Gribouilline

At what age is it reasonable to expect your children to NOT write on the walls, floors, etc.? I kind of thought that since my youngest is five that I would be past all that. Amazingly enough, it is not my 5 year old who is the current offender. A few days ago my 6 year old proudly showed me his artwork on the wall next to his bed. I was not pleased. Today, an enormous red crayon circle was found drawn on the floor of my oldest daughter's room--it turns out my 7 year old did it! I got quite upset over this incident too. What possesses these children to leave their mark everywhere? They have TONS of paper accessible to them, chalkboards, dry-erase boards,etc. So why on my floors and walls? I know, it is like this huge blank canvas waiting to be filled. I actually do understand it. I think the coolest bedroom I had ever been in as a teenager was Lisa Eaton's. She was my friend Brandy's big sister and a punk-rock girl and I thought she was SO cool! Her wall was decorated with artwork and poetry that she and her friends had created. I longed to add my mark to her wall. I wished for a wall of my own like hers. Maybe there is no reasonable age to expect them not to do it. I wanted to do it! But I don't want my kids to do it! Maybe I will have to dust off the copy of the french book Gribouilline that my parents gave me when I was young. It is about a girl named Christine who draws on all the walls and fences and even the Bakers window, the mailbox and the furniture coming out of a moving van! Mais Non, Gribouilline! She was naughty and had to clean up all her inappropriately placed artwork on a Saturday when everyone else got to play! And then her parents got her paint brushes and a pad of paper so she lost her nickname of Gribouilline and became toute simplement, Christine! Poor Christine didn't have Mr Clean Magic Erasers and A miniature Bissel to clean up the mess. Tomorrow mes petits Gribouillines will be cleaning up their own messes--OR maybe I should wait til Saturday!