Comments on: The Parent as Artist

By: Tonggu Momma

Tonggu Momma — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:10:48 +0000

I came over to thank you for your comment on my post…to roll my eyes alongside you about the comments you received during your pregnancy… and I fell in love with this post.

My daughter has a now mild to moderate case of sensory processing disorder. When she was an infant and toddler, experts labeled it a severe case, while people around town often mistook it for autism. She is now mainstreamed and thriving in pre-K, but it was a long, hard road to get here.

Obviously we don’t color in the lines. Just on principle.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:32:22 +0000

Coloring inside the lines is overrated.

By: Angel

Angel — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:56:57 +0000

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” - Pablo Picasso

And for the record, my 4 year old doesn’t color in the lines and doesn’t even really like coloring. He always wants ME to do it for him. Ugh.

By: MamaGeek

MamaGeek — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:18:55 +0000

You ARE ONE talented writer and for the record, I never colored within the lines either. And I still don’t!

By: Jeanne A

Jeanne A — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:09:02 +0000

I know a girl with selective mutism. She’s about 15 now. I hadn’t seen her for several years and when I saw her this summer I asked her a question and got an answer and then I asked her another question and another answer. I wanted to do a happy dance right then and there!!!! But, of course, I didn’t.

Such a huge improvement. It was so hard for her in the early years in school. How can a teacher know if you can read if you won’t read out loud? Or even answer comprehensive questions? She was too young to write answers then.

There is help available.

As for the coloring—as long as she has fun—who cares!

By: poppy fields

poppy fields — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:00:26 +0000

My kindergarten teacher failed me in the coloring ability grade (I didn’t color in the lines and I drew rabbits with floppy ears) and my Dad (an artist) went into her classroom and gave her a big piece of his mind. I don’t remember much from that time of my life, but I do remember my Dad standing up for me, the bad colorer

By: patois

patois — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:44:13 +0000

I don’t need to read any other entries, lady, ’cause this is the winner. Oh, crap, I’m not a judge. Sorry. Next time.

Let’s face it, they call it “coloring” not “lining” for a reason, yes? Color, color, color.

By: Mary-LUE

Mary-LUE — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:31:30 +0000

P.S. Sometime around 7 or 8, he started spontaneously started saying he was sorry. When he was, not when he was told he was supposed to. His sorries mean so much to me now.

By: Mary-LUE

Mary-LUE — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:30:19 +0000

I think we need to “care” about what other people think of our parenting only in regard to our children not becoming little Bonnie and Clydes or Charles Mansons or whatever. Obviously, there are some societal rules that have to be followed.

HOWEVER,

I know there were times it was very difficult for me to know that other people were judging my parenting of my son. He was a mercurial little guy who was resistant to all the social niceties. He wouldn’t say he was sorry. He had temper tantrums. He was mouthy.

I know people thought he wasn’t disciplined by me and my husband. He was. He had consequences. I just thought modeling “I’m sorry” was better than forcing it. I thought that his temperament deserved to be taken into consideration.

He had to follow rules. He wasn’t allowed to have whatever he wanted, when he wanted it. But who he was as a little person was more important to me than who others thought he should be.

Riley… I salute you!

By: dgm

dgm — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:51:32 +0000

Absolutely. Good on ya, sister.

I’ve had a few dustups with doctors when I question their treatment plans or diagnosis (both with me and with kids) but you know what? I was always right. You gotta go with your gut.

When I was in high school I wrote my name without capitalizing it because I think the capital D is ugly. This used to drive my civics teacher’s absolutely crazy, and she took a few points off my otherwise perfect quizzes EVERY WEEK. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

Just say no to conformity for conformity’s sake!