2.5 coloring on walls.....

[friendly fire]

not really sure how to handle it....we've got paper....we've got a chalkboard wall.....obviously if i don't want him to do it i need to supervise the crayon usage......but then part of me doesn't think it's so horrible to color on the walls....

there is a theory that kids should be allowed to do this because it fulfills some innate need.....like our ancestors marking on cave walls.....and if kids are denied this part of development then they'll have to deal with it at some point....

anybody let their kids color on the walls? if we could limit it to a certain space....but then.....

i just don't know what to do!

[mamazee]

If you want, you could always get big rolls of paper and put a big roll up on a section of wall somewhere and say that's the designated "wall drawing" area. We did that for a while. It didn't lead to wall drawing anywhere else for us, anyway.

[nextcommercial]

Can he have one whole wall? Just to color and paint on? You can always cover it back up with Kilz and let him start again. (you might want to keep it though.)

I had a freind who let her kids color on every wall in every room. They only did it for a few months, and then Mom repainted, but it sure looked stupid for about a year until the house got repainted. *But these kids were pretty destructive anyway, with hammers and other blunt objects that they would pound into walls and furniture*

[Leilalu]

I would designate a drawing area. If you want, designate a wall in the child's room or play area, OR put up paper. I would establish something now, because if he is allowed too long to continue this and it is something you mind, it may take a lot of correction later on.

Maybe repeat a phrase over and over like" paper is for coloring, not walls." Or something. That way, it will safegaurd the chance of your child drawing on someone elses wall.lol

Or maybe start a coloring time of day, where you can supervise it. Or phase crayons out of the picture for awhile.

I know my dd looked back at a page in one of my knitting books she drew on with a permanent marker and said that her brother did that. I said no, you did! She seemed a bit sad, and felt silly that she would ever do something like that. I know when I was about 4-5 and learned to draw my name, I would blame it on my 1 year old brother. I would try to draw it all over the house, then deny it.

[boheime]

When my kids have shown an interest in drawing on the wall, I've taped up a big sheet of paper on the wall and let them get creative. It has fulfilled their needs. Besides keeping on eye on crayons, I suggest washable crayons. My kids have drawn with pencil before. We took a picture and then they helped wash it off. Then we taped paper up so they could draw some more and we could "keep" the picture. Everyone was happy.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I think it may be a stage...ds colored on the back of our leather couch and loveseat...with a permament marker...nice art work to say the least....he doesnt do it anymore...he also colored the windows and blinds with the same marker that day...so maybe i scared him out of coloring anything other than paper that day...i'm a bad mommy i know....i tried letting him color the garage walls and using a paint brush with water to paint the side walks and drive way....he loved painting his toys outside with a paint brush and water...

[Leilalu]

Originally Posted by Mamato3wild ponnie

I think it may be a stage...ds colored on the back of our leather couch and loveseat...with a permament marker...nice art work to say the least....he doesnt do it anymore...he also colored the windows and blinds with the same marker that day...so maybe i scared him out of coloring anything other than paper that day...i'm a bad mommy i know....i tried letting him color the garage walls and using a paint brush with water to paint the side walks and drive way....he loved painting his toys outside with a paint brush and water...

I forgot, we did the water thing too And I let them do it inside on walls that needed cleaning.

And we do have an outdoor wall designated for chalk coloring.

[madskye]

I don't allow coloring on the walls, but I don't consider it "bad" either--I think it's just natural curiousity. When we went thru that I pared down the crayon/marker collection and put it up on top of the fridge. We only colored together, on paper or the easel. No she's almost 3 and she's moved past the urge to color on the wall or the couch.

I wouldn't let coloring on the walls etc, go on, because I wouldn't want DD to do it at a friends house, or day care. Sometimes that helps me figure out my boundaries--you know, there are things that don't bother me but I do realize they're not socially acceptable and I am trying to prepare DD to be a part of civilization as we know it.

[tessie]

Originally Posted by madskye

I wouldn't let coloring on the walls etc, go on, because I wouldn't want DD to do it at a friends house, or day care. Sometimes that helps me figure out my boundaries--you know, there are things that don't bother me but I do realize they're not socially acceptable and I am trying to prepare DD to be a part of civilization as we know it.

Yeah, that.

I alsoi think you'd struggle to limit it to just a small section of wall - little kids don't get why it's ok to scribble on that bit of wall but not on the other bit. or the blinds. Or the dog. Plus wax crayon is an absolute bugger to paint over.

For a bit of a free expression chalking outside is always good fun. And washing it off again is almost as much fun as chalking, for some strange reason.

[MaryLang]

I don't make a huge deal about it. I will give them coloring books and repeat
'crayons are for paper", but it only helps for a bit. My tip- lots of magic erasers.

[hipumpkins]

My 2.5 year old has colored on:
the couch
walls
his trucks
the kitchen table
and the fish tank

I keep saying, "paper Michael...you can only color on paper" to which he must thinking, "I am really sure you are wrong b/c look how this crayon works on everything...well except my skin but the markers make up for that."


BTW...at the same age I told my Dd once that she needed to use paper not the walls. she never colored on a wall again. some kids are more artsy

[Spritesmom]

Mine never even experimented with the walls but just today DD7 and I "painted" the big kitchen windows with dish soap, washable paint and her amount of corn starch. What a BLAST!! I taped a plastic tablecloth (dollar store) to the bottom of the window and it flowed over the floor. I "erased" her window several times, at her request, with my spray of vinegar & water. Clean up was quick. She sang "Zippidy Do Da" most of the time and it actually took her about 15 mins. before she stopped using the brushes and got her hands into it.

[Hesperia]

They also make these bars of soap that you can 'draw' with in the washroom, in places like the tub, shower doors, and tile. Washes off. Not sure about the amount of dyes though.....yuk.

I made a crayon tree on friday, I took a cardboard tube and punched holes into it, and pushed through peeled crayons (because they seem to like them better that way). It was a big hit, and it only uses 6 crayons, easier to maintain basically.

I keep crayons in a tupperware container and open them up 3-4 times per day and insiste they all go away after use, since I can't stand them being stepped on!

Or make a huge art project to get those urges out!

Anyways, I'm rambing, best luck with the art.

[friendly fire]

thank you, mama's!!! i'm convinced i don't want free rein coloring all over the house.......love all of your ideas! and can't wait to be able to do stuff (chalk, etc.) outside again!!!:

[leafylady]

My son had no problem limiting his drawing to paper. My daughter on the other hand drew all over the walls! She would sneak and sneak and keep doing it. Finally we let her color on her bedroom walls. It was so beautiful!!! and she didn't start coloring on other people's walls. For awhile we thought we'd sell the house, so we painted over it. Remember that crayon is wax, so it's not really easy to paint over. You still have to work on cleaning it off. That's the really really hard part.

So.... because the cleaning it off part just sucks big time.... I'd recommend putting up huge sheets of paper on one or two walls, completely, and giving her those walls to draw on. You could even staple the paper up. It would be much easier to repair staple holes than to clean up and paint over crayon. You will also be able to save your favorite parts of the paper. You'll treasure them.

[leafylady]

By the way, she is five now and still sneaks occasionally to make marks on the walls. Last time it was lipstick kisses.

[Mama Mko]

Originally Posted by MaryLang

I don't make a huge deal about it. I will give them coloring books and repeat
'crayons are for paper", but it only helps for a bit. My tip- lots of magic erasers.

:

My son did this for awhile. He did it while I was babysitting at a friend's house, too. I just kept telling him that we color on paper and I would help him find paper if I saw him coloring on the walls. If he insisted, I would take the crayon away for a little while (like an hour) and we would play with something else. Then it could come back out and I would make a big deal of coloring on paper. He never tries to color on the walls anymore.

I also don't see it as such a huge deal. He's not really breaking anything and Magic Erasers definitely get rid of crayon marks on the wall. It wasn't something I cared about too much (unless it was at someone else's house. )

[friendly fire]

magic erasers?? i'm clueless and curious...sounds like something i might need!

[abi&ben'smom]

I taped pieces of paper all over the house one time for them to color on. They thought that was pretty funny.

[Mama Mko]

Originally Posted by friendly fire

magic erasers?? i'm clueless and curious...sounds like something i might need!

http://www.mrclean.com/sites/en_US/m...s/eraser.shtml