Creativity, crafts and post Covid-19 anxiety

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted children’s mental health and how unstructured play can help alleviate some of the negative effects. In this article, we’ll discuss how teaching children traditional arts and crafts may also have a role in supporting children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.

The profession of Occupational Therapy (OT) first began in WW1 where it was identified that engaging wounded soldiers in ‘meaningful occupations’ (such as crafts and woodwork) improved their mental and physical health and led to a speedier recovery. Since then, the use of arts and crafts as part of OT intervention has continued. Most noticeably in the treatment of mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression.  

Whilst much of the research on the use of craft activities to treat mental health conditions is based on an adult population, it has been my experience that the principals are applicable for the whole population, including children. Helping children to find a hobby or interest that is self-directed and self-motivated can support their mental health in many ways including:

Autonomy

As discussed in part 2 of this series, research shows that having a sense of control (a term called locus of control) over one’s environment and events builds resilience to help people cope with stressful life events. Craft ideas that are generated by the child themselves and nurtured to produce an end product that is unique to the child give the child a sense that their own ideas matter. This in turn gives them a sense of being less powerless over events going on around them which is thought to buffer the effects of stress.

Self-esteem & self-expression

Completing arts and crafts projects that are truly unique helps a child build a sense of self (who they are) and self-esteem (what they are good at). Nowadays most of a child’s time is occupied with ‘learning’ activities (including learning sports, music and other hobbies) alongside their peers, rather than free-play as was the norm in the past. These types of structured activities often have goals, assessments or grades to achieve and so inevitably then, children will compare themselves to their peers when taking part. Whilst this can motivate some children, for others this can have a detrimental effect on their self-esteem. It can create a sense of never being good enough as there is always someone who is better than them and the next level to strive for. When children create their own project and complete it to their own standard this gives them a true sense of achievement.

Anyone who has watched a child absorbed in building a sand castle, building Lego, playing with water, spreading paint with their hands, making something from clay/playdoh etc has seen mindfulness in action. Children’s play is naturally mindful but as children get older when free/make believe play becomes less appropriate, introducing and teaching arts and crafts activities is giving them a mindfulness skill that they can utilise for life.

Learning from mistakes

Of course, not every arts project comes out the way the child had imagined the first time. Sometimes children can be disappointed with what they produce and want to start again. Allowing them time and space to express their disappointment and then pick themselves up and start again is also an important part of building endurance and resilience against life’s knocks. Because the standard is set by the child themselves, they do not feel they have let anyone else down through not achieving the desired outcome and are therefore more motivated (with kind encouragement from an adult) to try again, thus also feeling an even greater sense of achievement when they finally do succeed!

Patience

Lastly, arts and craft projects tend to take time to complete. As discussed, we are living in an era of instant gratification with information and communication at our fingertips. Although this has opened up immeasurable possibilities it has also come at a cost.

Patience and endurance are also resilience skills that help support mental health. Many of life’s setbacks (like global pandemics) take a long time to overcome. If a child has grown up learning patience and perseverance through activities such as working through arts projects that take several weeks to finish, they adopt a more relaxed attitude to major changes  in other aspects of their lives too.

So what kind of arts and crafts activities work best to support mental health?

Most importantly children need adequate time set aside each week for their project work (around 60-90 minutes ideally, e.g. Friday afternoon or Monday mornings). Try playing classical music or an audio book in the background so children focus on their own work rather than chat.  Lastly, as each child’s project is unique to them, they may prefer to keep it private or not compare it to others, so avoid having displays in the corridor or class unless the children want to.  

In summary, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on everyone in different ways, but children’s mental health appears to have been particularly affected. Teachers, parents and therapists alike are struggling to know what they can do to help.

This series of articles has explored how adult’s reactions are crucial in helping to regulate children’s reactions to stress and how unstructured/free play and arts & crafts activities provide a safe space for children to express emotions and build resilience skills.

The key message is that children need time and space to process the impact of the pandemic in their own ways. Parents and teachers just need to provide the resources and opportunities for them to do this along with some positive encouragement and a smile along the way!