So 4F has become really into drawing lately. If we are doing any kind of drawing she wants to draw the same thing over and over: herself and her best friend (and inevitably siblings and nannies) doing something fun together. I have no problem with the repetitiveness - the problem is that she fairly consistently has a meltdown about her artwork. I would say every second or third drawing session. If she's not drawing people, usually there is way less of a meltdown. The people will not be 'good enough' or the clothes will be 'wrong' and she will have a full-blown meltdown. This includes trying to tear the paper up or throwing all of the markers on the floor and flipping out, etc.

I try to encourage her to do it on her own, but I will do some switching off with her - if she draws the people, I'll draw the eyes and then she'll do the outfits and I'll do the mouths, etc. But I try not to help her too much because then it turns into "well can't you just do the whole thing" or "can't you just do my school work" or "you're so much better than me at this I don't want to do it" (which leads into another meltdown of me being good and how it's not fair). Instead, I'll do parallel artwork or sit with her and do coloring pages.

We've talked about how drawing takes practice and how I'm older than her so I've had more practice and also that it's okay to walk away when she's frustrated - but this morning when I told her that I would color with her but not for her she tried to bite me.

I know a lot of this is frustration and anxiety with what's going on in the world, and missing her friends, but physical attacks aren't going to fly. I don't want to ban drawing or artwork, but I'm open to other suggestions. She will do coloring pages and painting, but right now she prefers to draw.