Making art with babies can be a joyful, affirming experience – for them and for us. But too often, art activities with babies are designed from an adult perspective: they’re product-focused, too structured, and developmentally inappropriate. Instead of offering genuine creative exploration, these activities often prioritise producing physical products that will make parents smile – like a handprint with googly eyes! In this post, we’ll explore
- How to set up an environment for making art with babies, which is much more important than deciding on a particular activity to do
- A ‘curriculum’ (using this word loosely) for making art with babies
- Some principles for making art with babies to keep at the centre of your practice
Setting Up an Environment for Making Art with Babies
Let’s begin with a simple scenario: you’ve seen a TikTok video where babies are painting with yogurt, and you’d like to try it in your baby room. It seems like a fun, safe way for babies to explore colour and texture.
Before we start squeezing food dye into tubs of Greek yogurt, let’s pause and ask three key questions, grounded in how babies experience the world:
- Am I safe?
- Am I loved?
- What can I learn?
Let’s explore each question and see how it might guide our planning.
1. Am I Safe?
Physical comfort and safety come first. Ask yourself:
- Where will the activity take place? Will babies be on the floor, in high chairs, or at low tables?
- Will they be comfortable? Do all babies tolerate bibs, or might some prefer being shirtless or wearing old clothes?
- Are all the babies able to eat yogurt? Are there allergies to consider? Are you happy with how much they might consume?
It’s important to remember that babies will put the art material in their mouths—especially if it’s edible. That’s not a problem, but it becomes one if adults respond with frustration or mixed messages. If we’re using yogurt, we have to be okay with them eating it, smearing it, and treating it however they want. Similarly, if we’re working with an inedible art material, we need to be ready to stop the babies from putting it into their mouths – and ready to do this, with patience, many, many times!
It’s also helpful to consider timing. Are the babies well-rested? Is anyone tired, hungry, or needing quiet time? And for babies who are hesitant or new to sensory play, we need to give them space. Babies are natural danger detectors—wary of new textures or experiences at first. That’s not a problem to solve, but a process to support.
2. Am I Loved?
This is all about emotional security. Art-making should be a space where babies feel held, safe, and free to explore without pressure.
Think about your own presence in the room. Who is the secure base for the babies during the activity? If you’re constantly cleaning up, moving around, or fussing over mess, you’re not available as that base. Can the environment be set up in a way that lets one adult sit, calmly and quietly, with the babies while they explore?
Think ahead to moments that might cause frustration—for them and you. What if a baby doesn’t engage? What if they smear yogurt all over their face instead of making “art”? The key here is to let go of expectations. There is no “right” way to do this. Babies should feel that however they choose to engage (or not engage) is valid and respected.
3. What Can I Learn?
This is where we think about how to enhance creativity, engagement, and curiosity.
First, language matters. If we want to use rich vocabulary in our interactions, we need to prepare. Think about words like smear, spread, squish, slide—and keep them visible near the art space to prompt high-quality language interactions.
Second, model and join in. Some babies may only watch at first. That’s fine—watching you engage is powerful learning. Others may want you to guide their hand, or explore alongside them. This isn’t about directing their play but sharing the experience.
You might also notice a baby becoming fascinated by a particular part of the activity—how the yogurt drips, how their finger feels when it slides through it. Get closer to that fascination. Attend to it. Bounce attention back and forth between you and the object of interest.
Finally, capture the moment. Not for social media or to showcase a final “product,” but to track progress over time. A baby who won’t touch yogurt today might dive into it with joy in four months. A photo or note lets us reflect, celebrate, and build on those small steps.
A ‘Curriculum’ for Baby Art
While the word “curriculum” might feel formal for babies, we can think of it as a progression of experiences—actions, explorations, and planning that build over time:
- Using fingers to make marks
- Focus on traces, colours, and lines.
- Vary the substances (yogurt, paint, jelly) and surfaces (paper, trays, tables).
- Using tools to make marks
- Explore lines and shapes.
- Offer a variety of tools—block crayons, sticks, brushes—especially in fluid materials where marks appear more easily.
- Using hands/tools to shape 3D objects
- Focus on texture and 3D shapes.
- Offer malleable materials like play-dough, biscuit dough, or clay. Add tools for poking, pressing, or cutting.
This isn’t a checklist—it’s a toolkit. Return to these ideas often, and repeat them. Babies thrive on repetition and familiarity.
Seven Principles to Keep in Mind
To guide any art activity with babies, keep these principles in your back pocket:
- Keep it simple.
Don’t overcomplicate it. A single material and tool are enough. - Repetition is powerful.
Babies learn through doing things again and again. Don’t feel like you need something new every time. - Make it frequent.
Art isn’t a special occasion. It can and should be part of everyday experiences. - The experience is for the baby.
There’s no need for a finished “product.” If you want to share something with families, let it be a photo of their baby joyfully exploring. - Self-determination is fundamental.
No baby should be made to engage. Choice is key. - Everything doesn’t need to be edible.
Yes, babies mouth things. But not everything must be food. Just be present, attentive, and responsive. - Join in.
Your participation matters. Babies learn through watching, imitating, and sharing experiences with you.
Final Thoughts: A Commitment to Joyful, Respectful Creativity
Making art with babies isn’t about creating masterpieces—it’s about being present, curious, and open to the process. It’s about slowing down, noticing what fascinates them, and building a space where they can explore safely and confidently.
So next time you reach for the yogurt and food colouring, remember: it’s not just messy play. It’s communication, connection, and creativity, all rolled into one delicious, squishy, exploratory moment.
What do you want to take from this blogpost and try out with the babies in your setting? It can be something small – like putting some words around your art-making area to prompt high-quality adult input – or it might be something bigger, like working through the art-making curriculum suggested here.