My 4 year old boy is not interested in colouring. Should I be worried? (seriously)

[gaelicsheep]

He also very rarely does representational drawing or painting. Just scribbles and makes a mess really, although he has great fun doing it. He's 4.3 .

He is doing so well in other areas that I'm quite surprised and I'm wondering why this might be. His language skills are excellent, he can remember all the characters and storylines of all his books, recite long sections of poems, remember loads of songs, etc. etc. He also has a terrific imagination and will role play with himself, or friends, for ages.

He also isn't showing any interest in copying or tracing letters and numbers. They are doing nothing of this in his so-called pre-school so it's just me trying to have a go with him at home. Again his fine motor skills are excellent in other areas, so I'm puzzled.

Thoughts anyone? Is this a key indicator for development or not?

(This may be the first of several posts in this topic)

This was my DD at the same age. She could barely draw a face, let alone anything more complex and could not "colour in the lines" at all. Her fine motor skills were otherwise very good (has used a pincer grip from a very early age and held her pen "properly" from the start). However, she does have some delays in her gross motor skills and I now understand that this can have an impact on writing and drawing ability. She also had no interest in writing at this stage. Her nursery school were hugely unsupportive, merely pointing out the fact that she was struggling. I was starting to get very concerned about how she would cope with school at the time.

The good news is that she has made great progress in the last 5 months (she's almost 4.8), and now happily draws her people with bodies, arms and legs, and has even graduated on to houses with doors and windows. She is 5 weeks into Reception and can now independantly write her name, form all letters and have a good bash at writing all her numbers too. School have been supporting her with her gross motor skills through extra movement sessions at lunchtimes, so I'm sure that this has made a difference. She's probably still behind her peers, but I'm now a lot more confident that she'll catch up in time.

I think it would be easier for me if they were even "attempting" these things at the school nursery. Then I'd get an idea whether it's just the way he is at home - mummy wants me to do it, BORING - or whether he actually can't do it. But they have such low expectations I have no way of knowing how he compares with others his age. It's very frustrating!

What were the delays in her gross motor skills? DS was pretty average with walking, but took some time to learn to jump I seem to recall. Is that the kind of thing you mean?

He sounds like a bright boy who has no interest in drawing to me.

I don't think I would be worried by a child who has no interest in colouring in, as long as other areas were causing no concern.

Ds is exactly the same, its just his personality imo. He is 3y9m.

DD didn't crawl until she was 15 months and then didn't walk independantly until she was 21 months, so was was pretty late for both. Since then, she has struggled with all aspects of movement - climbing and jumping were way behind her peers, and she can only just about hop now. Apparently it's to do with the ability to use the arms to balance ("aeroplane arms" whilst walking along a line as an example) - if they can't or don't do the "big" circuling movements, the brain doesn't properly learn to do the same movements in minutae, which is basically how they learn to draw shapes and eventually write.

DD's nursery was pretty similar - her key worker happily pointed out that she couldn't write her name, but when I pointed out in her final feedback session that she would attempt to if she could trace or copy it, she said that they "weren't allowed" to teach it that way. Not entirely sure how they expected her to learn to write then - maybe she was supposed to do it via osmosis?!?

I used to be a teacher, but not nursery or reception.

He might get interested in writing when he can see the point of it - can you get him to role play writing? Shopping lists, doctors prescriptions, instructions for fixing the space rocket? Obviously just scribbling but a good way of getting him interested in the process. You could model it.

Copying letters isn't really that much fun if you think about it. They probably won't be getting him to do this at preschool unless he wants to, but they should be offering opportunities to do the sort of thing I suggest above.

Colouring in stunts artistic development IMO.

Ditto tracing and copying.

Let him scribble, it's a far more productive exercise in the long run and means he will enjoy drawing later.

When he's ready (not before!) you could try the Anti colouring book, it has some really good creative yet structured drawing activities.

Am an art teacher, BTW.

My DD is like this she's 3.4 and has absolutely no interest in colouring or drawing.

She DOES like painting but tends to just paint the whole page one colour - red usually, or do hand prints - also red. We go through lots of red paint :)

All her friends of a similar age spend ages colouring in pictures beautifully and some can write their name.

DD can't even hold a pen properly - she knows how she should do it as I've shown her, but she just prefers to hold it in her fist.

She seems a bright kid in other respects. I guess all children are different and have different talents.

Actually that's a really good point HumphreyCobbler. DS has always been more interested in numbers than letters, counting rather than reading (he can count to 50 with barely any help), and I think that this is because he can see a real-life application. Letters and letter sounds - and writing numbers as opposed to counting - are a bit more abstract somehow, and you're right I don't think he can see the point.

I also think he has confidence issues - I do hope he isn't going to be a perfectionist like me! I am pretty certain that he is recognising words - he must be, he's excellent at recognising patterns in every other context - but he will not admit it. When I try to encourage him he just shakes his head and says "I'm not clever at reading".

I suppose what I'm really wondering (possibly another thread) is whether he's actually getting frustrated at not being challenged enough. He seems very aware that he can't do things and seems to think he should be able to - that isn't coming from me honestly! His behaviour recently has been quite appalling and I do wonder if it's linked. Or perhaps that's just me being biased because he's my PFB (I probably won't care so much with DD!).

But your suggestion has given me another angle to try so thanks very much.

TattyCatty - that is interesting because I'd say DS was the same when it came to jumping, climbing and hopping. But he can make a good attempt at drawing shapes, for example, so perhaps it is just his personality?

TethHearseEnd - another good point! I had wondered whether he is a creative genious in the making that doesn't like being hampered by boundaries!

Ahem, genius even.

Part of this is that my mum keeps boasting how I was reading the newspaper at the age of 3 and taught myself capital letters. Feels like poor DS has a lot to live up to in her eyes. I honestly am not pressurising him though - gentle encouragement, no more.

My 4.7 yr old DS doesn't see the point in colouring with crayons, pens or pencils either. BUT give him a paint brush and water colours and a colouring book and he will have a good stab at staying inside lines.

He won't "draw" pictures but will write his name and lists and birthday greetings ( copys them) and numbers .

He is just like his father who has a very word based imagination/memory not a visual one.

DS1 is 4.5 and exactly the same. He actually resembles that old Fast Show character - it's black, black all black.

He gets very frustrated if I try to encourage him to draw or write.

However, I have had more success with applied stuff. Those puzzle books and magazines where you have to draw a line between objects, follow the maze, draw circles around answers.

He will do all of these happily. He just doesn't want to draw a picture

I really wouldn't worry-they are all different. DS2 was always drawing from a young age, DS1 didn't and still doesn't, unless he has to. DS1 has a scientific mind-DS2 is artistic.
DS1 once paid DS2 to do his art homework! DS1 got an A and DS2 said that he would have charged more if he had known! (I didn't know about this until after the event)

Good on them!

I think I'll just be a lot happier when DS starts school. There is just so much emphasis on painting, drawing, junk modelling etc. at nursery. I think DS is really bored by it, as he seems to spend most of his time playing "house" and "mummies and daddies" with three girls!

And I reckon once DS is in the realms of science experiments, nature walks, etc. he'll be a lot more settled as well.

Sorry, this has morphed out from my original question into what is, I guess, my main area of concern.

As I said, he's the PFB.

our nursery get the kids to 'write' in sand, foam, mud, paint etc. DS comes out FILTHY! I don't think they teach them letters as yet, it's pretty much circles, squares, zigzags etc which is actually all the shapes you use for letters isn't it. They do have plenty of crayons, paper for the kids that are happy to mark make in that way. When dd was at the same nursery some years previously they were encouraging them to write their name from the get go and the difference in ability/willingness was huge. I was never comfortable with that to be honest. dd was always happy to give it a go but there were other kids who didn't want to and the whole exercise could easily leave a child already thinking they were no good at something at barely 4! I'm much happier that they have stopped this formal approach, especially as ds is on the drag with his gross motor and needs to build up his large muscle groups before even thinking about sitting and writing. As I said dd was sort of able to write at start of nursery but her writing is certainly no better than the average for her age now so see that there's no rush. I would get your ds to make marks in a tray of shaving foam with a stick, anything like that really, anything that isn't sitting at a table with paper and pens

You know, I don't think it would have occurred to me except that all those god forsaken waste of money magazines have those kinds of "worthy" activities, and I felt like DS should want to do them. Perhaps he's just got more interesting things to do/think about.

Like:

Mummy, how do mans make biscuits?
Mummy, how do mans make apples?
Mummy, how do mans make combine harvesters?
Mummy, why hasn't [insert girl's name] got a willy?

you get the picture!

My DS always hated drawing at that age. It was a rare day when he actually brought a picture home from preschool - the DDs on the other hand draw and paint constantly. He wasn't much into crafts or creative stuff either - far more into the imaginative play side of things.

I just figured it was a "boy thing".

Yes that's the same as mine, except he does seem to like pom poms.

"Mummy, how do mans make biscuits" etc.

LOL, love the mans. I hope you're taking this opportunity to explain the tacit society wide practice of female subordination and exploitation, over his morning bowl of cocopops of course.

Your ds sounds very like my dd1 gaelicsheep She has a very vivid imagination, keeps herself occupied all day with games she makes up herself, excellent language skills but no interest what so ever in colouring between the lines or drawing pictures.

She started pre-school this Sept. She is 4.5 now. Since she started school she has begun to attempt a few recognisable pictures.
For example she does a person now which is a circle with eyes and nose placed radomly and 4 sticks protruding at odd angles for arms and legs.

I am a SAHM and I always gave her time every day for art. She much prefers painting freestyle to any colouring in or drawing and would cover sheets and sheets in loads of paint. She is very interested in what colours make other colours and is always mixing and blending.

It is only in the last few weeks that she is trying out the activities in old Peppa magazines we have lying around.

I think it is just an interesting insight into how different each child is, with their own personality and likes and dislikes.

I just let her at it to be honest but not sure what it will be like when she has to learn to write. I can see her objecting.

My DS2 is exactly the same. But he has poor fine motor skills. He can ride a bike without stabilisers, he can jump, hop, climb, skip etc but he just doesn't enjoy writing or drawing. To be honest I enjoy writing but can not draw and have always hated doing it. However, my ds2's pre school teacher assured me that at school for the first term they concentrate alot more on social skills i.e sitting where asked, dressing themselves, putting on their shoes, etc. Once confidence is built in theses areas (generally) they find that children have a willingness to succeed.

I hope it works but don't worry. The fact that your concerned means that your wanting to support your dd which in turn means she'll get through this stage.