By the Drawbie family. 7 May 2026. 5 minute read.
You don't need to be an artist to raise a child who draws. You just need a few small habits that turn drawing from "a thing we do sometimes" into "a thing this house does." Here are five we've watched work.
1. Draw with your child, not for them
The single biggest mistake well-meaning parents make is taking the pencil. "Here, let me show you." The child watches an adult produce something they couldn't, decides drawing is for grown-ups, and quietly stops trying.
Draw your own thing. A wonky house. A cat with three legs. Imperfectly. Your child will copy not your drawing but your willingness, and that is the entire game.
2. Give them a daily 10-minute slot
Right after dinner, before bath time, after a story. Anywhere it fits. Same time every day. Children love rituals. The structure does the heavy lifting. You don't need to motivate them.
Ten minutes is enough. If they want to keep going, brilliant. If they want to stop after four, also brilliant. The slot is the win, not the output.
3. Use a step-by-step guide, not a blank page
A blank page paralyses children almost as much as adults. Give them a small task with a clear path ("draw a strawberry by following these three steps") and they'll happily complete it and ask for the next one.
This is exactly why Drawbie comes with 150 cards that each show a step-by-step guide on the back. Not because we think children need permission to draw, but because most children draw more when there is a small ladder to climb first.
4. Praise the doing, not the result
"That's a beautiful flower" tells a child the result is what matters. Which means tomorrow they'll worry about whether their flower is beautiful enough.
Try instead: "I love how carefully you're colouring that." Or: "You really stuck with that one!" Or simply: "You drew today." Praise the behaviour, and the behaviour grows.
5. Keep the tools in arm's reach
If markers live in a cupboard, drawing is a project. If they live on the kitchen counter in a small jar, drawing is just something the child does between things. Make the friction zero.
Washable markers, please. Not for the child's benefit. For yours. The whole household relaxes when you know the markers come off the table.
What about "I can't draw"?
This usually arrives around age 5 or 6, the moment children become aware that other people's drawings look different. Two responses help:
- "Nobody can draw at first. We all just keep doing it." Said matter-of-factly. Make it a fact about the world, not a pep talk about them.
- Sit down and draw badly yourself. Be the proof. Your child will laugh, and laughter is the antidote to the perfectionism that's just landed on them.
What we made for this exact moment
Drawbie is a small drawing robot that takes the pressure off. It draws the outline carefully and beautifully, then quietly invites your child to colour it in. The child gets the joy of finishing without the fear of starting. Many of the parents who write to us say the same thing: "My kid stopped saying I can't and just started colouring."
What works in your house? We'd love to hear from you. Write to hello@drawbie.com.
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