Was there a time when your kid was like this?
Yesterday, I was so busy doing my Saturday chores in the kitchen. I was so immersed in it that I totally forgot about my 2 little ones playing in the receiving area of the house. When I came I saw Summer deeply engaged in writing and drawing…. “ON THE WALL!!!!!”. I was outraged. My mind was racing as to what to be angry about first, the act of vandalism or the fact that we would have to spend an unknown amount of money just to have the walls repainted. I was about to open my mouth and getting ready for an all out rant but then when I saw how she was so into it I suddenly had the odd feeling and thought against it. She was in deep concentration, much like a painter engrossed in their painting and entranced by the moment.
I did not want to interrupt her at that time with the fear that she might lose her “gusto” to draw. I was holding my self, teeth gritting and just thought that I would just find another time to tell her about drawing on her sketch pad and not on the wall.
I remembered asking Summer once to “draw a face” one of our study times, she refused saying she doesn’t know how to draw one. I did not force the issue. So, when I saw these, I was surprised, amazed, happy, but worried by the fact that she finally drew… “ON THE WALL!!!”.
So, I took some pictures instead.
After which she told me who those drawings are. They are us. I’m also glad that she drew faces with ears. My Psychology teacher in college told us, if you draw a face with ears, it means that you are a good listener. Something that I am not, although I’m trying to be. LOL!
Then softly but with a stern face I reminded her that it would be nicer to draw on the paper or on her drawing pad than on the wall. I did not put so much issue on the vandalism part because it might only make her do it more.
When you have something like this at home, how do you handle it?
Feel free to leave your comments or creative responses below! Cheers!
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You had much more restraint that I would have had…..I’ve caught my kids putting stickers on windows, but they’ve now promised to only put them on people or paper! Maybe you should turn one wall into a chalkboard, they have special paint that does that, and then she draw on the wall to her hearts delight!
Yup I’ll do just that. Kids seem have a thing about writing on walls. And I think it is better that we let them satisfy this want and lower the risk of being a vandal when they grow up.
Thanks for the comment. I’ll be checking out your blog as well shortly after this.
Oh my! The problem lies getting the walls repainted. Anyway, my son didn’t try to draw on the wall because I usually stick a used calendar on the wall. I usually ask him to color or draw on the paper and that coloring on the wall is a mess. I am glad that he follows well my instructions. Maybe you should try it too. 🙂
Yup I will certainly try that.
Well, my three-year old son does this. He was so proud when he showed me his drawings on our wall a year ago. Like you, I was at my good-job-son-but-angry-inside self. Now he’s still doing it but not that often anymore since I have been buying large notebooks and manila paper/cartolina for him to use. Don’t repaint yet until she has outgrown this new hobby. hehe.
I applaud you for not scolding her right then and there! Most parents would go crazy on their kid when that happens.
My toddler is just a year old and all she can draw are doodles. She already wrote on our wooden floor… with a permanent marker and she’s starting to explore the walls with crayons. I just think to myself that she’s making memories. 😉
My daughter is 5 and I still catch her doodling on the walls from time to time. She does it behind her bed or behind the couch, always somewhere hidden (until discovered when we move stuff around). Giving her a desk of her own with a ton of construction paper and coloring books/pages has cut down on the heiroglyphic art on the wall. At my Grandmother’s suggestion, I took my girl to the dollar store and let her go crazy finding her own notebooks and paper. “If she picked it out, she is more likely to use it,” she told me. My Grandma is a genius 🙂
Hi Tina.. Grandma had been there done that..so she definitely knows better…
I dropped by your blog. I can not leave a comment as there is no NAME/URL option in the comment profile.
So I am following you in G+ instead..
this is priceless, haha. i love that picture with the younger one looking on. of my three kids, only one drew on the wall, the youngest. since then, he’s been drawing non-stop. it’s already part of his daily activities, but i’m sooo glad he’s not drawing on the wall anymore, only on paper. i already re-purposed old documents, thesis, et cetera so he’ll never run out of paper to draw on.
When my oldest son was 5, I walked into his room and found his name written on the wall. I called him into his room and asked him about it and he informed me that Shiloh had done it. I have to tell you, I was so excited – you see Shiloh was our dog and I never knew how brilliant she was until that moment, lol. He got a lecture on lying and we erased the name on the wall. I did not make a big deal out of it either and it never happened again.
No kids but I know people who have kids that this happened.
LOL! This post amused me and painted a smile on my face. My husband and I are expecting this scenario in the future. My daughter has started vandalizing already, good thing it’s crayon on tiles, so it’s easy to clean. I think this is pretty common with growing kids. If this happens to us, we’ll clean it together as a family, together with the kid who vandalized of course. =) Your daughter is kinda sweet, drawing all of you as a family =)
By the way, I like this line, “My Psychology teacher in college told us, if you draw a face with ears, it means that you are a good listener.”
Thank you Sis.. There must be some truth to this because every time I draw I always forget to draw the ears, but for others its automatic.
I would have been livid. Although when my son was little, he decided to take a stone and make some drawings on my new car. 🙁
OMG!! I hope none of my kids would ever do that. I would die! LOL! car paint job is just insanely expensive here.
I do have one idea- tape a BIG sheet of white canvas paper (You can get it at Michael’s) to the wall that she was coloring and say that she can only draw on the paper. Once the paper is filled with her beautiful artwork, you can hang it in her room!
Oh yes such a good idea. Thank you so much.
This made me laugh! Glad you were able to keep your cool! In my bedroom, my daughter drew around her hand three times on our wall. I haven’t painted over it yet, but before I do, I will take pictures of it! 🙂
I still have the drawing issue with my children, and they’re 12 and 8! Now, I hand them the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and tell them to get busy lol!