How old was your toddler when they started drawing/painting 'things' rather than scribbles?

[mistressploppy]

Just curious really. DS is 22mo and just slashes at the paper, often without even looking at it! I'm really looking forward to doing some 'proper' pictures, although I am getting quite fond of my abstract art collection

Around 2, maybe 2.1, she started doing faces - big circle, eyes, smiley mouth. At 2.5 she does whole pictures; usually still a face, but she'll add a mane if it's a lion, a sun in the corner, that sort of thing. They're not very recognisable unless you know what they're supposed to be.

my oldest was same as tortoise said but ds2 20 months is not even v interested in scribbling that much so i think may be later. it can depend a lot i think

My DD1 is 3.0 and is still doing scribbles. With a lot of little encouragement she could do a round circle for a face and a couple of eyes, but developmentally she's really just in the scribbles stage.

Huge variation then, as with everything damnit

About four.

Pippi thank you so much, mine is 4 soon and will attempt a circle with two dots if pushed, it looks nothing like a bloody face. He hates drawing and painting too. 2.1?? Bloody hell.

My DD has always been a keen scribbler and produced a drawing that did actually look like a sun at 18 months - but I think it was a bit of a fluke! Recognisable drawings from about 3 though.

ds1 started preschool last year at 3.5 and promptly started drawing very recognisable things (a person with eyes, nose, mouth, arms, legs, ears etc. a pirate ship, a whole scene with mountains, trees, flowers, animals..). Until then he´d just scribbled, who knew he needed only the slightest bit of direction?

DD2 has just started drawing people (jelly fish stylee with facial features, and limbs sticking out) and caterpillars (little weirdo emoticon) and is a few months off turning 3.

Around 3y3m. But still does lots of scribbles. We recently had tea with an artist who insisted we must never push DD to name her drawings or draw things rather than shapes/scribbles. He insisted we shouldn't constrain her imagination (I agree).

DS started doing proper pictires from his imagination at about 4. He did pictures earlier than that with me directing him where to paint the lines, circles, dots etc, does that count?

DD drew really nice pictures at 2.5/3, they did help at preschool, she drew some animals with help from a how to draw book which made it click aboout building up a picure from basic shapes.

DS is 3.5 and hates drawing, he wont colour in, just scribbles in any colour over the pictures. If pushed (ie for a birthday card for his best friend) he will draw a smiley face, and has on occassion drawn frowning faces over dd's pictures when he is annoyed with her [shocked]

DD1 drew her first face at around 2.5, DD2 did nothing but scribble until 3.3 then sat down one day and drew a whole fairy! They are both of a similar standard now if you compare ages (iyswim) so I don't think DD1 starting earlier made any difference.

DS is 4.3 and has only recently started to attempt to draw rather than scribble (he does still enjoy making big scribbly "pictures" though, and often insists he can only scribble and won't know how to draw properly until he starts big school (which is tomorrow - hurray!!)). He can, if pushed, draw a (sort of) face, circle, 2 dots for eyes and straight line for mouth, and did amaze me a couple of weeks ago by drawing (what he described as) a bridge with an aeroplane crashed into it . Ok, so it was just a few straight lines, but I was impressed!!xx

I have DD's first recognisable face drawing from 2y2m. She rapidly progressed to faces with amazing detail - eyelashes, eyebrows, cheeks etc. However it took her a long time to move on from those faces, she didn't add bodies for at least another year. She is 4y6m now and though she doesn't LOVE drawing when the mood takes her she does draw very intricate pictures, mostly of animals, gardens and houses. I treasure them all.

DS is 23m and still at the slashing wildly at the paper stage, he does tell me what he is drawing though, so it seems the attention is there.

Luckily they both have had great pen grips from almost the first time they picked up a pencil. I think that really helps.

Ds is 3years 3 months old and he draws squiggles. He thinks they look amazing so who am I to tell him differently

DD is 2.8yrs and has just started drawing vaguely recognisable things - this is much earlier than her older brother who was well over 3 I think. DD will draw a circle/oval, add a couple of 'legs' and some dots for eyes and pronounce it a particular person or animal.

I think she's earlier than DS as she's got used to sitting with DS while he draws, and wants to do what he does.

I should say that in my parenting group of 2.5 - 3yos, a lot of the children are still scribbling, including the ones approaching three. I do think there's a lot of variation, and DD's probably at the 'advanced' end. Her Dad's artistic, I'm certainly not, but I think it's just inclination. She's not obviously advanced in any other way, bless her.

My dd is 23 months, stabs at the paper with a pen and calls them eyes. But the rest is scribbles. She loves it though, along with glitter, glitter glue etc.
She also loves it when I draw along side her or add to her drawing.

My daughter could draw faces with eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, necks etc. at 19 months. My son is 3 and cannot draw a circle. I think it depends on how interested they are in it and also how much opportunity they have had to draw.

4

dS1 drew a perfect bicycle at around 3. I was completely blown away by it and convinced that he had a special talent. He then refused to do anything but scribbles bar the odd flash of inspiration: a dragon, a helicopter but with complete disinterest. He is nearly 5 now and has only just moved on from faces. He drew a great lion yesterday, but is more interested in writing numbers and patterns. DS2 is 2.4 and does nothing but scribbles, mainly on the wall.

My nephew started drawing buses and ambulances very early (IMO) at about 2yo,while DS was still scribbling and slashing at the paper at 2.7yo.

DS is now 3.9 and drawing all sorts of faces, monsters, creatures etc (no houses or vehicles yet) and Nephew is still drawing the same cars/fire trucks etc that he always has.

My point is that it's all perfectly normal. DS will no doubt lose interest at some point and stop drawing again for a while, Nephew will start doing the random heads with big eyes and arms and legs where ears should be

If there is an important point to be made though - don't push them. Kids generally don't need guiding on these things, just let them have access to paper/crayons/blackboard/chalk etc and they will do it in their own time.

DS1 is just 3, and he has only just started drawing anything that is supposed to be something, other than just scribbles.