His response to crayons tells you age 1 is too early for crayons. At this age they put EVERYTHING in their mouths, and crayons is one thing they shouldn't. He'll try eating the paper too, I guess. You said it yourself, "He doesn't get it"
Use bulding blocks You can count them, teach colors, shapes, height. Plus, they're harder to eat! :)
i, I agree with all that has been said, however I do advise that you stick with the chunkier crayons one he is ready. The cunky versions of anything at this age will help strengthen his fine motor skills.
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I hate when you read stuff like that. As they grow, you will read when they should know their letters, numbers, how to write their name etc... and it can drive you mad! My son was closer to 2 before I really started him with art work. He would just eat whatever I gave him before them.
Hi Jennifer! I know I'm late to respond, but I just wanted to tell you that my son was the same way with crayons. He just wanted to eat them, and even as he got a little older, for a while he still had no interest in coloring. I think he didn't have the attention span. And then when he started to like it, he wanted to color on the walls! :) I got him those Color Wonder coloring books and markers (made by Crayola), because they only write on the special paper, not on walls. He loved those. The only problem is that they're EXPENSIVE! I think the cheapest I've found is at Wal-Mart (maybe $6 and change for a coloring book and six markers), then Target (I think $7.99). But you might want to skip them because I hate spending the money on them! :) I kind of wish I never got started on them, because now he's fine with regular crayons and markers, but he still LOVES those Color Wonder coloring books and will beg for one when we're at Target! :) So maybe it's better to stick with the chunky washable crayons and markers. This is a great time to stock up, with the back-to-school prices. I don't know if it's still going on, but Publix was just selling washable markers for $3.99, buy one, get one free. And I think Target has good prices on art supplies right now, for back-to-school. My sister and I stock up when the stuff is on sale and hide it in the closet, then use it as needed. The funny thing is, now my son LOVES to color! I never thought I'd see the day, because for the longest time, he was just too hyper to sit there and color. I used to laugh at myself for bringing him to craft day with my moms group or at the library, because he would just run around like a maniac and never participate! But sometime around age three, he began to love stuff like that! Now he'll color several times a day, for at least 20-30 minutes at a time. I love it, because I love to color with him! :) Sorry I'm babbling-- I just wanted to tell you that my son went from eating crayons to having no patience for coloring to loving it! In fact, he loves it so much now (at nearly four) that, when family or friends asked me for suggestions for his birthday in two weeks, I said coloring stuff! :) Enjoy your sweet little guy-- boys are fun, aren't they?
Jennifer,
Have you tried an Auqadoodle? Since the "ink" is water it wouldn't be a big thing if he tasted it. Happy coloring!
I also have a 13month old. We started him out with edible fingerpainting (pudding and food coloring). He still gets to use his finger and develop his motor skills and eat the paint without us worrying about it. We're adding edible play dough next which will also help his development. There are different recipes online. The crayons may need to wait until he's a little older and not putting everything in his mouth as my son does at this age also.
Thank you for all your responses! That was very helpful! I agree with not pushing it. My son is definitely not a “by-the-book” kid, and that’s just fine! That’s what makes him special! I was just curious if there was something out there that was successful. We will probably put them away for a little while longer, and I will try markers too. That was a good suggestion. We tried those round animal markers when we got the matching crayons, but -again- he just tried to eat them, which left him with a colorful face! Thank you again for all your help! Have a great day!