If you are planning on painting a room in your home, consider letting your kids get involved with the project. Inviting your kids to help tells them you value their input, and it provides some great family together time. However, painting with kids can get a bit messy. If you are looking for ways to get your kids involved with painting, here are a few ideas to consider before you get started:

1. Let your kids have a voice in the colour selection

Your kids can get involved before you even pick up a paint brush. Take them to the store, a place like Acryloc, when you look at paint samples and supplies and ask which colours they like. Their ideas may inspire you toward a colour combination you had never considered, and if you are painting their room, there is no reason why you shouldn't let them pick the colour scheme.

In fact, in a notorious speech by the American Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", Pausch urged parents to let their kids decorate their own rooms.

He claims that by listening to your kids' opinions in seemingly small matters, you convince them that their thoughts and ideas are important. As a result, you pave the way for them to follow all of their dreams and passions, ultimately helping them to be successful.

2. Lay lots of drop cloths

Indirectly encouraging your kids to follow their passions is one thing; paint drops on your carpet is another. Before you get started, lay down several drop cloths. You can buy drop cloths at paint supply stores, or you can use old sheets or shower curtains.

Make sure the carpet is amply covered, and if you use sheets, lay them in double layers so the paint doesn't soak through them.

3. Do not be a perfectionist

Although you can protect the carpet with drop cloths, you cannot make the experience perfect. Unfortunately, there may be times where your child puts too much paint on his or her brush or doesn't cover an area thoroughly enough. To make the experience fun for everyone, anticipate these mistakes and try to avoid being a perfectionist.

However, to keep the project looking nice, direct your child to a relatively unseen part of the wall. For example, have your child paint the inside of the closet. Alternatively, have your child help with the first coat of paint, and then, do the second coat on your own so you can adjust strokes and paint thickness as needed.

4. Make it fun

If you want to have fun while you are painting, you can make it fun in several ways. Put on your favourite tunes and turn the event into a painting dance party, or embrace fun painting strategies such as sponge painting or using stencils.

If you like, you can even let your child paint wild designs with the first coat of paint, and you can paint over them as you go along. If your child really wants to experiment with paint and you aren't comfortable with that happening on the walls, consider buying scrap wood or canvas so your little one can paint for fun as you paint the walls for real.

5. Remember the fumes

Whilst you are having fun, it can be easy to overlook the risks associated with painting. Unfortunately, many paints release VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and these compounds can be dangerous to breathe. Buy paint that has low levels of VOCs, open the windows for ventilation as you paint and consider having your child wear a surgical mask so he or she doesn't inhale any of the fumes.

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