Drawing as Play from Ages 0 to 6: Autonomous, Unconstrained, and Non-Goal-Oriented Creativity and the “Nati per Disegnare” Project
Marcello Balzani
Published 2026-09-29
Keywords
- Drawing,
- Creativity,
- Childhood,
- Play,
- Care
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2026 Marcello Balzani, Alessandra Perez Amitrano
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Developing and encouraging responsive parenting around creativity is not an easy task: appearances can be deceiving. A society centered on image (and performance) would seem, apparently, to pay more attention to developing autonomy and critical thinking skills. Instead, conformed approaches, pre-established according to narrative and formal frameworks, take over from the very birth of the human being. Especially in the first 1,000 days and through age 6, contemporary childhood is overwhelmed by models and products that leave little room for the development of free, autonomous, non-conformist
and non-goal-oriented creativity (it is the ‘how’ that matters, not the ‘what’). The playful component connects to attention, observation, and care. "Nati per Disegnare" is a Third Mission project (on a national scale) of the Unione Italiana per il Disegno, which for over two years has been creating and strengthening networks of volunteers to offer parents new possibilities and degrees of awareness.
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