How Drawing Supports The Symbol-Making Stage
Somewhere between endless scribbles and recognizable pictures lies an important in-between phase: the symbol-making stage. This is when a circle might become "Mommy," a few lines might become legs, and a drawing starts to mean something specific — at least to the child holding the crayon.
What Happens During the Symbol-Making Stage
During this stage, children begin to use simple shapes and marks as symbols that stand for real things, even if the resemblance isn't obvious to an adult. A circle with a few lines might represent a person, a pet, or a whole scene. The connection between the mark and its meaning is often more important to the child than how "accurate" it looks.
Skills This Stage Can Help Build
- Symbolic thinking, a foundational skill that later supports letters, numbers, and reading.
- Vocabulary and storytelling, as children explain and narrate what their symbols represent.
- Memory and imagination, since drawings at this stage often blend what a child has seen with what they imagine.
- Planning, in a simple form, as children begin deciding what to draw before they start.
Why the Meaning Can Change Mid-Drawing
It's common for a child to describe a drawing as one thing, then a few minutes later call it something entirely different. This isn't confusion — it reflects how flexible symbolic thinking still is at this age. The same shape can represent different ideas depending on the child's mood or the story unfolding in their head, and that flexibility is actually part of healthy development.
A Simple Activity to Try
After your child finishes a drawing, ask "Can you tell me about it?" instead of guessing what it shows. Write down their answer next to the drawing, if they're interested. This simple habit values their symbols on their own terms and often encourages more detailed storytelling over time.
Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Avoid saying a drawing is "wrong" because it doesn't look like the real object — symbolic accuracy matters more than visual accuracy here.
- Offer open-ended prompts ("Draw your favorite animal") rather than requiring a specific outcome.
- Let the same symbol be reused across many drawings; repetition helps children refine their own visual vocabulary.
- Pair free drawing with simple coloring pages so children experience both open-ended and structured mark-making.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my child's drawing not look anything like what they say it is?
At this stage, symbols are personal and don't need to visually resemble the real object. What matters is that the mark holds meaning for your child, which is an important step toward more representational drawing later on.
Should I teach my child "correct" ways to draw shapes?
Gentle modeling can help, but it's usually more effective to let your child experiment and develop their own symbols first. Skills tend to refine naturally with practice.
How long does the symbol-making stage typically last?
This varies quite a bit between children, and there's no fixed timeline. Many children move gradually into more detailed, pictorial drawings over time, at their own pace.
Conclusion
The symbol-making stage is where drawing starts to carry real meaning, even if it isn't yet realistic. Encouraging your child to explain their symbols — rather than judging their accuracy — helps nurture both their artistic and language development. To see what typically comes next, take a look at our guide to how drawing supports the pictorial stage.