5 Year Old Vandal or Artist? - You Decide
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My 5 year old has this habit of writing/drawing on stuff. He likes to write/draw on toys, books and sometimes walls. He likes to write/draw with chalk - usually on the concrete where I tell him, but sometimes on the house.
Well, the kids are away this weekend and as we were working on the kids room (including the Tinkerbell theme for baby who’s coming real soon), I came across two things:
This one is right at the entrance of his soon-to-be sister’s bedroom door. “Zoo” is the one word, outside of his initials, that he confidently spells all on his own:
Then we have this. This picture was taken in his brother’s room. He’s added legs, arms and some squiggles to a “Krabby Patty” wall sticker.
I’m having a bit of trouble wanting to discipline him for his vandalism because really - isn’t a Krabby Patty with legs pure genius? LOL. But seriously, both my husband and I admit to doing just these kind of things when we were kids. I was a pretty destructive child (in my parent’s eyes) who liked to draw on stuff, break things to see how they worked, etc. But in my own mind, I didn’t think I was being destructive and wasn’t trying to upset anyone.
So what do you think? Vandalism or Artistry?
Posted by Alice
[...] So maybe I ought not to give the little guy such a hard time either. Click here to make your judgment. [...]
I really think it is important to let children be creative. It is creative thinking that solves problems later in life. Sure you say something about drawing on the wall but kids will be kids.That is ok sometimes even if you have a spot to clean on the wall.
You have to give him credit for the legs and arms on a Krabby Patty! LOL I think all kids go through this stage of drawing on things that shouldn’t be drawn on…I know my son certainly did.
My youngest is a really determined artist who has “tagged” all the walls, some of the furniture, her big sister’s baby dolls, etc. It’s frustrating to me because I keep paper in every room almost and she has stacks of coloring books… but it’s normal so I break out the Magic Eraser and try to deal with it.
I don’t know if I would be as understanding if my 5 year old did that though.