Friday, March 07, 2008

Mommy for Messy

Someone is working real hard on rolling over. He's not quite there yet, but I think he'll do it soon. Halen was 3 months when he first rolled over. Liam will be 3 months old tomorrow! He's an old man!!!



On a completely other note, I've got a little mommy rant. I'll admit it, Halen watches some tv, some days more than others, some days not at all (I'm sure some mommies could rant about tv watching, so I'm not saying I'm perfect). It just sort of became habit during the rainy season and Liam's newborn stage. I try to watch with him some and interact with him, getting up and dancing when the silly characters tell the kids to get up and dance or jump or whatever. The rant is about the commercials for all the mess free art products. As a mommy and as an artist, I object. Where's the lesson in mess free art? As far as art goes, learning the colors and how to blend them won't ever happen with pre-rainbowed paper that shows up when your single water-filled pen goes over the paper. Learning to control their little hands and fine tune their motor skills won't happen as easily if they can scribble all over the paper and all around it too. It just seems like another way to get your kids distracted doing something that parents don't have to be involved in. I love drawing with Halen. It didn't take long for him to know where he could draw and to stay on the paper. Now, he can even fine tune his skills and draw things like triangles. Sure, every once in awhile I have to clean up a little mark here or there, but big deal. I'm involved in his art making and I like him to get a little dirty. My home may not be spotless (some could say it's even dirty), and tripping on toys is a major hazard in my home, but we're having fun.

3 comments:

Mama Kim said...

i totally agree.. i was just watching the paint commercial today thinking the same thing, i bought presley real paint and am excited for her to use it.. she loves painting and she hates getting messy, shes learned how to keep it off her hands or the table.. parents are getting lazy!

and i definatly understand about the tv.. ive been letting presley watch more than i like and its because im so tired from running around all day with the kids.. its hard once the 2nd one comes along.. when im breastfeeding or trying to get ian to sleep i need presley to be entertained on her own.. stupid tv.

Kelly said...

The only thing mess-free art is good for is air travel. I totally agree with you. But you have to love those markers on the airplane.

Christy said...

I agree the mess-free art would be good for public travel. The commercials make me mad because the kids are scribbling all over carpet, the walls, and themselves. I imagine there are still chemicals in those markers that might not be good for young children's skin. As we all know, many companies aren't too concerned about making toxic toys, as long as they're making money!