First Lines
Snap your child's drawing. See what they're learning, and watch their skills grow.
A drawing journal for parents of children aged 18 months to 5 years. Each drawing gets a plain-English description of what's on the page, where it sits on the drawing journey, and simple play ideas to try next.
Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
Every drawing is a step on a journey
Children's drawing grows through stages that researchers have studied for a century. First Lines shows you where each drawing sits, so a scribble on the fridge starts to make sense.
First Marks
Around 12 to 24 months
Controlled Scribbles
Around 18 months to 2½ years
Naming Scribbles
Around 2 to 3 years
Early Shapes
Around 2½ to 4 years
Shape Builder
Around 3 to 4 years
First People
Around 3 to 4½ years
Little Storyteller
Around 4 to 5 years and beyond
Ages are rough guides. Every child gets there at their own pace, and that's fine.
How it works
Snap the drawing
Take a photo or pick one from your gallery. The app straightens the page and removes location data.
Add a little context
Three quick taps: when it was drawn, whether they had help, and what they drew with.
Read what's on the page
Lines, loops, shapes and people, explained in plain words, with play ideas for the weeks ahead.
Honest by design
Some apps claim a drawing can reveal feelings or problems. The research doesn't support that, so First Lines doesn't do it.
No diagnosis
First Lines describes drawings. It doesn't assess, screen for or predict any condition.
No comparisons
Your child is only compared with themselves. No percentiles, rankings, "ahead" or "behind".
No mind reading
No guesses about emotions or personality from colours or pictures.
If you've noticed something that worries you, the app points you calmly to your health visitor or GP. It is not a substitute for your child's health reviews.
Your child's drawings stay private
- Your child's nickname and birth date stay on your phone. Our servers only see their age in months.
- Drawings are stored in the EU, in a private store that only the app can reach.
- Drawings aren't used to train AI, and we never sell or share them. There are no ads.
- Helping our research is off unless you turn it on.
- You can delete a drawing, a child or your whole account at any time, straight from the app.