[Camellia]

I need some help here mamas. My son is an artist at heart. He has always loved to draw and is quite talented IMO. However, his ambition takes him to drawing on inappropriate things.

When he was 3.5 he drew an elaborate mural on his bedroom wall. Now at that age, I wasn't surprised at all. I should have been watching him closer. Still, we scrubbed the wall together and kept a closer eye on him and his pens.

His current bedroom has art work all over the walls. He is older now and I don't think he needs constant monitoring like a 3.5 year-old. The consequences thus far have been temporary loss of the priveledge to have pens and pencils and cleaning up the wall (it never comes completely clean BTW).

Now he is 6.5 and we *still* have issues with this

: Just yesterday I sat down at our dining table to have breakfast. (DS was already at school) and I see that he has written "1234" on our dining room table! A week earlier he drew a picture (small, but still) on the backdoor, the remote control, and a lightswitch cover. He was able to easily clean off the remote and the light switch cover, so no major harm done. We just talked about how paper was the only OK place to draw.

When I picked him up from school yesterday I told him how upset I was to see that he had drawn (in ball point pen) on our dinner table. I let him know that that is natural behavior for a much younger child, and that at his age I expect more.

I am lost as to what to do. I've told him no more pens or pencils until further notice. This is such a dillema because I don't want to stunt his growth as an artist, or keep him from practicing his spelling. What do you all think?

Maybe I could allow him to use sidewalk chalk or pencil and paper outside?

 

[BumbleBena]

The dining room table reminds me of Macaroni Grill. They put butcher paper on the tables and leave crayons out. Maybe he'd like to decorate a "table cloth"? Do you think a roll of butcher paper would help, so he has a large canvas on which to express himself?

Sorry I don't have any other suggestions. HTH

 

[choli]

A friend of mine had the same problem with his daughter. He managed to buy an big old classroom blackboard from a school that was closing. Put it on the wall in her bedroom at the right height for her to be able to reach all of it. It solved the problem for him.

 

[Yummymummy74]

I know your not allowed to paint where you are

but honestly my only solution to this has been repainting walls.. pretty darn often too.. my DS is simply unstoppable.. and hes so fast these days when hes on the run from me that my preggo body is no match for him :LOL he colors on walls.. furniture, and even my kitchen floor

 

[j924]

I just wanted you to know I feel for you. My six year old dd has been decorating our house forever. The latest was a number collage on her headboard. I think some kids just lack impulse control with art. She is very bright, knows the rules etc. I try to keep ALL art stuff up high and then have these outdoor art days where she can be supervised. She is a very tactile learner and I think she needs the sensation of drawing/painting on cement/wood etc--- anything that is not paper. Now that it is nice she can throw on a bathing suit and paint the driveway to her hearts content. Maybe some day we'll both find our dc's work displayed at some amazing museum and remember all the destroyed furniture with fondness

 

[Camellia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by j924 She is a very tactile learner and I think she needs the sensation of drawing/painting on cement/wood etc--- anything that is not paper.

That, makes a lot of sense. We have some scrap plywood in the garage that I'll let him decorate

Quote:

Originally Posted by j924 Maybe some day we'll both find our dc's work displayed at some amazing museum and remember all the destroyed furniture with fondness

This thought keeps me feeling sane at times :LOL

Thanks for the encouragment ones everyone!

 

[MamaMonica]

My 6 yo also draws on everything. I noticed a picture in white crayon on the window. She illustrated her doll house yesterday. Mine is also very talented and a tactile learner- but it is really frustrating to fiure out a way to clean it up. I honestly don't think my dd can stop either. I did the same thing as a kid (was artistic also) and always figured it was normal to draw on everything and couldn't figure out why it upset my mother.

As I got older I drew/painted on rocks, wood, cardboard, all kinds of found objects. I'm hoping dd moves on to that.

 

[Marsupialmom]

Even though they seem old enough to know better I have heard many, many parents complain about this. Many times they are practicing the skills they are learning in school (writing being a big one).

 

[mama_daba]

can you cover the walls in butcher paper in his room or just part of a wall, butcher paper is reallyc heap, you can get it at painting stores, like thats ell paint for painting a house nto an art store thats the cheapest place to get it, and then tehre would be a place on the wall where it would be ok to draw, and when it gets full you can put new paper up, and the drawings he really loves you can keep and cut parts of out make collages and frame the very best, that way he can be encuraged to draw and can draw really big but on an appropiate thing to draw on

as soon as we live someplace with wall space (our walls are covered with bookcases and we have more books than there is room for on teh book cases) i will be doing this so that I can draw on the walls, but on paper really and not the walls

 

[SagMom]

I love the paper on the table/wall idea. There's also a paint that makes any surface into a chalkboard. If you can't paint your walls, perhaps you could use it on his desk...or a large piece of wood you could hang up? What about hanging a large erasable white board?

 

[ramlita]

Another mom to a prolific artist here!

Sidewalk chalk is great. There are also crayon-like things you can buy that are made for use in the bathtub, and scrub right off of shower stall/bathtub surfaces.
Dd has a few toys that she decorated when she was younger, and now they're designated as okay to further embellish, and we ask that she not add more things to the decorated list without checking it out with us first.

Ever since she was tiny, she has loved to decorate herself with markers. The last few weeks have been especially intense- she is very colorful! With every passing day, her drawings are getting more elaborate and creative- I'm taking lots of pictures! She likes to go out as-is, and she loves the comments she gets from people. We just ask that she use markers from a particular set: they're washable Crayola "doodling" markers- they have really nice tips, and wash off with a washcloth really really easily. It seems to scratch her itch, and nothing else (but paper) is getting marked up.

She also loves big cardboard boxes, and has full access to our recycling bins...

Is there one wall in your house that will definitely need repainting, no matter what? If so, could that be the one designated art wall?

 

[amberielle]

DD used to have a thing for floors. She'd color the tile, carpets, whatever. We had a talk, and it stopped... until recently. Now she has colored her brothers crib, her dollhouse, and toyboxes.
We bought her a bunch of sidewalk chalk, and if it ever stops raining, we'll use it. I also saw some sidewalk paint that I want to pick up.
We have some leftover materials(plywood, drywall, etc...) from the addition we're building that we let her go to town on, and she has thoughoughly enjoyed it.
Butcher paper, or news print is a great idea. How about hanging an old sheet outside and letting him use that. I'll fill up some spray bottles with colored water and let her spray an old white sheet.
We have been looking for that black board paint so she can use her chalk inside.