We all were so comfortable drawing with crayons, markers when we were toddlers and young children and then most of us give up. We just stop, older kids and adults say, ‘I can’t draw a straight line…’ I say who cares if it’s straight, the wobblier the better. This is what makes your doodle great.
Mo Williams is a cartoonist, book writer, and doodler and he has a lot to say about getting adults doodling here on NPR.
One of the biggest reasons children stop drawing is that they see that adults don't do it, Willems says. When he goes into classrooms, teachers often ask him to get the kids to draw. But when he does, many of the teachers don't participate.
“Well, now the kids realize that this is just a baby activity,’ He reminds us that parents are actually cool in kid’s eyes- for a while- and kids want to imitate what they do.
‘If your kid comes home from school and you say, ‘I’ll be right with you: I’m just finishing a doodle,’ the kid’s going to think ‘Dude, I want to do that, too!’
When I am doing workshops I try to include the adults and teachers, they are often very reluctant but then they just LOVE it in the end!
Now I have to say a lot of doodling goes on in our house. My eldest Megan has a huge white board in her bedroom and we all have to do a daily doodle on it, one that can be added to by every member in the family. Mo also suggests a family draw. His family gets a large piece of paper, picks a theme and then everyone draws. Or how about a dinner party where wine and crayons are provided.
So the big draw can start here today...do a doodle of a monster waiting at a bus stop, or your favourite stufffed toy from when you were a kid, or a elephant on roller skates, or a rhino is your teacher, or your boss in a funny situation... just doodle!
