“They love to tell you stay inside the lines. But something's better on the other side.” These are lyrics to John Mayer’s song No Such Thing. Although a lot of people may interpret these lyrics metaphorically, I look at them literally. Thinking back to when I was at the age of coloring books and crayons, I remember something. I remember my teacher and mom telling me to “stay inside the lines!” I wanted my coloring to look the best it could, so I listened to them. But was this really the best thing for my developing brain? I think teachers and parents should let their children express themselves through coloring. That means if they want to go outside the lines, they should be allowed.

I work with preschoolers 3 or more times a week. Because of this I have realized how important it is to let them kind of go their own route with coloring. For example, one time I was working with a girl and we were coloring in a watermelon. But she decided she didn’t want it to be pink. Instead, she colored it blue with pink seeds. I was thinking about telling her that it “wasn’t right” but the more I thought about it, the more I decided against it. Instead, I said “I love your watermelon. It’s so different than everyone else's!” This encourages little kids to do whatever they want on the paper. They may have to sit a certain way, eat a certain way, or dress a certain way throughout the day, but coloring is one way that they can express themselves.

It’s understandable that children do have to eventually learn to stay inside lines when coloring. As they get older, it will be necessary. But at a young age, it’s not necessary. If a kid is working in a coloring book for fun, there is no point in making him or her stay inside the lines. What makes it so fun for little kids is being able to move the crayon around the paper, experimenting different colors, strokes, and textures. The lines of the picture restrict them to certain areas, preventing a lot of self-expression.

Development in little kids brains rely a lot on exploration. Things like playing in a sandbox or playing dress up allow kids to use their imagination. So coloring inside the lines is the opposite. They have a specific way they have to color it and they can’t do it the way their mind wants. Allowing kids to color outside the lines also promotes self-expression. It should be learned at an early age. So many people today care what others think about them, so they just conform to what everyone else is doing. But really, it’s better to be themselves. Letting children color however they want would let them realize this at an early age.

Exploration and self-expression in the development of kid’s brains is so important. Telling kids to color inside the lines is not something that helps this. Little kids love being able to do things on their own. While they may not be able to cook, shop, or do other things for themselves, they can color. Why take away this freedom from them? Children have a developing mind. Art and coloring can be the best thing for this, especially when there are no guidelines.