My 6 year old daughter seems to be obsessed with drawing. She probably draws about 15 or more pictures a day when we are home all day. They are usually pics of a combination of people in our family, or fairies, flowers etc... I wouldn't think anything of it but she was exhibiting some OCD type symptoms last year so I was just wondering if this constant drawing is normal. I told her once "ok no more drawing for today" because we were low on paper and she literally started crying. Does anyone else's child this age draw this frequently?
I think that's awesome! Don't discourage her!
My kids get obsessed with things and then it eventually passes. She just sounds like she is interested in drawing. If she draws a a picture then rips it up cuz it's not perfect, then draws it again, then rips it up and draws it again.... then I would be worried. She sounds normal.
If this is what she likes to do it's great!! She is using her creativity and not zoned out behind some video game. At that age for my daughter it was dance and figure skating.
My daughter is like this, lol. We got her a large markerboard, it saves paper :)
My 7 year old son is just like this. He even takes paper and pencil with him in the car. I wouldn't worry.
Does your daughter have OCD symptoms about anything else right now? If she does, you might talk with her doctor.
But this may also be a symptom of a love for drawing! You may have a genuine artist in your family. If this is going to become a real means of communication for her, encourage it. Save your used printer paper and let her draw on the clean back sides.
I'd personally encourage it... who knows, maybe you have the new huge artist on your hands!!
My daughter has high anxiety and during particularly stressful times (which includes normal growth/development spurts) she engages in some OCD behaviors. I remember her doing EXACTLY what you are describing at that age! She drew constantly, and it was usually pictures of family members, pets and friends, sometimes "scenes" of places she had been or would like to go.
Try to let her draw as much as possible, I think it's a healthy release for whatever's going on in her life. Make sure she uses BOTH sides of the paper so her supply lasts longer. Also if you or anyone else you know works in an office see if you can get your hands on any paper they may toss/recycle (like discontinued letterhead.)
My daughter would draw and craft all day everyday if I let her. She loves art. I've watched her at school during the kids art time and she will whip out 10 or more pictures in the time other kids do between 1 to 3 and her's are soooo much more detailed and, well, better. I wouldn't worry about it or tell her she can't continue drawing. Maybe have her add to pictures she has already drawn or add more colors. Perhaps even get her to paint over top of them and explain artists always keep adding to their existing pictures.
I ALWAYS had a huge tablet of art paper for my kids to draw on. It's so good for them, whether you think it's obsessive or not, I'd let her draw on.... it means something to her development. My fridge and walls were plastered with drawings when my kids were in that stage. She feels secure and accomplished while drawing. I even got a huge roll of butcher paper from my butcher one year, it lasted for a couple of years... I suggest you get yourself a roll :)
Every artist I've ever met!
Instead of loose leaf paper... get her a sketch book she can carry around with her (I'd suggest a "smaller" one The compusion is to draw what yo see or draw what's in your mind before you forget it, or before the scene changes. Whatever size the paper is dictates how big the image is. Something 6x4 ish will take a LOT less time than 9x11). Enroll her into some art/drawing classes.
With artists... whether it's visual (like drawing, photography, painting), music, written (stories), performace (acting, comedy)... those things take up space in your brain, and are coupled (frustratingly) with a fear of forgetting them. So on the one hand you want the space they're taking up, and on the other hand you don't want to forget them... so you get them down.
Another 'time saver' (in addition to a smaller notebook) is a SINGLE color. If you live near an art store a brown paper (or red, or grey, or whatever) color paper book coupled with a white pencil leads to some lovely results. Or there's the easy to come by white paper and grey pencil. TRY to stick to no more than 2 colors (white and charcoal gets used for a reason!)
Most kids draw (lol...although my son is NOT one of them)... very few are born artists.
My mum is a 'saver' as is hers. I have something like 200 sketchbooks filled cover to cover JUST from highschool and middle school (the elementary ones are in a big clothing box, and have not been counted). HER mum had hundreds of sketchbooks from MY mum (and ditto from one of my uncles who became an astrophysicist, and one of my aunts who became an engineer).
So the bicolor and sketchbook tricks aren't ones I use with MY son, but rather what was used with me, my mum, and others.
THIRD TRICK:
________ THEN sketchbook!
As in: Seatbelt THEN sketchbook, eat your dinner first THEN sketchbook, pick up your room first THEN sketchbook. Always have the book as the prize for other things that need to happen first. Grind it in; daily living, THEN sketchbook. Remind her in the car. "Okay, when we get home; you need to go to the bathroom, wash your hands, homework, THEN sketchbook. What's the order?" AND HAVE HER REPEAT IT BACK to you.
Ha! Our daughter has always been this way and now she is a Senior in College as a Studio Arts Major, it will be one of her degrees. In High School she was in a Fine Arts Program for Graphic Arts.
And yes, she drew as long as she could every day. Fairies, dragons and moving dancing bunnies. She practiced these designs over and over, covering pages and pages of paper. We always had pads of drawing paper, she had an easel. A tool box full of paints, a drawer full of pencils.
We gave them as gifts, we had t-shirts printed with her art work, I made stationary for her with her artwork on the front.
Our daughter is also a Psychology major and has realized she does have some OCD traits, but they do not interfere with her everyday life.
She has to touch textures (but lightly) and then can move on.. And she has to have her hands clean or sanitized the moment she is finished with a project or has shaken hands or touched something, She is pretty subtle about it,.
Embrace it. Our daughter had a great focus, patience and determination. It has gotten her very far indeed.
Like Laurie said..as another Mom of an Arts student (mine is a senior in high school attending an Arts based high school..small local one with a great rep), let her draw!
As another said, get her some sketch books. Find an art store with good prices or Micheals and use the regular 40% off coupons. Make sure she has a bag SHE can carry (think large purse or small back pack), with her chosen medium..colored pencils, markers or simply some drawin pencils, big art erasers, etc....
My daughter always drew..the same things you describe, and she wrote stories too. Her "real" talent emerged about age 10-11. Now she attends an Arts High School, and will go to an Art College next year! Her teachers say she has a great future ahead of her. Her hope is to be an illustrator and work in graphic design as well.
I have a boy who loves to draw all day. When we ran out of paper, he got "creative" and started using write and wipe pens on wipeable surfaces like bathroom walls, the side of laminated furniture and refrigerators! So I didn't know for a long time until I caught him before he had a chance to "erase". :)
He is a fantastic artist for his age (5). Very good detail and imagination. It gets better weekly too. I have never had him start to cry when we've run out of paper or had to put things away, but he often can spend at least a couple of hours drawing at a time. He likes it as much as his Legos which he also spends many hours playing.
I also don't know if this is a form of OCD, but so what if it is? There are some OCD symptoms that are "destructive" to the person and others. I do not consider drawing destructive. And if it calms a child, enhances creativity, is an outlet for energy why not?
You more than likely have a budding artist on your hands. I wouldn't stop this, but foster it. If money for paper is an issue consider the following options:
Write and wipe boards
Chalk boards and chalk
Magnetic drawing boards
I have a friend who bought chalk board paint from a hardware store and she painted a portion of her child's bedroom wall with it and her daughter and her friends can draw on the walls as they please. (There's magnetic paint too-- so if you want write and wipe and magnets instead you can do that).
my daughter could spend the entire day being creative whether it is drawing or coloring or painting. We even went on a cruise and when she went to the youth center she was on the computer the ENTIRE time creating her own fairies. She made 25! They were all different and had their own names. If it is something she is good at she probably wants to do it more. Help her establish her own boundaries and at least do some other activities too. Either how much time she gets to do Art in a day or how many pieces max she gets to create. i know in school kids often do not get to do much art so maybe she really wants to take advantage of the time afterward.
Ask friends and family to bring home the misprinted paper from work, we have a recycling bin and I bet about 50% are printed on one side only. Otherwise get a white board and buy her a cheap camera for christmas and make the picture file into a screen saver on your computer. That way you do not have to hold onto mountains of paper and she can see you enjoy her art every day on the computer screen saver.
Finally, OCD is only a problem if it interferes with her life, for instance if she is later for school because she keeps drawing, etc. I notice that my youngest used to kiss certain dolls good night in a specific order, now she taps a line of key chain dolls on the head before she goes to bed. However it has never stopped her from doing what she needs to do and be on time. My oldest had a phase where she used hand sanitizer a lot, way more than necessary, but now she does not use it at all unless we are somewhere where there is no water. I think many kids goes through phases, and unless it interferes with her or your life, I would let her. And keep all those pictures of her art, who knows, some day they may be worth lots of money!
My brother was like this, and still is. My mother encouraged and supported him and now he is a very successful tattooist.
My cousin used to do that.
My late Dad used to do that.
ALL... highly intelligent and creative and talented, and successful, people.
I also used to do that.
I also later majored in fine arts and other things.
My daughter, has gone through spurts of that too.
You should 'let' your daughter do that.
Do not stop or hinder her proclivities in this case, because there is no harm in it.
Just recycle paper. Teach her how to use the other side of the paper.
That is what my parents did with me... and what I do with my kids.
We also have a friend that brings my kids, her non-essential office paper that was already printed on. And my kids just draw on the bare side of the paper.
Its fine.
Just get your daughter more paper or she can draw on something else.
Maybe enroll her in art classes.
She has a real interest here.... and talent.
Don't just attribute things to OCD or disregard it because of that. Do not disregard things about her that she does, JUST because of OCD.
Otherwise, real neat gems and talents in her, will be disregarded too.
See her... as her.
Do not see her... as "OCD."
Has she actually been formally diagnosed that she is OCD?
If not, then don't assume she is.
Because, developmentally per age stage and age juncture, many kids do go through periods of high organization tendencies or habits or sequencing. And this is, normal.
Encourage your daughter.
Do not teach her to doubt herself... because of how outsiders judge her.
Please, do not teach your child, that drawing is "bad" nor that she has to cry about it.
That's a GOOD thing!!! Please don't stop this very healthy habit! You have an artist on your hands! (And don't worry that she'll grow up to be a starving artist -- you will be sad when she outgrows it as a teen, which is what will likely happen.)