Painting could get messy especially if it's your dinner table the kid's paint on.
I recycle cardboard pieces from online orders to use as my kid's painting mats. Just cut a piece of cardboard larger than the paper at minimum.
What's great about placing cardboard down and paper over versus painting directly on the table is that when the paper gets wet from paint, it'll start to stick to the cardboard and the paper won't move all over the place.
When your child is done painting, it is easy to move their artwork elsewhere or near a window to dry while leaving your kitchen table clean!
