If you haven’t heard of The 5 Love Languages, you might be curious what the concept is all about. Introduced by Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell, the 5 love languages outlines the ways that we express and experience love with our friends and family. Everyone has a different hierarchy of which love languages are most meaningful to them that include:

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Receiving Gifts
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch

To discover your child’s love language, try experimenting with each and notice how they respond. It can also be insightful to pay attention to how your child shows their love to you, which is likely how they want to receive love from you. Creating art together can be an effective way to fulfill all 5 love languages with your child.

Words of Affirmation

When your child asks, ‘Mom, do you like my picture?’ Take the opportunity to praise them for their effort. Instead of simply saying, ‘Good job!’, try asking, ‘Can you tell me about your painting?’ or, ‘I notice you used lots of blue. Is that your favorite color?’. These comments will encourage further discussion, giving your child a sense of pride and success.

Quality Time

With so many electronic devices always distracting us, a real effort has to be made for family time. Did you know quality time with children has a measurable impact on their emotional wellbeing, behavior, and academic success? If the thought of a messy project concerns you, Loomini offers a 12 set of washable tempera paints. After all, messy play is essential to children learning self-expression. Try mixing the paints with shaving cream to decorate windows from outside the house! A quick spray from the garden hose will make cleanup a breeze, and the paints won’t irritate your child’s skin.

Receiving Gifts

Your child sees gifts as a special moment and a symbol of your love. A spontaneous gift is even better than an expected birthday or holiday gift. Your child will appreciate details like how it is wrapped, your reaction as they open their gift, and the thought behind it. Loomini offers a variety of gift ideas from a rock painting kit for young creatives to a premium painting kit for more mature artists.

Acts of Service

Children whose love language is acts of service love to see you involved in their projects and activities. Helping your child put on their smock, mix colors, master their brush strokes, and decide what to paint will make them feel loved. Be sure to help them in a way that also encourages them to develop independence. Asking them to help with cleanup will give them the opportunity to reciprocate their love for you and feel proud of themselves while doing so.

Physical Touch

Hugs, kisses, high-fives, and pats on the back may fill your child’s love tank more than gifts or praise. If this is your child, they feel a sense of security and belonging just by being close to you. When your child gifts you their finished masterpiece, thank them with a hug or other gesture of affection to make them feel loved.

Knowing your child’s primary love language will help you bring out the best in them. When children feel genuinely loved, their attitude, behavior, and development all flourish. As Chapman writes, ‘Your child, like a flower, will benefit from your love. When the water of love is given, your child will bloom and bless the world with beauty.’ Cultivate that beauty through the fun and excitement of creating art with your child with Loomini.