It’s a familiar scene: the grandchildren arrive, full of beans, running through the house like a small pack of stampeding goats. You’ve done the biscuits, you’ve done the juice, and you’ve read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt twice. And then it happens: those dreaded words:
“I’m boooored.”
Now, we could hand them a tablet. But we both know how that ends. A sticky screen, mysterious new apps installed, and the sound of YouTube kids shouting echoing through the house. No, thank you. What we want is a quiet activity, something wholesome, ideally involving sitting down and not moving furniture.
That’s where colouring in comes in.
AI Personalised Colouring Books?
Remember colouring books? Big tubs of crayons, pencil shavings on the table, the smell of felt tips drying out? Proper, traditional entertainment. None of this “swipe left, swipe right” nonsense. Colouring is slow, steady, and genuinely calming – for them and for us. It’s a lost art, like handwriting, but with fewer complaints about spelling.
And unlike Roblox or Netflix, you actually get something to stick on the fridge at the end. Proof that time was spent wisely, not wasted on shouting into a headset.
Create your own colouring page with AI
Now here’s the twist. Colouring in used to be farm animals and cartoon princesses. But why stop there? This is the age of ridiculous technology. We’ve got fridges that talk back, cars that think they’re clever, and apparently, toasters that need Wi-Fi updates. So why not use a little modern magic to reinvent colouring in?
Here’s the idea: instead of colouring some random pony, let the grandkids colour in themselves. Yes, you read that right. You take a photo of the grandkids, feed it through ChatGPT, and it spits out a black-and-white outline ready for crayons. It’s part activity, part ego trip: because nothing excites a seven-year-old quite like colouring their own face bright purple.
How to have AI create a colouring page for you
Don’t worry, this isn’t as complicated as it sounds. You don’t need a computer science degree (we’ve already got one ex-techie in this household, and he insists this is fool-proof). Here’s the quick guide:
- Install ChatGPT on your phone.
- Take a photo of your grandkids (ideally one where at least half of them are looking vaguely in the same direction).
- Send the photo to the app with the magic words:
“redraw this as a black and white line drawing suitable for colouring in.” - Or if that doesn’t work try:
- “create a colouring page with characters resembling this photo with similar features and poses”
- Out comes a neat little line drawing of your darlings.
- Print it off, hand over the pencils, and watch as silence descends upon the room.
It’s that simple. A couple of taps and suddenly you’ve transformed into the fun, tech-savvy grandparents who can literally create colouring books on demand.
One quick note on child safety, because ChatGPT occasionally behaves like a very nervous school librarian. Sometimes, when you upload a photo of the grandkids, the app might say it can’t turn it into a colouring page “for child safety reasons.” Don’t panic. It’s not accusing you of anything; it’s just being overly cautious about images of children. If that happens, you can usually fix it by cropping out background details, removing name badges, or choosing a photo where the kids aren’t looking straight at the camera. You can also use a gentler prompt like: “Create a simple colouring-page character inspired by this photo, with similar poses and features.” That way, you still get a lovely line-art drawing, and the app stays happy. And of course, once you’ve printed the sheet, delete the photo if you want to be extra safe — which is more than most toys, apps, or printers ever offer you.
If the hands look weird: crop the photo tighter.
If the face becomes too detailed: ask for “thicker lines”.
If the outline is messy: prompt “clean, simple cartoon-style linework”.
Colouring page of themselves
The best bit? They take the finished sheet home. They proudly show it to their friends:
“Look, I coloured myself in.”
You can practically see the parents of other children sighing, wondering why they didn’t think of it first. And you? You just smile modestly and mutter something about “a little AI magic.”
Congratulations: you’re no longer just the nice couple with biscuits and board games. You’re the cool grandparents. Possibly legends.
Here’s the other beauty of it: you’ve bought yourself time. Not hours (nothing buys hours) but at least 20 precious minutes of quiet. That’s long enough to sneak into the kitchen, put the kettle on, and have a proper chat without someone yelling that their brother stole the red pencil.
“Grandparents Should Try It Too”
And before you think colouring is “just for the kids,” let me tell you a secret: grandparents love it too. Truly. The Mayo Clinic even says grown-ups benefit from colouring because it lowers stress and helps your brain calm down (yes, actual science):
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/coloring-is-good-for-your-health
So if the grandkids are busy colouring themselves bright purple, grab a spare sheet and join in. You don’t have to stay inside the lines—nobody’s marking it. In fact, half the fun is seeing whether your version looks more deranged than theirs. If anyone walks into the kitchen and asks why two responsible adults are shading in cartoon faces with glitter pens, simply say, “It’s for our health,” and carry on.
Kid-Friendly Step-By-Step Table
| Step | What To Do | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stand Still for 3 Seconds | Let Grandad or Nana take a quick photo. Ideally, face roughly toward the camera (or at least not sprinting). | AI is clever, but it can’t chase you around the living room. |
| 2. Make Your Funniest Pose | Big smile, peace sign, superhero stance… anything you like. | The more dramatic the pose, the funnier the colouring page. |
| 3. Let the Phone Do Its Magic | ChatGPT turns your photo into a black-and-white outline. | This is where your face becomes art. Or a potato. Results vary. |
| 4. Wait for the Printer to Groan | Printers love to make dramatic noises. This is normal. | Every home printer believes it’s an elderly steam engine. |
| 5. Grab the Pencils! | Colour yourself in any colours you like — purple hair, green shoes, rainbow cheeks. | There are no wrong colours. Only “creative choices.” |
| 6. Show Off the Masterpiece | Stick it on the fridge or show your parents. | Bonus points if you make them guess which part is your face. |
| 7. Ask for Another One | Choose a new pose or bring a friend into the picture. | Congratulations: you’ve unlocked “Quiet Activity Mode.” |
Making colouring pages with ChatGPT
So yes, technology gets a bad name sometimes. But if it can turn a quick snapshot into an afternoon activity, we’re all for it. Making colouring pages with ChatGPT is part old-school, part space-age, and entirely brilliant.
The kids get something creative, we get something quiet, and everyone ends up a little happier. And isn’t that the point of grandparenting? Not to compete with iPads or Roblox, but to sneakily win at the game by offering something different, something they’ll remember.
So next time the grandchildren say, “I’m bored,” you’ll be ready. You’ll grab your phone, tap a few buttons, and hand them a colouring sheet of themselves. They’ll think you’re magical.
And you’ll know the real secret: it’s just one more way to turn chaos into calm, right here in West Lancs.