Access to pens etc. ... what do you do?

[Snowstorm]

DD1 is just 4 and DD2 is almost 3 (but quite young for her age IMO) and I have all the pens etc. in a cupboard with a child-catch on it. There's a table with black paper taped on and some chalks and sponges that they can use any time (because chalk comes off them, the walls, other people etc!) but all the other stuff only comes out when they are supervised.

I'm just wondering whether I'm being a bit uptight (be kind please!) or whether most people do the same with this age group?

Isn't it funny how we worry about what total strangers think of us on mn?!

tis actually

Except Xenia, of course!!!

Ds is 14 months and loves making marks on paper with the washable pens. They are fab. Obviously he is always supervised and pens kept well out of reach when not in use but will ease up as he gets older.

My grandma said when my dad was young he used to draw on the walls all the time but she put up the cheap plain paper (cant remember what its called, backing paper or something) so he could but funny how he was never interested once he was allowed!!

Never mind felt tips, it's DS2's cravings for wax crayons that are causing the most problems here! No matter how carefully i think we have tidied up, DS1 will have left one on the floor which is then scavenged by DS2 on his speedy crawl around the house! It's a bugger to get out of between his teeth!!!( oh, and sorry should have thought it can't be doing him much good either!)

dd (nearly three now) is absolutely NOT allowed pens. (too many wallpaper incidents). but i did buy her the crayola (i think) ones that will only show up on special paper. i dont think uptight is the right word for it, but being on my own with them i sometimes dont catch her until she's "decorated" the living room walls. its damage limitation in our house (and keeping my sanity maybe). i have enough to do without replacing wallpaper all of the time!

DD2 'decorated' her chair and the white wall behind her with red crayon in the nanoseconds that I wasn't paying attention while we were at our local Pizza Express today . The staff were really, REALLY nice about it (and wouldn't let me clean it off for them) but it made me realise that I can't yet leave stuff around at home because DD2 is still too much of a mischievous little imp!