My 14-month-old daughter Ava had her first coloring experience yesterday.
I believe it is never to early to get your child’s creative juices flowing! Especially, if she is going to be the next Michelangelo 😉
I grew up coloring with Crayola Crayons, so I decided to go the same route with Ava and bought her Crayola My First Washable Crayons and Crayola Large Washable Crayons. The first thing I noticed was that the world of Crayons definitely changed since I was a little girl. Crayola provides non-toxic crayons which was comforting because I had reservations about introducing crayons to a baby that tends to put everything in her mouth. I should also mention that the crayons are washable which makes cleanup for a busy mom like me much easier!
In my opinion, the best place to introduce the joy of coloring to a baby is a high chair. Being in a high chair gave Ava a sold surface to draw on and also made monitoring her playing a piece of cake. I started by giving Ava the large crayons. I know backwards right? You think I would have started with the crayons made especially for a beginner.
Even though the crayons were a little big for her tiny fingers she immediately grabbed the one I offered her to figure out what exactly it was. The concept that she could use it to draw did not automatically register, so I showed Ava how to make marks on a construction paper. Like everything else it will take practice before she can master the art of making marks 😉
After playing with the more advanced crayons for a while, I decided to test out My First Washable Crayons. Ava had a much easier time holding these crayons as they are designed to be the right size and shape for a toddler’s little hands. She also successfully made marks on the page in a short amount of time. They are definetely a great way to introduce the concept of drawing to a toddler because they look like little toys.
Overall, I like My First Washable Crayons as a beginner crayon. However, once a baby becomes acquainted with what a crayon is I would start using the big crayons.
You can watch a promotional video of My First Washable Crayons here.
When did you introduce crayons to your child. Tell us about your experience in the comments section.
Disclaimer: Celeb Baby Laundry has not received any payment or products as a result of this post.
