Keeping children's drawings: ideas for treasuring their artwork
Practical ways to display, store, photograph and choose which of your child's drawings to keep, without the pile taking over your home.
From the first scribble at nursery, children's artwork arrives at an astonishing rate. Every drawing feels precious on the day it comes home, but by the end of the school year it can fill a cupboard. Here are some ways to enjoy the best of it, keep what matters and let the rest go without guilt.
Display it, then rotate it
The simplest way to treasure a drawing is to look at it.
- A gallery spot. Pick one wall, a corkboard or the fridge door as the place where new artwork goes. When it's full, something comes down before something new goes up.
- Clip frames or picture ledges. Frames that open at the front make swapping pictures a two-second job.
- String and pegs. A length of string with wooden pegs makes an easy, changing display across a bedroom wall.
- Let your child curate. Children love choosing what goes on show. It also helps them decide what they're proudest of.
Store the keepers properly
Paper, paint and crayon fade and yellow over time, especially in damp or bright places.
- Use a flat folder or portfolio for each school year. Artist's portfolios or large envelope folders keep drawings flat and together.
- Choose acid-free paper and boxes if you want things to last for decades. Ordinary cardboard and plastic sleeves that aren't labelled archival can yellow paper over time.
- Keep it somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sunlight. Lofts and garages often get damp or very warm, so a cupboard indoors is usually better.
- Write on the back in pencil: your child's name, their age and the date. Add what they said it was. "A dog going to the moon" is a memory you will be glad you wrote down.
- Protect smudgy work. Chalk, pastel and charcoal can smudge. Lay a sheet of plain paper between them, or ask an adult to use artist's fixative outdoors or in a well-ventilated room.
Photograph everything else
You can't keep every drawing, but you can keep a photo of every drawing. Take a quick picture of each piece as it comes home, ideally in daylight with the flash off, and keep them in one album on your phone or computer. Our guide to photographing children's drawings explains how to get clear, true-colour photos.
Once a year, that album can become:
- A printed photo book of the year's artwork, which takes up a few centimetres of shelf instead of a whole box.
- A slideshow for grandparents.
- A digital archive that's backed up, so a flood or a house move can't destroy it.
Turn favourites into everyday things
Some drawings deserve to be used, not just kept. A favourite character can become name labels, a T-shirt or a tote bag, so your child sees it every day. We make name labels, T-shirts and a canvas tote bag from children's own drawings. Other ideas: a framed print for a grandparent, a homemade birthday card, or a calendar with one drawing for each month.
Deciding what to keep
A few questions make choosing easier:
- Did your child spend a long time on it, or talk about it a lot?
- Does it show a milestone, such as the first drawing of a person, the first time they wrote their name, or a family portrait?
- Does it make you smile when you look at it now?
If the answer to all three is no, take a photo and recycle it. Many families keep a handful of originals from each year and a photo of the rest.
Questions parents ask
How do I store children's artwork so it lasts?
Keep it flat in a folder or portfolio, ideally acid-free, somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight. Write your child's name, age and the date on the back in pencil.
How many drawings should I keep?
There's no right number. Many families keep a small selection of originals from each school year, chosen with their child, and photograph the rest so nothing is truly lost.
Is it OK to throw away my child's drawings?
Yes. Keeping everything isn't practical, and children usually care more about the drawings they chose themselves. Photographing a drawing before you recycle it keeps the memory without the clutter.
How can I turn my child's drawing into a keepsake?
Photograph it clearly and use it for a photo book, a framed print, a T-shirt, a tote bag or name labels. Products made from the drawing let your child see and use their artwork every day.
What is the best way to display children's art at home?
Choose one place, such as a wall, a corkboard or clip frames, and rotate the pieces regularly. Letting your child choose what goes on show makes it their gallery.