What to Do With Your Child’s Drawings: 10 Ways to Save and Celebrate Their Art

Keep the drawings your child still talks about, not every page. Ask them what is happening in the picture, write down their exact words with the date and their age, photograph the piece in even light, and turn one favorite a month into something you will revisit together — a titled mini gallery, a short story, or a small book.

By ArtifyTales Team, Nell AI Labs LLC · Published · 6 min read

An illustrated wall of three picture frames, one of them highlighted.
The four forms one idea can take.

It usually starts with the fridge. Then the fridge is full, there is a stack on the counter, and a folder in the cupboard nobody has opened since spring. Every page felt important on the day it came home. You cannot keep all of it, and throwing any of it away feels wrong.

The drawing is only half of what you want to keep. The other half is what your child said about it — that the purple blob is a dragon who is scared of puddles, or that the tall person at the edge is Grandpa “because he is always a bit late.” That explanation disappears much faster than the paper does.

Start with their words, not the storage box

Before you file, photograph or recycle anything, ask one question: “What is happening in this picture?” Then listen, and write down the answer word for word, odd grammar and all.

A few follow-ups that tend to open things up:

  • Who is this, and what are they doing?
  • What happened just before this?
  • What is your favorite part?
  • Is there anything in the picture I might not notice?

Write the answers on a separate note or in your phone, not across the drawing itself. Add the date and your child’s age. Both take ten seconds now and are impossible to work out later.

How to choose which drawings to keep

You do not need a system; you need a habit. At the end of each month, spread out that month’s pile and pick three together:

  1. One that shows something new — a new interest, a new way of drawing people, their first attempt at letters.
  2. One tied to a moment — a holiday, a new sibling, the week the dog learned to open the back door.
  3. One your child wants to explain — the picture they cannot stop talking about.
The monthly three 🌱 Something new a new interest or skill 📅 A moment a trip, a visit, a first 💬 Their favorite the one they explain 📖 One becomes a story Photograph everything else. Keep three originals. Let your child pick the one worth a story.
A monthly sort takes ten minutes and replaces a year of guilt about the pile on the counter.

Photograph the rest before it goes. The photos cost nothing to keep; the paper costs space.

Ten ways to save and celebrate a drawing

  1. Date the back and add your child’s age. In pencil, in the corner. This is the most useful thing on the list and the one most often skipped.
  2. Photograph it in even light. Daylight from a window, phone held flat above the page, no filters. Name the file something like 2026-09-age-6-dragon-scared-of-puddles.jpg.
  3. Record your child describing it. A thirty-second voice memo of them explaining the picture is often the thing you will treasure most later.
  4. Ask them to give it a title. “Dragon Is Scared of Puddles” tells you more in five words than a caption you write yourself.
  5. Hang a rotating mini gallery. Three frames, a strip of washi tape, or a clipboard by the door. Your child curates; you swap pieces monthly.
  6. Write a one-paragraph story together. Use their words from the conversation above. Read it back and let them fix anything that is “wrong.”
  7. Make a small seasonal art book. Eight to ten pieces with their titles and explanations, printed or bound however suits you. A photo book with one page per drawing is plenty.
  8. Share a private copy with family. Grandparents, aunts and uncles love a monthly photo with the child’s title underneath. Keep it in a private album or message, not a public feed.
  9. Turn one character into a new scene. Ask, “What does the dragon do next?” and let your child draw the sequel. Characters that come back tend to become family favorites.
  10. Let your child choose which original to keep. Put the kept pieces in one flat box per year. It is their collection, so they get the final say.

Why the story matters more than the scan

A scan keeps the lines and the colors. It does not keep that the dragon was scared of puddles, or why. When you look back in five years, the explanation is what makes the picture make sense — and it is the part that fades first.

That is why every idea above starts with your child talking. A drawing with a title, a date and a few of their own sentences is a keepsake. A drawing without them is a nice picture of something you cannot quite remember.

Where ArtifyTales fits

ArtifyTales can take one of those monthly favorites further. You photograph your child’s original drawing, and ArtifyTales helps turn it into a character and an illustrated story you can read together — and, if you like, hear narrated, color in, or watch move. It works best when your child’s explanation leads: their title, their character’s name, their idea of what happens next.

Keep the original artwork alongside whatever you make. Read the finished story with your child and ask whether it matches what they meant. If it does not, change it until it does. A beautiful page is only worth keeping when they recognize their own idea in it.

If you want the step-by-step version, our guide to turning a child’s drawing into a personalized storybook walks through it, and how to turn kids’ artwork into lasting memories has an art-interview template you can print.

Before you upload anything

A drawing is personal, and a recording of your child’s voice even more so. Before you upload either, read how ArtifyTales handles children’s drawings and voices: what is stored, why, and how to delete it. Use a first name or a nickname rather than a full name in titles you might share, and ask your child what they would like to keep private before anything goes to family.

Frequently asked questions

Should I keep every drawing my child makes?
No. Keeping everything usually means nothing gets looked at again. Photograph freely, keep a small set of originals, and let your child help choose which ones matter. Their picks are often not the ones you would choose, and that is useful to know.
How do I choose which drawings to keep?
Keep the ones with a story attached: a new interest, a family event, or a picture your child explains with real enthusiasm. A quick scribble they can talk about for five minutes is worth more than a careful drawing they have nothing to say about.
What is the best way to photograph children’s artwork?
Use indirect daylight, hold the phone parallel to the paper, and crop out the table. Save the unfiltered original with a filename that includes the date, your child’s age and the drawing’s title, so you can still find it years from now.
Does my child need to draw something new to make a story?
No. Artwork you already have is a good starting point. Ask your child what is happening in it, and let their explanation shape the story rather than a description you write yourself.
Is it okay to throw some drawings away?
Yes, and it helps to be open about it. Photograph a piece first, and let your child keep the final say on the few they want to hold on to. Many families make the decision together at the end of each month or season.
What happens to a drawing I upload to ArtifyTales?
The drawing is used to create your child’s character and story. The ArtifyTales privacy policy explains what is stored, how deletion works and which AI providers process uploads. Read it before uploading, and keep your child’s name and other personal details out of titles you plan to share.
How often should we turn a drawing into a story?
About once a month works for most families. It keeps the project special, gives your child time to build up new favorites, and stops the kitchen table turning into a production line.

Keep the drawing and the story behind it

Pick this month’s three tonight, and ask your child which one should become a story. See how ArtifyTales turns a child’s drawing into an animated story, or read the parent’s guide to better screen time if you are weighing up when a screen should be part of it.

ArtifyTales is available on iPhone and iPad and on Android, and you can compare family and creator plan options.