Colouring with pens, picking up sticks when outside...

[HonkyTonka]

Do you let your toddler colour with pens?

Picking up and holding sticks when outside?

My 17 mo loves doing both of these and it freak my parents out. I'm wondering if I'm being too lax...

[hildare]

i am not sure why either of those things should be something to avoid?  we don't bring sticks in the house or hit anything that is alive with them... and i would imagine that coloring with pens on paper given specifically for that purpose is actually good for development.  what are the objections, exactly?  (and how do you prevent a kid from picking up sticks?)

[Buzzer Beater]

My in-laws see dangers everywhere like that also... MIL was probably less of an AP parent and I think had strict rules about what her kids could and couldn't do. I am a bit more lax like you are, and more attentive. Last time in-laws were here MIL just about had a stroke when dd was playing with a plastic bag as we put groceries away. She literally started out of her seat towards dd and then checked herself as I was right there- she said "Are you going to let her play with that?" DH joked with her that we don't take the bag away until she gets it tight around her neck. She may think I'm a crappy parent but I'd rather have my kid explore. I'm right there of course.

[Blessed1]

I introduced pens/crayons at 12months and now at 16 months she loves to scribble and color.  I do have to remind her that she can only draw on paper and not on the walls.  

And my little one gets to pick up and play with sticks.  

Of course, I am always near her and supervising her so I don't see the harm.  

Stick to what you are doing.  Exploration is a great way for them to learn right now.  It's all about being hands on.  :)

[Honey693]

My 13 month old picks up sticks and eats them lol.  We haven't done crayons yet, but with my first we started around 13/14 months b/c our ped said we should consider it.  Up until then I'd been too worried about her eating them or coloring on the wall.  It went fairly well though b/c we made a crayons at the table with an adult rule.

[Erin77]

My ped actually asked if he "scribbled purposefully" at his 12 month appointment. Ha! He seems to do about 90% of what he does accidentally. But it made me think maybe I should start letting him draw on paper, I had not really considered that he might "get it" yet. He doesn't, really, but I'm going to keep letting him try. And also, give him sticks if we're outside. 

[Ginger Bean]

My 13mo son crawls in the woods and picks up leaves and sticks. He has washable markers, but he's not that interested yet.

I don't see what's wrong with these things...

[mamazee]

absolutely did both.

[HonkyTonka]

OP Here.

A little more background... I recently posted a video of my LO colouring with a pen, and my Dad (such a worrier) called me up to tell me not to let her play with pens... he used the "it only takes a second" after I told him I was right there. He also reminded me that eyeballs don't grow back. He said that any parent on earth wouldn't let their kid walk around (the table she was colouring on) with a pen. I disagreed, but figured it wouldn't hurt getting the opinions of a few other moms out there. Pens and sticks are sharp and do have potential to cause bodily harm, but it seems most people are ok with supervised use.

I'd take the pen away if she'd stop eating her crayons...

[coldandsleepy]

Drawing with pens and playing with sticks are some of my kid's favorite things to do.  :)  He'll request a pen over markers or crayons any day.  I can't remember what age we started letting him color with pens, but sticks have been objects of intense interest for him basically since he started to crawl/we started going to the park regularly.

My husband was freaked out by the stick thing originally.  Oh, and by spoons at the same age.  (We're talking like 7 or 8 months to maybe a year before he relaxed about it.)  He was convinced my son would poke his eyeball out.  That obviously never happened.

[Ma Cactus]

We do both (and my MIL is also a super worrier who will say 'oh no, we don't do that!  even when I am right there, and just gave him the marker myself!  Serenity now...).  We do try to use only washable markers to save the house which might appease your parents some as the tip is soft and unlikely to do harm.  My philosophy is that being over protective is positively and constantly harmful, whereas 'living dangerously' only has the potential for an accident, which can be mitigated to a reasonable degree.  I was overjoyed the day my boy picked up a crooked stick at 21 mos and declared it was his 'drill'!

I was an increadibly accident prone and danger-seeking child myself, but survived (with many wounds and a few broken bones, but I thought they built character and a high pain tolerance).  I think that is where a good part of my attitude comes from.  I learned a lot and had a lot of fun that way!

[EmTheWife]

My 17 mo ds finds pens and sticks (and rocks, rakes, brooms and shovels) fascinating and essential to life.  They're all things that could be potentially dangerous.  But most of life is dangerous.  We just teach him how to "use" them responsibly - "pens are for writing, not for chewing" "sticks are for poking the mud" "rocks can be thrown at bushes and in the pond, but not at mommy" etc.  The important part is that he understands!  And he knows that if he uses the item incorrectly, it will be taken away.

[KellyandBean]

I don't let my 20 month old play with pens because it would end up all over her face...but i do let her play with washable crayons and washable markers. She is allowed to pick up sticks outside but not put them in her mouth..obviously. I think if your LO is a late walker and still isn't very steady on their feet maybe it would be a good idea to keep pointy objects away from them so they don't fall and poke an eye out but i think otherwise there is no harm in it.

[WaitingForKiddos]

Not only do I let my 15 month old play with pens and sticks.....when he needs to be tortured with a diaper change I will give him one to hold.

[Aufilia]

Yes, and I've been actively encouraging him to play with pens and stickers and pencils and so on since he turned 1.  He has only really shown much interest in coloring lately, though.  Like my daughter, he doesn't like crayons much because he doesn't really get that you have to push down harder to make a good line, but he does like markers.  On the downside, he also drew all over his chair, the baby gate, the play kitchen, and the wall while I was loading the dishwasher this afternoon.... but fortunately, the "washable" markers really are pretty washable.

I did discourage him from picking up sticks until lately, but mostly because he has until recently put absolutely EVERYTHING into his mouth and it drives me nuts... and we've already been to the urgent care this summer because he popped a fork in his mouth, ran off, fell down, and ended up with it stuck into his soft palate.  The urgent care people weren't as scarred for life as I was and had a joyful time describing everything they'd ever seen jabbed into a toddler's mouth, and let me tell you, the list was both extensive and impressive.  So stick... maybe... more likey if he's sitting down and not walking around, and not having an eats-everything sort of day.

[Asiago]

My son has been walking and running for over a year but he still trips and falls regularly, so he is not allowed to walk around with anything sharp. My husband and I do have a friend who  lost his eye as a child while playing with sticks, so that probably factors into it.