The average child will produce more than 2,000 arts and crafts pieces for their parents – BEFORE they turn 12, according to a study. This time of year parents often see an influx of these creations as the end of the school term often sees children coming home with additional bags and armfuls of the arts and crafts they have produced during the year.
Researchers found the nation’s mums and dads face an uphill struggle to find space for the masses of drawings, greeting cards and ceramics produced by their little ones.
The overwhelming majority (79 per cent) will display all of their children’s masterpieces at one time or another, with the fridge being the most popular place to exhibit them.
Commissioned to launch the BIC KIDS Young Artist Award, the study of 2,000 parents found they’ll typically display their children’s creations for around nine months. More often than not, the only reason they are taken down is to make way for new arts and crafts items.
Making room for every item is no mean feat, especially if you have more than one children producing things. How do you manage this at home?
The research also found three quarters of parents have kept the first arts and crafts item their child ever created for them, and 70 per cent keep a box of their children’s arts and crafts items which they intend to give to the children when they are older
That doesn’t stop proud parents sifting through the box in the meantime – and two thirds admit to feeling happy each time they do so.
Carried out through OnePoll, the BIC KIDS research also found half of mums and dads believe their child has genuine artistic talent; six in 10 have struggled to find room to display everything their children have made for them – certainly a problem in our house!
I do know some parents who throw away the bulk of what their children produce, and heard of one mum recently who lays everything out, takes a photo and then bins it all. How do you approach this?
The BIC KIDS Young Artist Award is open to children aged five to 11 – for more information click here.
2 comments
I still have 3 boxes of arts and crafts produced by my now-adult children, and am starting to accumulate items produced by my granddaughter. I have had several “culls” in order to reduce the quantity, and have kept only the pieces that I really love or which have some special memory. I have framed several of my children’s best works and displayed them on a gallery wall. My 32 year-old son loves that some of the artwork he produced 25 years ago is in daily use.