Home

About Homedaddy

Archives

Subscribe

Tell A Newspaper

Contact

Music

Publisher's Area

Yes, But Is It Art

All sources of parenting advice will tell you to foster your child's creativity, which is about as helpful as being told to think good thoughts. Young children are naturally creative; the real trick is to let them express it without becoming a danger to themselves and to society at large.

Of all the visual media, Emma prefers paint for its bright colors, its ability to quickly fill large areas, and its unsurpassed mess potential. Crayons are OK, but how much trouble can you make with crayons? After all, a parent could actually leave a two-year-old alone in a room with crayons, so how exciting could they be?

I thought I had our painting routine under control the other day: newspaper on the floor, lots of spare paper on hand, and funky used clothing that I would just as soon burn as wash. I gave Emma an empty egg carton as a palette, using a teaspoon to dispense extra paint as needed.

My big mistake was to leave the spoon sitting in the egg carton. Paint, paper, eggs, spoon ð the subtle shift in emphasis from art to food did not go unnoticed. A spoon with paint on it! How funny! Emma picked it up and pantomimed taking a bite, watching me me to gauge the reaction. Predictably, my reaction was to say "No! No eating paint." Spoken like a true wordsmith. I admit, she wasn't actually eating the paint, she was only pretending to eat it, but as far as I was concerned, it was just like the airport security checkpoint where they post signs warning you that it is illegal even to crack jokes.

Emma made another move toward her mouth with the spoon, watching me closely. I countered with a nifty little piece of body English meant to convey the complex notion of "Don't make me come over there," but I only succeeded in making the concept of eating paint more attractive. The spoon shot into her mouth.

Of course it was non-toxic paint, but it was time for swift intervention nonetheless. I wrestled the spoon from her hand and carried her into another room. I tried to defuse her mounting panic by calmly explaining that she was not in trouble, but that we had to talk about something. I even told her that she could keep painting when we were done talking, but it was no use. Kids know when they are getting a lecture no matter how you dress it up, and they tend to tune it out. I had to get pretty serious with my message: No ð eating ð paint ð EVER!.

After this little chat, Emma did not want to resume painting, which made me feel the collective guilt from all those parenting articles warning me not to stifle my child's creative spirit. When I brought home some new paints a few days later, I was relieved when she went at it with the old gusto, and even more so when she didn't call for her spoon. .

send this column to a friend!
have a comment about this column?

© Todd Pinsky 1998-2002. All rights reserved.