How can I get ds (3.5) to draw/ 'write' - he seems to have decided he's 'not good at it' and doesn't want to at all?

[averyboringname]

Ds is 3.7 and somehow has decided he thinks he isn't very good at drawing (his words) or 'writing' and now refuses to do it at home (he will a bit at nursery from what I can glean).

The only explanations I can think of are that:

1. The MIL once or twice has really gone on at him when he was drawing to hold his pencil properly when imho she should have just been easy going and left him to it as this was about 6 or 9 months ago and he was too young to be nagged like that

and/ or 2. he seems to be a mini perfectionist and doesn't like the idea of doing something if he isn't sure he's any good (I do hope this hasn't come from anything we've said or done )

He is a very bright little boy (e.g. can already read simple words and short sentences - led by him not pushy parenting by us) but literally refuses to do any drawing.

I'm not fussed about him writing as there's time for that but I wish he'd do drawing as it's fun!

By the way, he's not that sort of boy who can't concentrate or sit still so it's not that.

Anyone had similar?

My ds is exactly the same and always has been. I bought lots of lovely colouring books and pens and crayons (I love colouring and was hoping we would while away the hours colouring and drawing!!!!! Instead I have to stand about in the snow kicking a ball, or being a train etc!!!!!) He says exactly the same thing, that he's not very good at it, and we haven't got a naggy mil. Don't even worry about it. I just accept that his strengths lie elsewhere. He's a mad outdoorsy boy, loves his dad's tools and mucking about in the garden, and incidentally he will paint on the yard with water and a paint brush. He'll write when he's ready, try not to worry about it.

Hi - We've got one like this and my advice is to just leave him. Don't push it at all, don't comment on how you'd love him to do a drawing - it won't work!

Ds1 is a perfectionist and used to get very frustrated when he couldn't make things look how he wanted. He didn't draw at all until a few months ago - he's 7 now - and now has started to do quite detailed drawings of doctor who! He's still not entirely happy with them (he can't get the tardis to look 3-D ) but every now and then he has a go.

We still don't say too much and just let him do stuff he wants to - mainly play football...

But it's lovely to see that as he gets older, he will have a go and when he's ready he'll enjoy doing stuff like that.

my ds is the same age as yours, is far from a perfectionist but will NOT do colouring because he says he's not good at it. He has access to paints/crayons etc and occasionally will get them out but has a short attention span for it, and really all he wants to do is cover a piece of paper with paint and that's it.
He has started asking us to write words like mummy and daddy and likes to talk through what the letters are. he will scribble on paper/granny's whiteboard (she is a private tutor) and the shapes that he scribbles he will tell us are numbers, but he hasn't done this for a while. I was at one of the girls at his nursery who is the same age when her mum told me she had written all her own christmas cards (albeit three a night before she'd had enough)......

I trust ds granny's judgement on this (early years and development is her specialty) and she says that he's bright and inquisitive, that his way of finding out about the world is through action and asking questions ([grin.....LOTS of questions)and by observing those around him. He is learning things at his own pace and it means he takes to things much quicker as a result.