Next step up from paint dabbers

[drspouse]

DS is 8 and has dyspraxia but loves painting. He is allowed to get the paint dabbers out on his own but not the brushes and poster paint. What's a good next step that actually looks and feels like painting, but isn't too messy?

We have been using paint pens, my DD’s have dyspraxia and ASD so I’m always trying to find less messy alternatives. Dd2 has been painting pebbles with the paint pens, the ones with have are acrylic paint but I think you can get water colour ones too.

Which ones do you have? I think he'd like something with good coverage like the dabbers.

Solid paint in a pallette are no where near as messy as the poster paints.

these we live not far from a pebbly beach so we occasionally go and pinch a few pebbles and she loves painting them, she’s only allowed to paint them at the table downstairs but so far they haven’t been messy.

Have you tried paint sticks? We love ours, good coverage on paper but very little mess.

Paint station

www.amazon.co.uk/s?hvlocphy=1006626&hvnetw=g&hvadid=259016136165&k=paint-station&gclid=Cj0KCQiAh4j-BRCsARIsAGeV12DphGRS1nsYG8SbH1mua765eZNxhDwu0tzR18hySjcMTT9qIgd1BEAaAgTrEALw_wcB&ref=pd_sl_4fzhd4jdyi_e&hydadcr=15320_1771478&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-338937358522&adgrpid=53492191175&hvrand=6262363746521391581

The paint sticks look very similar to the dabbers but the paint station looks good though I might try and find a more grown up looking one. He'll need colour coded brushes to prevent every pan from becoming brown though!
Love he's more into covering an A3 sheet than a pebble so I think he'd find small pens really frustrating!

Actually I think what he needs is something between watercolours and paint station (but easier to use than grown up watercolours) or something between paint sticks and acrylic paint pens. Aargh!

We found the shallow pallets they tend to use in school best, being so shallow they were much less likely to be knocked over than on of the alleged non spill pots.

this sort of thing

With a few bog standard bottles of premixed paint and brushes. Ok, it was a disaster letting DS loose with the bottles, but he was fine with me filling one tray and he could use another for mixing his colours. Pot of water and some kitchen roll to clean the brushes, he got the hang of it pretty quickly.

At the moment he can grab the dabbers on his own, so I think we want something he can do without waiting for us to put something down and come and help.

www.amazon.co.uk/TBC-Best-Crafts-Squeezable-Washable/dp/B07PQGCB6J/ref=mp_s_a_1_32_sspa?dchild=1&psc=1&keywords=painting+sets+for+children&sprefix=painting+&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyU1NVWEk5RFA5SUhUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTA3OTg0MThDV0lETTRXMEtBTCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTk4OTcxMk1OS1BFMVRLN0NSMSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9idGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1606585489&sr=8-32-spons

Those are more or less what the dabbers are - I'm looking for something a bit more grown up.

Something like this (broad brush) but filled.
www.cultpens.com/i/q/PN00396/pentel-aquash-waterbrush?gclid=Cj0KCQiAh4j-BRCsARIsAGeV12AogBHBZhA_FTtCJdGiV0SxurCCjGwPMkf_dffTTHthusxa2pNBnegaAvLZEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds