Coloring - what age?

jenb_99

Do any of your LOs like to color? Do they understand the concept? DS will scribble on a page or two of his coloring book (and he loves to mark on his windows and walls...yay), but otherwise he doesn't "get" coloring yet. He'd rather transfer the colors from one box to another and remove their wrappers than write on paper.

What about your LO? Is coloring a favorite activity yet?

I'm in no way worried about this as a developmental milestone, especially since I know boys generally get around to working on fine motor skills a little later than girls. I'm just curious.

Cherryblossoms07

DS has been coloring for a few months now. It doesn't hold his attention very long, but he will color while his sister does. He loves mimicking her.

jenb_99

Yeah, I know it's normal. I do wonder when it'll click, though. I also think the fact that he's home with me is a big factor, since he doesn't have any older siblings or daycare friends to copy.

kayetbug

DS is almost 3 and will now grab a pen and scribble but still isn't into coloring.  He would rather fill and dump them in his dump truck 100 times. 

blu-eyedwife

jenb_99 said:

Yeah, I know it's normal. I do wonder when it'll click, though. I also think the fact that he's home with me is a big factor, since he doesn't have any older siblings or daycare friends to copy.

I think this does play a role, although I don't know how big.  My son has been "coloring" since around 11 months because they do it in daycare.  With markers, dot markers, paint cubes (they put paint in ice cube trays with clothes pins and the kids would hold the clothes pins and draw with them), crayons, chalk, etc.  He gets the concept, even though he mostly draws lines and scribbles.  It's not like he's actually capturing an image on paper.

jenb_99

Nicb13 said:

jenb_99 said:

Yeah, I know it's normal. I do wonder when it'll click, though. I also think the fact that he's home with me is a big factor, since he doesn't have any older siblings or daycare friends to copy.

This is a good point and something to consider. He will learn a ton from you but I think that being around other kids at some point, even play dates could be useful and even fun for him. Do you have a Gymboree or anything else he could join to have some interaction with other kids? I think you will play a huge role in his learning and it's great that he has so much of your attention but IMO kids need other kids around sometimes.

He spends a couple of hours a week in the church nursery and we visit a lot of family and friends during the week, so he gets quite a bit of play time, just not necessarily activities that are specifically geared to his age group. I'm okay with that. Our pedi says a lot of time with other kids isn't important till around age 3-4 when play becomes interactive rather than parallel. I agree with her.

I was just curious about coloring as an activity, not as a developmental milestone. I promise.

Irishsapphire

My daughter does not get it yet with coloring.  Everything right now is something to chew. 

My 3 year old son likes to color.  He just does not understand coloring outside the lines or not coloring on things that are not supposed to be colored on.   We went to Nordstrom Cafe, and they gave him crayons.  And I was watching my daughter.  And then I got up.  He had colored on the table, on the chair, and under the table.  And while I was looking at it, my daughter reached over and knocked over her brother's milk.  Luckily, they were nice about it. 

badbridey

It looks like we are in the minority, but my DD LOVES to color.  Besides bubbles and buckles, coloring is one of her favorite activities.  We started by taping a large piece of butcher paper to the ground and letting her go crazy.  She does also love taking her crayons out of/putting them back in their container too though.

Babybear70

My little one tries to eat the crayons right now, but sometimes he will color on the paper. But he has taken a liking to putting stickers on paper and windows. Helps with their dexterity and fine motor skills.

Nel11

Haha, I can't wait until DD is older and we can get more into crafts.  She is almost 18 months, and does like to color (and chalk, etc), and definitely gets it, however she just can't quite resist the urge to chow down on the crayon.  She knows not to do it, but she is still so mouthy it's just inevitable.