Whose book is it anyway? Toddlers, scribbling, and board books

[mamazee]

I am going back and forth on this issue.

My toddler (20 mos) loves to scribble, and particularly in board books, and particularly in her favorite board books.

So I go back and forth between thinking, "It's just a board book. It's not a first edition of some classic. And it's hers after all!" And "Crayon! Book! NO NO NO!"

Does anyone let their toddler color in his/her boad books? Are any MDC moms OK with this? Has anyone put much thought into this?

[jnet24]

I used to go back and forth about this issue. But now that I have two kids I am glad I was able to direct my son to a more suitable coloring space. If I had let him color on all of his board books, they wouldn't be in a fair condition for DD to enjoy as well. I just provide a lot of items they can scribble all over. My old magazines I am done with works well for DD. She likes to color on the babies and some of the food. What helped me was to set the books a fair distance away from coloring stuff. The coloring stuff is by the kitchen table, and the books in the living room on the shelf.

[mamazee]

Hmm well this is my second and I won't be having any more, so saving them isn't a concern for me. We have some scribbled ones from the older one. She wasn't as into scribbling but a few got hit anyway. Or maybe we just didn't have stuff to scribble with out as much because we didn't have an older child around as well. We still use them despite the scribbles. Anyway, intersting thoughts.

She likes to scribble in other things as well, but is particularly interested in her favorite board books.

[Thalia the Muse]

We didn't allow book-scribbling. Although now that I think about it, I can't remember her wanting to -- chewing, yes, but not so much scribblng!

One of my concerns was that toddlers don't really grasp "not mine" as well as they grasp "MINE!" -- so allowing coloring on some books seemed like opening the door to allowing coloring in library books, my books, books in homes we visited, daycare books ...

Also, we read some of DD's board books well into kindergarten! At five, she would have been bummed to have scribbled-on books, even if she had done the scribbling. And finally, we donate outgrown books and toys -- if they were spoiled, another family couldn't have enjoyed them.

[texaspeach]

nope. books are for reading. we treat books with respect. I don't want to send a mixed message that sometimes it's ok to color on things other than a drawing pad/easel. we get a lot of books from the library these days and I really don't want to have to pay for the because ds damaged them.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

nope. books are for reading. we treat books with respect. I don't want to send a mixed message that sometimes it's ok to color on things other than a drawing pad/easel. we get a lot of books from the library these days and I really don't want to have to pay for the because ds damaged them.

Well, I got her a coloring book because I thoguht that would satisfy this need, but I don't really see her at her age making a distinction between a coloring book and a board book, so it seems like I would have to not get coloring books as well. We get books from the library, but not board books, mainly books for me or the older dd, but we keep those out of her reach. Her books are within her reach because they're hers and she likes to look at them. And draw in them!

[hildare]

i have thought about this, as many of the goodwill books i've gotten have been 'signed' by previous owners (and they only seemed to get the inside covers and not the whole book.. go figure..)
we have board books for dd. she can do whatever she wants with those as far as destruction, chewing, throwing, etc. and we have the other books that she cannot reach that are only taken out for storytime/bedtime. when she gets older that will change.
board books seem like they'd be hard to color in anyway! but, i'd be inclined to only use one thing at a time - the crayons would only come out in company with coloring appropriate things and would be put away when the books are available. (my dd is a little young for all this, though.. we have crayons and we tried the other day, but she doesn't quite get it yet)
i think my reservations are more of the montessori-mindset where you work on only one thing at a time and books aren't really part of coloring/drawing work. i wouldn't freak out if she drew in her books or anything, but i would absolutely discourage it for the reasons i mentioned.

ooh-- what if you violated copyright and photocopied the board books to give as coloring pages?

[Lilygoose]

did she color them with washable crayons? If so you might be able to wipe them down (damp cloth or babywipe). My DD has colored in some of her board books, but we try to prevent this. When left unsupervised she colors all over everything-which can be wiped down, but still is a pain. I have also debated whether to allow it b/c they are hers. But ultimately decided that I just wasn't okay with it.

[tessie]

Not ok with it. For one thing I can't afford to replace books that are so scribbled upon they're unreadable.

I don't allow unsupervised access to pens/crayons which avoids the issue. I realise though that if you have another, older, child that this may be a bit harder to police.

[ellemenope]

[QUOTE=texaspeach;15867138]nope. books are for reading. we treat books with respect. I don't want to send a mixed message that sometimes it's ok to color on things other than a drawing pad/easel.QUOTE]



For right now DD sticks to the mantra "crayons are for coloring on paper. Books are for reading."

I understand your point, though.

[Baby_Cakes]

For right now DD sticks to the mantra "crayons are for coloring on paper. Books are for reading."

I understand your point, though.

[JudiAU]

Books are for reading. They are not for coloring/throwing/hiding/tearing. Paper at the table is for coloring and is the only place for coloring. We don't do a lot of coloring books. We have too many other books and library books in the house. Actually, nothing is for coloring/throwing/tearing other than paper.

Crayons are kept in an easily accessible but plastic locked lid thingy with all the art supplies. The kids can get them when they are young but can't open. They bring to me and I'll help them get set up.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by mamazee

Well, I got her a coloring book because I thoguht that would satisfy this need, but I don't really see her at her age making a distinction between a coloring book and a board book, so it seems like I would have to not get coloring books as well. We get books from the library, but not board books, mainly books for me or the older dd, but we keep those out of her reach. Her books are within her reach because they're hers and she likes to look at them. And draw in them!

She probably could understand that a coloring book is different... DS definitely gets it. He is only allowed to color in his coloring book or on paper. We're kind of strict about it -- if he starts to color somewhere else more than 2 or 3 times we take the crayons away. Crayons are in our 'supervision required' pile of toys right now, until he can reliably color only on appropriate surfaces. But we only have one kid so it's easy to just give them to him & supervise whenever he asks.

[swd12422]

I don't allow coloring on anything but paper. DS has learned to ask first, most of the time. For one thing, books are for reading, not scribbling on. Second, yes, they're his books but not forever. One day they will be someone else's books and that person may not appreciate having to read through his scribbles. The books will be either his kids' or some other kid's when we donate them, and either way, it's nicer to read a book that doesn't look abused and unappreciated. Third, yeah, the library book v. "my" book distinction is too hard to get across, so just a blanket policy is easiest for us.