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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

drawing on walls in house.

55 replies

mumbar · 08/08/2010 21:54

OK I'm well aware this will come across as judgy so I'm setting this disclaimer now. I am not judging was just shocked and wondered whether its my standards that are too high?

Best friend away with hubby and dc's 5&6 and I'm house/ pet sitting.

Ds was playing upstairs and I went up to get him and was genuinly ed to see that older dd 6.7 has drawn and written all over the bedroom wall and ripped lots of the paper off. I do know the younger one 5.2yo has a habit of drawing on things as I visit often. Actually she'd drawn in her mums passport which caused problems before they left.

Now I appreciate that children experiment and some write on walls.

I would hit the roof if I caught ds doing this and would probably bin all his crayons (or at least ban them for a long period).

Is my judgy or acceptable? I would be interested to hear from parents who let their dc's do this. I don't want to ask my friend for fear of offending her when it's just general curiosity.

AND a WWYD if you then caught your dc joining in with this drawing on a visit? -hasn't happened yet but if it's accepted as OK should I let him carry on and just explain I don't want it done at my house?

OP posts:

blueshoes · 08/08/2010 23:00

makeme, sorry this is off topic, but did anyone tell you your spelling could do with some work?

makemeacupoftea · 08/08/2010 23:04

makemeacupoftea · 08/08/2010 23:17

As a practicing artist, trained play worker with 5 years experience,artist in residence on youth arts groups and mother of two, I thought it would be nice to share some insights on creativity and children.

But what the fuck do I know.
I misspelt some words.

edam · 08/08/2010 23:24

makeme love the idea of putting a frame round drawing on the walls.

Interesting point about kids drawing on walls where there's nothing else to draw on. I'm sure I had access to plenty of pencils as a child, it's just those pink walls in the bathroom were begging to be drawn on...

mamatomany · 08/08/2010 23:25

I used to doodle on the hall walls whilst on the stairs yacking away on the telephone as a teenager, it's hardly a hanging offense is it ?
People have become very precious about their houses since a coat of magnolia adds £10k to the value apparently, our house is for living in and if they want to draw on the walls in their own bedrooms who really cares.

laquitar · 08/08/2010 23:56

If it is only in one room then this means they know they cant draw everywhere and in other people's houses.
The parents have probably agreed to give them this space and only this to be creative and make it 'their own' room. Not bad idea really.

LadyCad · 09/08/2010 00:05

I'm not too bothered about wall art, really.

I've told them not to do it downstairs and they haven't (much), but they've done it a bit in their rooms.

I just can't seem to get het up about it.

ChippingIn · 09/08/2010 00:20

blueshoes Sun 08-Aug-10 23:00:07
makeme, sorry this is off topic, but did anyone tell you your spelling could do with some work?

Unless this is some 'inside joke' that I have missed, then really - do fuck off to the pedants board.

Makemeacupoftea - post away - it's not a spelling text! :) Some people need to feel big & clever.

(It was just so rude I wonder if I have stumbled into an 'in' joke and made a twat of myself... hey ho).

julybutterfly · 09/08/2010 00:24

LOL chippingin I didn't say anything because I thought it might have been an 'in' joke too. Just damn rude really isn't it

ChippingIn · 09/08/2010 00:24

I find it amazing that some people don't care?!

Both - only once each, soon understood it wasn't a good idea .

Oh and to the poster that said her DC had to repaint the wall so learnt it wasn't a good idea - no bloody chance here - they'd LOVE to do that :)

Actually, I would let older DC do it on a run up to decorating if they wanted to, but only once they were old enough to understand it was a 'one off'.

differentnameforthis · 09/08/2010 00:46

blueshoes why did you feel the need to do that? Does it really matter that makeme made some spelling errors? Really? Is it THAT important? Does your one & only post on a thread need to be a criticism of another poster, who is offering advice?

I am a stickler for correct spelling, but I can't say that I noticed it in makeme's post, and I certainly wouldn't have the audacity to point it out! She was helping, making recommendations for creative play.

Makeme Please ignore! People who have nothing better to do than correct people's spelling must have a boring life.

differentnameforthis · 09/08/2010 00:52

Opps, so annoyed at blueshoes, that I forgot to add my own opinion.

Not acceptable in this house. Use of crayons etc is restricted to the dining room table! I don't like to see scribbled on walls, so I take measures to stop it happening. Some don't mind it, and that's up to them.

My niece once drew all over my sisters hall walls. They lived in rented accom & had to redecorate after their landlord went mad at an inspection. They had to repaint the whole up & down stairs to get a colour match. My sister thought her daughter's work was art...the LL didn't! I think my sister failed to realise that, ultimately, it wasn't 'her' house!

bruffin · 09/08/2010 00:53

My DD was a nightmare drawing on walls when she was about 2, mostly all along the hall way! thankfully she grew out of it quite quickly.
She is now 12 and drives DH mad by drawing all over her hands and arms, but points out to him "that at least I'm not cutting myself"

Original poster

mumbar · 09/08/2010 07:35

Ah different good point - I have an HA flat and friend owns hers outright.

With regards to only drawing in the bedrooms - there is other drawings and their names written the odd squiggle around the house which do occasionly get added to and friend has shown some annoyance about her girls doing this. Perhaps thats I why I was genuinly shocked to see her oldests room covered in drawings and writing.

I've considered the chalk board square for ds when I do his room but then he's always been happy with paper and the white board!

I'm glad IANBU regards my shock and thankyou for all the posts with different points of view and insights as to why some may allow this.

OP posts:

gingernutlover · 09/08/2010 08:04

i would be shocked too I suppose becasue I would never "allow" dd to do this, but if they are happy then ...

mind you a few months back she drew round the flowery embossed bits on my cream sofa with black biro - I was annoyed but rather impressed with her precision (it's quite an intricate pattern). Luckily the sofa covers are machine washable.

FourArms · 09/08/2010 08:24

My two wouldn't be allowed to draw on our walls, but that's partly because our house is rented. Sure I'd feel the same if we owned it though.

As a child I can always remember being allowed to draw on walls when my mum or Auntie was decorating. It's brilliant now to see the drawings that we did 20 years ago! (My aunt decorates a lot!).

I can't see any spelling mistakes in Makemeacupoftea's post, and I usually pride myself on being quite good at spelling, so blueshoes YABVVVU.

bobbuild · 09/08/2010 08:39

Never never never has my DS written on walls/furniture, yet here we are age almost five and the day before yesterday he draws on his bedroom wall, and yesterday draws on my beautiful couch!!!!
Have gone ballistic both times but WTF?!
Am now going back to hiding the pens, crayons, etc until they're needed as I did when he was tiny even though he never even attempted to draw on walls. Luckily it pretty much came off the sofa and in bedroom it's a bit of wall that will be hidden when his new bed goes in.

spiritmum · 09/08/2010 08:55

I have three dc, my eldest never drew on walls but the other two did. Both got told off, both did it again (always in the same place), but by four they'd outgrown it.

I dimly remember reading somewhere that if children have a compulsion to draw on walls then you can find somewhere 'acceptable' for them to do it. Maybe this family have decided to confine it to the dc's rooms?

Also have to say I was the most timid child on the face of the earth who never did anything 'naughty' and yet I can remember drawing a 'jail' around a horrible cartoon duck on the wallpaper next to my bed!

GetOrfMoiLand · 09/08/2010 09:01

I don't think it is acceptable, well it wouldn't be in my house.

I would tell dd not to join in at someone else's house, even if there were drawings all over the place.

The wallpaper thing is brilliant - used to buy a cheap roll of wallpaper and pin great lengths of it on the garden wall for dd to draw on.

chipmonkey · 09/08/2010 09:12

It is not acceptable in this house but that hasn't stopped ds3 from giving it a good go a week after we had decorated. I have to hide crayons and markers away when not in use as ds4 is now showing signs of offending.

However, the main thing about my children is that I have brought them up to have good manners and I hope when they grow up they don't go around correcting other people's spelling!

CrunchyFrog · 09/08/2010 09:21

DS1 does it all the time, but I never seem to catch him at it - move something and the wall behind is adorned with his name, age and a picture.

He drew a door above my bed once, a bit freaky that was.

Anyway, consequences are a bit pointless with DS1 after the event, so I just hide the pens and try to be vigilant. And fail.

P.S, we are in rented, and I know I am very lucky - because the LL loves my kids, and loves seeing the utter chaos ramshackle lived in chic of the house - and her catch phrase is "it's my house, but it's your home." I might love her quite a lot.

belgo · 09/08/2010 09:24

My children have done this when they were younger but they are now five and six and they wouldn't do it any more, they know it is unacceptable.

We have an area painted with blackboard paint now.

roadkillbunny · 09/08/2010 10:07

My dd went through a stage of drawing on walls this time last year (when she was 4), she drew little pictures of people in places she thought I wouldn't notice, the first time she got warned that if it happened again she would loose all her craft things as she couldn't be trusted and they would only come out when I said with me sitting at the table with her, she did it again, she lost all her craft stuff, she was devistated, she loves drawing and doing craft but the loss made her think and she has never done it again. As it is in the childrens rooms my guess (I could be wrong) is that the children have never been pulled up on it so think it is okay, maybe the parents see it as too much work to follow through with punishment or maybe the room is due to be redecorated anyway so they have said to the children that is the only room they are allowed to do it in (not something I would ever let my children do as I don't like changing the rules, if there is no drawing on walls then that is the rule even if you will be painting the next day).
It is your friends house and your friends children, as long as they don't come into your house and draw on your walls it is really not something you need to worry about, if I were you and I ever found my child joining in with the 'redecoration' however I would punish my child.

emptyshell · 09/08/2010 10:13

Give them a pot of water and an old paintbrush and let them "paint" the walls and pavement outside. Dries and vanishes - job done.

My cousin was allowed to draw on walls as a kid - my mother would have killed me (we had plenty of creative things in the house that didn't involve destroying it) if I'd have done the same.

strawberrycake · 09/08/2010 10:17

My friend's sons lived in a room like this, all missing paper and COVERED in drawings. Really just looked awful, bet they'll hate it soon too. I think it encouraged general mess in the room too.

My stepson did this too though, I compromised by covered a large area of his bedroom wall in sugar paper and making that a drawing area. We were both happy.

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