Crayons for 12 month old?

[spiritmomma]

Has anyone used these:

Magic Cabin Beeswax Crayon Blocks

I am specifically interested in the Block style, wrapperless ones.

Does anyone know if there are any benefits/ drawbacks to using beeswax as opposed to regular "crayola" type crayons?
Are they washable (as in will she ruin things if she draws off the paper)?

If not these crayons, what did you start your kids out with and what worked best?

Thanks for any help or advice!

[antannie]

They are very nice crayons, much easier for a little one to hold, don't break easily, have a lovely texture and colour and smell lots better. I think a set of 8 colours is all you need for a one year old though.

[hellyaellen]

i started mine with markers because they make color on the paper without as much effort on the part of the baby.

[De-lovely]

I have stockmar block crayons that when my dd's were younger were AWESOME.....I also think washable markers were fun for them and cleaned right up. My mama also recently made them crayons by taking old non toxic crayons and breaking them into pieces putting them in mini muffin cups and melting them making round new swirly crayons... I LOVE them! Magic Cabin is awesome....so is Rosie Hippo....Gummylump.com has free shipping over $30.

[oldgirl,newtricks]

I haven't used those, but Crayola has washable crayons and they really do wash off the walls. They are large sized and easy for little hands to use. I liked them better than the washable markers for the youngest ones.

[beanma]

i don't like the washables for the young ones. if they mouth them at all they melt in their mouths. nothing like a bright blue baby tongue to make you wonder what they put in those things. the stockmar are nice -- we have some, but regular old crayolas are what get the most play at our house.

[pinky]

Well, I think it depends on your child. We have a set of those and my 2 year old views them as some kind of chewable candy. She chews on the stick crayons, too, but the paper seems to deter her a litttle more.....

[zanzylum]

markers vs crayons

Originally Posted by hellyaellen

i started mine with markers because they make color on the paper without as much effort on the part of the baby.

I just had a conversation with my sister about this topic. I have a 15 month old daughter; my sister is a a 2nd-3rd-4th grade teacher. Her observation is that children who use markers do not develop hand strength and coordination as well as children who use crayons. According tho her crayons offer more resistance and require more hand work to make a mark, and children develop better/stronger hand coordination they need to write with.
She also said block crayons were good till about age three, then get them onto sticks... again to get the hand used to holding a "writing implement" shape. My sister inlaw is a montessori teacher, and she concurs with this opinion, as does my Fatherinlaw, a still active pediatrician (practising for about 50 years).

Based on those conversations, we got the lil girl crayons that are hollow, ball shaped cones that can stack. Lil girl likes to stack them and wear them on her fingers like finger puppets, but they are very hard wax and she has not really figured out they are for drawing yet. I'd like to get some of the stockmar blocks for her. She eats the crayola stick crayons.

[kennedy444]

Originally Posted by oldgirl,newtricks

I haven't used those, but Crayola has washable crayons and they really do wash off the walls.

While I love the Magic Cabin ones we too started with the washable crayons and they are fine for right now.

Especially better than the black mascara that dd2 got into the other day. :