Why do we have to color the exact same picture at the exact same time? 😭

Toddler 1-3 Years

I don't know if I want advice or just for someone to say "me too!" but I have the mildest of annoyances I want to complain about. I love art, and love sharing that interest with kids--especially my two-year-old, who's an amazing artist (yaknow, for her age.) When I worked daycare, I always loved coloring and drawing with the kids. I've never cared if they scribble all over something I spent a while drawing/coloring--that's how toddlers engage with art! Parents would tell me how much I inspired their kids to be creative and thank me for it, which was huge for my ego. But my (very clingy) kid has a weird thing where we HAVE to be coloring the same page at the same time, and a lot of the time, we HAVE to be coloring the same square inch. Unfortunately, markers and hands and the arms attached to them take up physical space, not to mention our bodies, and even if we fit in the same space, I can't see what I'm coloring. I can explain my dilemma to her until I'm blue in the face, but if it's not the answer she wants to hear it just doesn't click. So instead of having fun coloring and drawing we just kind of squabble and shove and we both get annoyed and we just switch to a different activity. I hate that, 'cause I really love drawing with her and I want her to make good associations with art early, but that's not happening. Anyone else deal with this silliness?

Posted Jul 6, 2025, 7:40 PM UTC

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