Massive parenting fail from me just now

[FreakoidOrganisoid]

DD (5 1/2) brought home an AMAZING picture she'd done today, picture of a girl walking a dog, was a really really good picture and she had also cut out the girl and stuck her on the picture which is a huge achievement for dd as she has fine motor issues and can't use scissors very well. The picture really was excellent, looked like someone much older had done it [boast]

So I gushed about it, told her how good it was, how proud I was of her and told her I was going to buy a frame and put it up.

Went back in kitchen 5 mins later and she had drawn speech bubbles coming out of the girl and dog's mouths, written a list of names (her teachers, friends, mummy, daddy etc) all down one side and generally filled every spare bit of paper with doodles.

Was so disappointed. And I told her she had RUINED it

She has and it does look shit now, you can't see how good the original picture is because it's all covered in crap but I have really upset her, she went upstairs and has just brought me a note that says "sorry mummy i thought you'd like my good writting" with a picture of a cross mummy brandishing ruined picture and little girl crying

Oh dear. Sounds like a quite a clever and detailed second picture... I have no one this age - apologise? Explain that you really only meant that she'd obscured the picture? Say you love good writting and help to fill in the details of picture two? Poor you. There will be good advice soon, hopefully...

Thank you.

I've apologised and said I was disappointed because I'd loved it so much before.

She has brought me another note saying "ok but don't try to upset me next time. if mrs more let's me make my own picture again I'll try to make it simila or esaktly the same ok"

She does appear to not be talking to me at the moment...

Being me, I'd backtrack and say - well I first thought you had ruined it but I hadn't looked at it properly and it does actually look really nice. I didn't know you could write that well..... etc etc......

So, I'm really sorry about that. Gosh, I'm a silly mum sometimes. I'll make sure I look properly next time...

Lol, bless her. Reminds me of when I taught a nursery class and a little boy painted a lovely picture of a train. It was recognisable as a train, which is good going for a 3 year old, and I oohed and ahhed over it before another child asked me something. When I looked at the painting 2 minutes later he had totally covered it with black paint, so that the paper was just black with no picture at all. He told me that 'the train is in the tunnel.' To him that made sense but to me he'd ruined the picture! Being a teacher I didn't say that to him but I did think it!

Well she is at least talking to me again now

I couldn#t bring myself to tell her it was still lovely but did say the writing was also good, just that with so much on the page it was difficult to see how good it all was. Told her that less is sometimes more and she looked at me like

lol at the train in the tunnel

Oh dear.

One's darling offspring's pictures are always, always wonderful and clearly the work of a talented artist. Even if you have to enthuse about how great it is before you ask what it is meant to be.

I deduct 2 Mary Poppins points from your total mumsnet score.

lol at 'less is more!'