Crayons and other tools of mess

[TahliasMom]

What age are dc suppose to get crayons, markers, finger paint? DD still mouths everything and i know crayons and such are non-toxic but i still don't want her eating them. plus i'm afraid dd will draw/paint on the walls and i'm sure the landlord wold love that. so for now we got her a doodlepro. i think she might get some exposure to those at homecare so it's not like total deprevation. when did you start crayons and such? are there different kinds and sizes? looking for something earth friendly, washable...

TIA!

[californiagirl]

We started doing crayons at about a year. Markers are still pretty much too messy for me, and fingerpaint is definitely a daycare thing. Normally she gets one crayon at a time when she's sitting with us, or a container of them while she's at her table. (If she only gets one, we hold the container and let her switch whenever she wants. For a long time, taking the crayons out and putting them back was her favorite part anyway.)

If she chews on crayons, we say "Crayons are not for chewing. When you chew on things that aren't for chewing, they go away." Then that crayon goes away, and if she asks for another crayon, she gets it. If she chews on that crayon, they go away altogether, and are replaced with something it's OK to chew on. Her initial crayon experiences were short, but she got the point quite fast. Similarly, if she colors on something other than paper, we say "Crayons are for coloring on your paper. When you color on other things, they go away." Same deal -- first time, that crayon goes away but you can ask for another one. Second time, all done crayons, would you like to read a book? (or whatever).

We have yet to have an inappropriate marking incident (although I don't doubt we will sometime, as we're terrible about leaving pens around). It takes about 10 seconds for her to get marker on herself if you give her a marker, though (she's almost 20 months).

[new_mommy25]

I didn't start giving DS crayons at home until he was almost two. He had them in restuarants before then but was never too interested. I have never had a problem with him drawing on walls but I only allow him to use them under my supervision. FWIW, he prefers markers to crayons probably because they are easier to manipulate. We just use the Crayola washable markers and we use fat crayons. Recently I set up an easal outside on the deck and stocked it with a big box of sidewalk chalk and crayons. That has been a huge hit. Our deck is screened in so I can allow him to play safely while I do other things.

[ellies mom]

Washable crayons are your friends. The washable markers are really great also. We started giving DD crayons at about 14 months but she is a chewer to so we did have to watch her. Like the PP mentioned we just remind her on a occasion that she needs to color on the paper and she is really good about it.

[brittone2]

We introduced crayons around 12ish months. I usually gave him a big old piece of posterboard to color on and that worked well because it was easy to stay on the paper. His interest at that age was not that great but he'd do a few scribbles.

We use stockmar crayons, which are beeswax so they are really non toxic and environmentally friendly. But, they aren't washable, so that would be a downside. Knock on wood that hasn't been a huge issue for us.

For painting, we started around 15-16 months. When we moved into our new house DS loved watching daddy paint. We were down for a weekend for closing (weren't moving in yet) and didn't have a lot of toys with us. I gave him a new foam paintbrush, wet it down and added some dishsoap to it, then rubbed it so it was sudsy. He "painted" our front door which is all glass and that satisfied his painting obsession pretty well actually. You can have them "paint" with just water outside by having them paint the sidewalk or deck too.

We started with watercolor paints (we use stockmar for that too) around 16 or 17 months. I usually stripped him down to his dipe and put his easel outside. Surprisingly, he usually was much less messy than I anticipated. We also do fingerpainting but that's a lot messier and mama has to be in the mood for that to happen ;)

DS did his first scribble on the wall the other day with a highlighter, but it was a small area, wasn't that noticeable, and we've been planning on painting that area for a while now so it was no biggie.

[muskiesusan]

We introduced crayons around a year or so at home, earlier at restaurants, lol. Alex never tried to get them until we were at dinner a few weeks ago and he say another boy chewing away, so now we are trying to break that habit!

We started painting around 15 months I think. Not finger painting, but with regular paint on canvas (Hobby Lobby has them cheap and then they decorate the play room). We also enjoy the paint with water books when I don't want to get all the supplies out.

I tend to keep an eye on them when they are coloring and it is only done at the table or easel, so neither boy has tried to draw on the walls or anything.

Also, they each have XL men's undershirts they wear when they are painting. Nick's looks really cute with 3 years of paint on it and Alex's is already full of character!

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[kitmama]

We also introduced crayons at about a year old. Littleman was actually not that into them for a few more months, but then he has gradually enjoyed them more and more. He had a hard time with not chewing them at first, so I'd often have to cut the coloring time short and move on to a different activity. He is great about not chewing them now, though. We only let him use them in the high chair because he is still learning about "only color on the paper". It's proving to be a hard lesson to learn, but luckily the crayon cleans up off the plastic tray pretty well. I'm looking forward to being able to leave crayons out for spontaneous art, though. We use the Stockmar beeswax crayons.

We've used colored chalk on the driveway several times, and that's pretty fun for a little while.

I introduced fingerpaints a couple months ago, but he didn't like them very much- he kept wanting to wash his hands, LOL. :) I'll try them again after he gets his easel. He is getting an easel, some paints and paintbrushes for his second birthday on Sunday.

We introduced washable markers today. He REALLY likes those, and so far they do clean up pretty easily.

FWIW, I have heard great things about the "Magic Eraser" for cleaning up crayons and markers and such. I haven't tried it, though.

ETA: Oh, yeah, don't forget Play-Doh! Littleman had his first Play-Doh (homemade) experience last week, and it's proving to be a lot of fun. Again, he has to sit in his high chair to do it. He's actually been pretty tidy with it- we'll be making a lot more Play Doh soon!

[August Mom]

We started at around 18 months for crayons and at a few months after 2 for markers.

[holliam]

The Young at Art book is a great resource for when to start. We started Mari with just a black crayon on white paper around 10 months. Now at 13 months she seems to do purposeful, rather than random, scribbling. She is also starting to try to write with pens on pads of paper when she finds them around the house. Yea, she still sticks it in her mouth but that's part of experimenting and learning.

Interestingly, we tried block crayons first and she didn't "get" them at all. The stick crayons just took a few attempts. She does her art projects at her little table. We tape big pieces of paper to the table.

Holli

[TahliasMom]

Wow. Thank you for all the wonderful advice. I guess we're a little behind but with the winter months coming up I better get moving on getting some crayons and such. I'm going to be hopeful and get DD the stockmar stuff and put her in the high chair that way we have a contained mess!!! at homecare they're suppose to start play doh in Nov so i think i'll skip that one for now.
thanks so so much...

[sntm]

Glad to know we aren't the only ones for whom block crayons didn't work as well. Jack always tried to stack them instead.

Another suggestion (can't remember if it was in Young at Art or from daycare) is painting with pudding. It doesn't make the most permanent or gorgeous painting, but it's fun, nontoxic, and easier to clean up.
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shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
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Breastfeeding 2 years & counting

[brittone2]

Along those lines, when I was working in early intervention, I learned from the OTs the idea of painting with jello mix mixed with water (as a fingerpaint) or jello mix mixed with yogurt. Again, not very opaque but very non toxic (if you are okay with food colorings for your kids) and relatively easy to cleanup. I used this idea while working but haven't used it with DS...thought I'd pass it along in case it helps anyone else :)

[amp]

We started crayons, markers, paint and play doh at about 15 mths. All art is supervised in the kitchen or at the dining table. None of the products are available to him outside of supervised art times.

[TahliasMom]

that's a yummy suggestion!