The problem with that article, as with most of the &quot;X is bad for kids, because Y is better&quot; ones I&#x27;ve ever read, is that the two things aren&#x27;t in any way exclusive.<p>The article explains why giving kids a blank sheet of paper and a crayon is good. But as it&#x27;s entirely possible to let them spend some time doing freehand and some time just colouring in, it&#x27;s irrelevant whether blank sheets are good.<p>The question is whether the time spent colouring is in itself bad.