Kids' Artwork

Before you know it, the whole house is full of it. How do you discern between the gems and the toss-able?

When helping clients sort through kids' art, I look for those pieces which show a kids' personality and development. This goes against some parents' intuition, which is oftentimes guided by a very "adult" idea of art. Parents often think the goal of a child's artistic development is to be able to create a similar rendition to the original object. A house that looks like a house. A person that looks like a person.

I disagree. Children's art provides an amazing window into a child's development at all levels -- psychological, spiritual, intellectual. Search for those gems that exemplify your child's development at that particular moment, not the art teacher's idea of a beatiful snowman.