My problem with coloring books comes from two main ideas. First, the idea that most of the forms in children's coloring books are of such low artistic and other merit that I don't want my son using them as a template for anything. I don't even want him looking at them. That problem is solved by high-quality coloring books, such as the one posted earlier on botany, but still exists for a great number of coloring books, what I would consider a vast majority.
Second, if my son has only so much time in his young life for creative expression, I would simply rather that he maximize his efficiency during that time toward development of whimsy, his own artistic sense, etc. In other words, I view time spent coloring as a missed chance in some important ways, even if it doesn't actually set a child back.
Of course, if it's really true that doing coloring books helps in certain other ways, doing nothing but freeform art would represent a number of missed chances from another point of view that places importance on different things. And I will allow that coloring even the most insipid coloring book is less passive than, say, watching TV, and some coloring books may even be teaching tools, like the one at passthepotatoes's link. I am sure all of our children will muddle through just fine despite different views on learning and child-rearing.
Last edited by Iucounu; 07/13/10 05:00 AM.
