Many kids have a passion for painting and thankfully it's one hobby for youngsters that doesn't need to break the bank.
Even very young children find creating artwork soothing, enjoying mixing colours and using a blank piece of paper to convey ideas and emotions. Back in 2019, researchers at the University of Dundee found this type of messy play could build communication skills and an understanding of the world around kids from an early age.
Social media is filled with suggestions for exhausted mums and dads but are viral craft hacks really a quick and easy fix? Here's one for painting we can recommend from arts and crafts brand Baker Ross, which suggests using an everyday item for a "simple but brilliant" idea.
The first thing to do when it comes to the hack is to save your egg boxes, ready for when your child wants to create their masterpiece. Then, to create your DIY art palette, simply use the hollowed-out spaces where the eggs sit for different coloured paint, while the dividers in the middle can be pierced and turned into perfect holders for paintbrushes.
One Instagram user branded the idea "genius". "We know that arts and crafts can be a lifesaver for parents," said the experts at Baker Ross, who said the response to their idea had been "amazing". "Whether it's encouraging independent play, developing pre-writing skills, or simply carving out five minutes of quiet time."
If your youngster is more green-fingered than paint-mad, egg boxes can be turned into windowsill greenhouses, too. Poke holes in the bottom of each egg cup and fill it with potting soil, scattering a few seeds on each one, before covering it with a top layer of soil.
Egg boxes are also the perfect size for storing trinkets and treasures found on everyday adventures - why not paint the boxes themselves or decorate them with leaves, poms or stickers first? And with Easter coming up, egg boxes can be turned into pretty gardens using paint and shredded tissue paper. Add foam flower cut-outs, Easter chicks and bunnies and maybe a chocolate egg or two to finish off your masterpiece.
Allowing your youngsters to get creative could even make your kid a kinder friend to others, National Geographic once reported. They cited neurologists in the US who had found creating art at least once a week stimulated the brain's default mode network, which contains the regions that are active when thinking about other people. And painting for a prolonged period of time could also make a child treat themselves with more kindness due to reducing the level of cortisol, the main stress chemical, in their bodies.
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