When I was 2 years old, I got the beating of my life for writing on the walls with a crayon (or so I’ve been told). To make matters worse, the beating didn’t even come from someone who lived in my house. It came from a visiting relative. Shameful. I couldn’t even imagine such a thing happening in my home today.
Now I am a parent and my kids are the ones writing on the walls. So what do I? I let them. Don’t get me wrong I try to get them to do it on paper, but if they write on the walls I don’t make a big deal about it.
To me they are expressing themselves and that’s important. They are also practicing their fine motor skills and that’s also important. That’s not to say that I don’t believe in kids having rules because I do. That said, I want my kids to grow up and be creative in their thinking. I also want them to grow up feeling empowered in their own home and in the world. So scribble away kiddies. Scribble, scribble, scribble!
That reminds me of when I was a kid where my sister and I use to melt crayons on the radiators. We didn’t have fancy radiator covers back then…hahaha. Can’t recall ever being punished for it though. Those were the days. While I love the idea of freedom of expression, will I let my son have free range to scribble where ever he wants…? Mmm, maybe we’ll just have designated areas in the house. We’ll see
Hahaha, freedom of expression might have to have its limits. I use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get the marks off and washable crayons help too. I think I was just so happy to see them scribbling that I didn’t want to limit them. As for the punishment I received when I was little that is classic old school parenting.
our apartment in Kips Bay — the first place in America — was full of our scribbles.
That is awesome. I love that. Thanks Ron!