! We’d love to hear.