Does/did your 2.5 year old color "in the lines?"

[SummerBaby]

Last night at our Mommy & Me class, I noticed that the little girl next to us (only a month older than DD) had completely colored her project (a picture of a lamb) inside the lines. At first glance, I thought her mother did it, but then I saw her very carefully coloring the legs- everything was very neat and inside the lines. DD, on the other hand, just scribbles back and forth over the sheep, or over any coloring book picture. Is this girl just really advanced, or is DD behind?

Val
DD 2.5 years old
another summer baby coming in 2007!

[Jacksonvol]

Ha! My 3.5 yro DD still scribbles and so does just about every kid in her daycare class. I like to think she is in her "Jackson Pollack" phase. Sounds like the other little girl is really working her fine motor skills, but nothing to worry about for either child.

[geochick]

Nope. My ds turned 3 in January and still thinks outside the box. :)

[o_mom]

DS1 is 3.5 and still doesn't color in the lines. Around 3 he started making an attempt to keep on the picture, not just anywhere on the page and will kind of try and color different parts of the picture different colors, but not anywhere close to keeping in the lines. DS2 is almost 2 and just scribbles on the page.

OTOH, my niece has been coloring in the lines, very carefully, since about 2.75 yrs, but she has 3 older siblings to model for her.

I think some kids can do it at that age, but mainly because they are motivated/interested in doing it and have something to model. I would not be worried at all about it, though.

[newmomto3kids]

My 6 year old only started coloring in the lines when she went to Kindergarten and was "forced" to do it.
I have seen younger kids do it, but only rarely.

[emilyf]

Ds still doesn't color in the lines and he's 4.
Emily mom of Charlie born 11/02 and Zoe born 9/05

[inmypjs]

My 2.5 year old also scribbles and does not color in the lines. I will say that I have a friend whose toddler does stay in the lines, and according to her he learned it from the Crayola Color Wonder markers and coloring books. Apparently the Color Wonder markers actually do not write color outside of the lines in some of their coloring books! I personally think that stifles a lot of creativity, but oh well.

[tina-t]

My almost 4 yo ds still does not color within the lines. He actually get upset that he can't do it "neatly". So I just took away his coloring books and gave him a notepad with white pages in it, and just let him scibble away and create what he wants too. I just prefer to let him exercise his creativity. He'll eventually learn to color within the lines.

[Emmas Mom]

I'm so glad to see this thread cause my 3.5 year old has NO concept of coloring inside the lines & I was starting to get worried! Nice to know she's not the only one! :)

[Dcclerk]

Neither child does. In fact, I often think that DD's coloring at age 2 is more advanced that DS's coloring at age 3 1/2. Still, they rarely get much practice. I just give them some blank paper and let them go to town. I love it when they tell me what they have drawn. "That is a rocket ship that is going to dive into the ocean and crash into some sharks."

[sdbc]

DD can do it when she's asked to, but generally chooses not to. (Her DCP has asked her to try it a few times to see if she could do it).

I usually just have the easel with plain paper out. I've noticed that when DD is working on her fine motor skills, she will color tiny little spots, even on blank paper.

Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[brittone2]

Nope, but I've never modeled it, he hasn't really seen anyone else do it, and we really don't have coloring books (other than a color wonder tablet coloring book a friend gave us as a holiday gift).

Personally, I like that he doesn't color within the lines and I hope he always looks at art that way ;) DS is starting to write letters on his own, so his fine motor skills/control of writing instrument is pretty good, he just hasn't ever had a reason or encouragement to color in the lines.

It definitely involves fine motor skills, so as long as nothing else in terms of fine motor skills is "off"...no reason to worry :)

[californiagirl]

If by "in the lines" you mean "on the piece of paper", why yes! She worked very hard on that, and nearly mastered it around 2.5. If she wants the color to stay inside a piece of a drawing, she gets an adult to do it for her. Her friend H actually wants to stay in the lines, and started working on it while she was still getting the hang of coloring the entire piece of paper without going off the edges, and still doesn't generally manage it at 3.5

However, she has suddenly started drawing actually recognizable things. (They are no realistic art masterpieces, but they aren't just named scrawls, either.)

[JBaxter]

My 3 yr old doenst. Im glad to see more than one color on a page LOL

[sarahsthreads]

Sometimes DD makes the attempt and gets close to being in the lines, but more often than not she takes the black crayon and makes bold strokes all across the page. She makes more of an attempt when she asks an adult to color with her and the adult is coloring in the lines. As hard as I try, I really can't bring myself to just scribble in a coloring book, and I've noticed that most other adults can't either - but it drives me nuts when one of my older relatives tells DD that *she* has to color in the lines, or use a certain color. Grr.

We use a lot of plain colored paper here because I like to see what DD comes up with - she's drawn some very recognizable things lately, which is way more exciting to see than a perfectly colored in picture IMO. Especially since her very favorite crayon to color with is black. Sigh.

Sarah :)

[Momof3Labs]

My 4yo DS does not, but we don't model it for him either. We prefer to let him do what he wants on plain paper or even coloring. He just doesn't know any different!

[KBecks]

no, Alek does not color in the lines

[lisams]

DD is 4 and just recently started coloring in. I think it's because she's seen her friends at school do it.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds' friend loves art and her skills have impressed me for years. I used to feel like my ds was a bit behind in that category (and maybe he is) but I think it is because she actually likes art and he has like no interest. He also isn't nearly as patient- too many other things to do in the world beside sit down and color.

He is 4.5 and I still don't expect him to color in the lines. He likes his art and I think that's fine. :)

I don't know if I would call her "advanced" I would just say she has a different temperment and personality. Her motor skills may be slightly better but I wouldn't worry.

Beth

[SummerBaby]

Good to know this is normal. Now that I think about it, DD would have no reason to color in the lines- I've never told her to and she actually prefers blank paper to coloring books. The girl in our class, on the other hand, has 2 older sisters, so maybe they have told her she has to stay in the lines. I was just so impressed when I saw the control this girl had over the crayon!

Val
DD 2.5 years old
another summer baby coming in 2007!

[kellyotn]

I think its just a matter of what obsessions a particular toddler has.

Some are obsessed with letters and subsequently learn them early. Some are desperate to ride a bike and learn that early.

This little girl probably is modeling her coloring after her older sisters.

My oldest daughter understood the concept at 2.5, but didn't really do it until much later. She's now 4.5 and does stay in the lines now. But, she still primarily prefers making her own drawings on plain paper.

Her little brother though, is 2.5 and he prefers things to (try) and fill in. He's not meticulous, he just blobs the red all over Lightning McQueen and black all over his tires or whatever. He choses the right colors, but isn't patient enough to bother with the lines. ;)

He'll use plain paper for a bit, then he'll ask for a "coloring page". I anticipate he'll master coloring in the lines before my daughter did, but who knows. His focus could change wildly!

[bluestar2]

>I don't know if I would call her "advanced" I would just say she has a different temperment and personality. Her motor skills may be slightly better but I wouldn't worry


I think there might be something to this. I have 3 yo twins whose personalities and temperaments are very different. DS is very meticulous in most of his activities, focuses very intently on what he does, and in general is very orderly (he has good fine motor skills). We don't buy coloring books but have gotten them as gifts (normally I like to give them blank paper). When DC color using the books DS will color within the lines, usually with one color for each block. DD colors wherever she feels like it. I have never encouraged nor discouraged them to do color within the lines, but it is very interesting to see how they go about it in their own way. I don't consider DS any more advanced, just that they go about things differently.

[lizajane]

schuyler "colors in the lines" but that doesn't mean he gets all the color to stay inside the lines. his lines are fuzzy. he gets the concept, but is still working on mastering the task. he is 4 and one week tomorrow. i think he is very normal and quite a fine artist!! :)

[hez]

A little girl who's about 6 months older than Payton colors beautifully in the lines, and has for awhile. She's a second child who copies everything her big sister does, too. When I expressed my awe, her mother reminded me of that.

Payton prefers to scribble over a picture with a blue crayon. If asked to color in the lines, he will do so, but only a very small area for a very short period of time. It takes too long :P

[jk3]

Definitely not and I don't think I would encourage a toddler to do so. Younger toddlers should be encouraged to explore with materials - they shouldn't be resticted.

Now at almost 4, DS can do so. Again, not a neccessary skill imo.

Jenn
DS 6/03
& cautiously expecting in May!