My DS is 16mo and I'm wondering what age is good to introduce coloring/crayons. Is he way too young? When did your kids really take to the idea of scribbling on a piece of paper?

:0)

Amy

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 06:53 am:

They're all so different. I gave DS his first pack of chubby crayons at 12 mos.. He banged them on the table, chewed on them and then finally figured out how to scribble. He loved scribbling but I had to watch him carefully so he wouldn't eat them or scribble off the paper. This same child was drawing recognizable trains at 2, and got an artistic award from the superintendant in Kindergarten.

I gave DD her first pack of chubby crayons at 12 mos. as well. No interest, other than to use them as teethers. LOL! She didn't catch on until closer to 2, and I especially had to supervise her or there would be art work all over the walls. Argh.

By Mara on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 09:14 am:

My dd is 17 months and loves to scribble with crayons. She likes to make marks on the walls too...oh well

By Kaye on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 09:27 am:

It really depends. My best friends youngest would sit and color for horus by 8-9 months. He couldn't walk, but boy he could color. My youngest just couldn't keep them out of his mouth until about 2. I would get a pack of hte fat ones, sit him in his high chair and show him what to do and see how it goes.

By Rayanne on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 09:52 am:

My daughter is 13 months and she will color a little now. I say start now.

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 09:57 am:

Start now. If he's interested, it will take off, if not, keep offering him the crayons and he will eventually figure them out.

I'm all for encouraging *artistic* activities - let them explore their creative sides at their own pace. It often helps if you sit down with them and do it with them.

By Emdee on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 11:35 am:

That is my dd's favorite activity (20 months old). She has been coloring since probably before a year old; she never puts them in her mouth and it has been really good for her motor skill development. She would color or write (with pens or pencils, supervised) all day if I let her! I just taught her that we only color when at the kitchen table and we have only had one incident where she colored something she wasn't supposed to.

By Amyk on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 12:05 pm:

Thanks everyone - we'll give it a shot in the next day or so.

Sincerely,

Amy

By My2cuties on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 12:34 pm:

If he does eat them (like my dd does) buy him a magnadoodle or something that won't hurt him if eaten.
I have to really watch Hailey when she has crayons, or if I turn my head they are in her mouth but she loves to draw with her magna-doodle.

By Palmbchprincess on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 02:08 pm:

My kids were pretty interested in crayons at about 18 months. Now, at 2, they use washable markers more than crayons, for a couple of reasons. First, it is easier to make marks without pressing, so they enjoy using them more, and my DS has an obsession with peeling crayons. The paper HAS to come off, and it drives Nate insane. Personally, I don't care if he peels the paper to make himself happy, but the mess is more than his sstep-dad can handle! The markers are easy to clean up, and keep everyone happy.

By Kaye on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 09:48 am:

Crystal in special ed classes they give htem the crayons with no papers. There is something about the texture that helps develop some sensory connections. We found twist it up crayons with no paper and that helped our mess out quite a bit!

By Feona on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 01:21 pm:

There is the new crayons with the plastic all the way up ... They don't melt in the car. No peeling papers too.

By Palmbchprincess on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 02:45 pm:

Thanks for the tip Kaye and Feona, I think it has something to do with the sensory issues (Shane has a few, just some small *quirks*, but it is definitely a headache, especially when he wants me to "start" the peeling for him. LOL

By Kate on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 03:19 pm:

One word....AQUADOODLE.

It's a large cloth that comes with 'pens' with sponge tips. You fill the pens with water and screw the tops on. The child writes on the cloth and it looks just like blue marker. It then dries after about five minutes. The pens are harmless, they've never leaked on us. NO INK, NO MESS!! And instant results, unlike crayons where you really have to press hard to see it.

By Imamommyx4 on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 05:08 pm:

The only age barrier that I see is what the child does with it. If the child is so young that he only wants to put them in his mouth, he's too young. Otherwise, let them go at it but supervised.
Dh brought home the end of a paper roll from work and we tear large pieces off and put it across the coffee table. DD would go at it and have a ball just scribbling. Even from the beginning we have told her and reinforced that crayons and pencils are for paper and coloring books that belong to her. Not for furniture or papers that belong to mommy and daddy. And the crayons will be put away for a day if she chooses to not follow that one rule. We haven't had a problem yet. And she's always had fun with the paper covering the coffee table thing.

By Mvmc on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 06:15 pm:

As long as he doesn't put them in his mouth or watched so he doesn't I think now would be fine to give him crayons. mt2b www.mtacc.net