Formal expressive therapies should be facilitated by a professional, but that doesn’t mean your children can’t have fun with the expressive arts at home! Encourage them to explore their creative side with their siblings or friends. Let them paint; play with clay, playdough, or puppets; sing a song; or improvise with a tambourine, rattle, or drum. Incorporating the expressive arts into your child’s life can have such great benefits, particularly if mental or behavioural challenges are present. But they aren’t just for coping; they also have great effects on a child’s normal development. Sophie Von Herrmann, Expressive Arts Therapist, B.Ed., M.A., VictoriaExpressiveTherapies.ca