There are a number of steps you can take to make drawing a positive experience for children. 1. Set up a friendly and supportive world. 2. Talk as an adult, kindly and supportively, but not condescendingly. Kids treated thusly will act more maturely. 3. Talk nonjudgmentally. Avoid performance words, competition or comparison words, and definitely fear or failure words. Eliminate good, bad, better, best, right, wrong, easy, hard, mistake, and cheat from your vocabulary. 4. Follow their lead on subjects to draw, at least some of the time, or try making a deal to follow a suggestion for part of the time and work on a chosen project for the rest of the time. The Art of DrawingChildren have the imagination that most of us have lost, thanks to education and the demands of adult life. Encourage a child to use stories as the impetus for their drawing, or let a child develop a story to go with a picture or a picture to go with a story. Your child's imagination may get a boost in the bargain. Use your computer, or take a lesson from your young friend—kids know more—and combine a story with a picture, illustrate a poem, or start a book project. Was this article helpful?