When I first heard about Crayola's advancement in coloring that lead to mess-free markers & paints, I was pretty excited. My daughter wasn't old enough to use them, but I thought, when the time comes, that will be great. She'll be able to color and paint on the floor without us worrying too much. She's 4 1/2 now and can't get enough to crayons, markers, pencils, and any type of paper. She's quite the crafty kid when it comes to paper. Over the summer someone got her a mess-free "Color Wonder" Fairies packet with a coloring book and markers.
I hate it.
Not only do the markers only work on the paper, but they only work in the areas that Crayola thinks there should be color. There's one page in the book that leaves almost half a page of white space. When my daughter & I were coloring it, I thought it would be nice to draw in some flowers with the fairy. No deal. White space is white space in "Color Wonder" world. No embellishments. No additions. OK, we can work with that. We keep coloring the fairy and BAM! Out of no where, there are now spirals on her dress. Yes, the geniuses at Crayola thought that this fairy's dress looked best with spirals. There was no choice in the matter.
How is the next Cynthia Rowley supposed to come about when she doesn't have a choice to put stripes instead of spirals? How is the next Georgia O'Keefe going to blossom without adding in extras to a garden scene?
Yes, I love the idea of paints that won't stain my rugs or sofa, but I also like my daughter using paints to express herself in her own way. I remember coloring Strawberry Shortcake and her beloved Custard the cat and then adding in stars in the background or diagonal stripes in the background. White space was to be conquered not allowed to mock me with its blankness. I'm sure that I'm more frustrated with the white space than my daughter. She might have already learned to accept that "The Coloring Man" has placed rules on her coloring. Until then, I think I'll accept the mess on my kitchen table as the price for my daughter's imagination.
Veronica rants about other matters on her personal blog, Viva La Feminista. Come join her!
NOTE: To comment on this or any blog here at Chicago Parent, you
need to register & log in at the top of the page. It's easy and you
won't get spammed!