Coloring Pages for Kids Guide: Free Coloring Sheets, Benefits of Coloring & More

Few things make as much sense as kids and coloring, so free coloring pages for kids are an obvious win to keep them happy, engaged and occupied. Plus, coloring sheets offer big benefits for kids. Whether you’re waiting for your pizza or you need a rainy day activity, here is everything you need to know about free coloring pages for kids—from the benefits of coloring to art supplies to actual free printables you can download and print today.

Benefits of coloring for kids

We all know there’s a big benefit in keeping kids’ hands busy. But in addition to occupying their hands, toddlers, kids and teens alike gain a number of emotional, cognitive and developmental growth from coloring. These include benefits like calming anxiety, teaching kids vital cognitive skills and even boosting their vocabulary.

Mental health benefits of coloring

Coloring boasts big mental health rewards for young children, teens and adults. According to the Mayo C l inic, coloring can help relieve stress by calming the brain and helping the body relax, which can decrease fatigue, depression and anxiety. Coloring can also improve sleep and decrease heart rate and respiration.

Developmental benefits of coloring for kids

Coloring has tremendous developmental benefits for kids. Children learn to identify colors early on, helping them to make associations in the world around them, and improve overall vocabulary (red apple, blue coat, etc.). Plus, grasping a crayon, pen or colored pencil allows kids to develop fine motor skills and dexterity. Even tiny toddler hands can grab a hold of special thick crayons designed just for them. Practicing coloring inside the lines (or not) gives kids control over those digits, teaching them the foundation of handwriting. Coloring also helps cultivate mindfulness and focus.

Additionally, according to Hailey van Braam, cognitive psychologist and the mastermind at Color Psychology—a site dedicated to the psychology of colors and their meanings—there are benefits for kids as well as tween and teen development when it comes to boundaries. “Adhering to boundaries is an important part of juvenile and adolescent development,” she writes, “Coloring sheets can help with anchoring a sense of structure and the need and benefit of having boundaries.”

Social and emotional benefits of coloring

Coloring and creative expression can help boost kids’ confidence, giving them a feeling of accomplishment as well as helping them define the things that make them unique. It can even help children appreciate and celebrate other points of view. From a very young age, kids can recognize beauty in the world in an array of colors, and learn instinctively to appreciate differences. Displaying their artwork offers kids validation and pride in their accomplishments by letting them know their worldview is important.

Best ages for coloring sheets

Coloring pages can be used for a wide range of ages and stages: even teens and adults can benefit from coloring. That being said, the majority of the free coloring pages for kids out there tend to skew younger, from toddlers to early elementary age, about ages seven or eight. That doesn’t mean you older kids don’t want to color, it just means the design and subject matter (unicorns, trucks, dinosaurs) might have lost its luster a little after nine or so, where kids will be craving more complex designs.

How to print coloring pages for kids

Printing coloring pages is relatively straightforward, but it can depend on the file format of the page itself and your computer settings. Most coloring pages for kids will have a visible link to download or print directly from the website. This is almost always directly underneath the image you want to print, making it as easy as can be. Here are a few tips for printing free coloring pages for kids.

Click the download or print button.
In Google Chrome, using download should open the page in a new tab with the option to print from there.
In other browsers, if the file is downloaded, you can open it and print from your desktop.
If the coloring page you want does not have an obvious “print” or “download” button you can right click on it and a pop-up window should open with the option to print from there.
If you can’t print from the file, try right clicking it and hitting “save as” then choose jpeg. Jpegs are easy to print from and don’t require software downloads.
Make sure your printer is set to black and white.
Preview the image to be sure it is in portrait mode (vertical), unless the file is specifically formatted for landscape (horizontal). This should happen automatically, so your step here is to double check that the image is on the page the way you want it to be.
If you plan to print multiple sheets, print one first to make sure it’s formatted correctly before printing for everyone else.

Free printable coloring pages for kids

There are dozens of free printables out there for your little ones to enjoy, but the volume of them can become overwhelming. From superhero coloring pages to mermaids to holiday coloring pages, we’ve culled the internet and curated lists so you don’t have to.

Easy coloring pages

These coloring pages for kids offer an array of bold, simple designs that can be enjoyed by toddlers as well as older kids.

Holiday coloring pages

Add to the joy of the season with some coloring pages that bring on the mood, whether the vibe is haunted house or holiday.

Animal coloring pages

Kids love animals, even if they’ve been extinct for 65 million years. These coloring pages will make their day.

Special event and seasonal coloring pages

From their special day to any day in winter, spring, summer and fall, all you have to do is print!

Superhero coloring pages

Keep them in hero mode with one of these adorable superhero coloring pages.

Coloring pages supplies and tools

Free printable coloring pages can be cheaper than buying a dozen coloring books, and you can get a ton of variety. You will need to have some supplies on hand, of course. Here are our top picks.

HP DeskJet

79.99

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$Compact All-in-One Wireless Printer

“Alexa, print coloring pages!” A good wireless printer enables you to print from your phone or laptop without plugging in, or even being in the same room. This compact one is attractive and Alexa enabled.

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