Baby's First Crayons or the Such

The triangle-shaped ones from Crayola are great! The ones shaped like animals are very disappointing. Little ones have to hold them straight up and down in order to get them to work and it's frustrating when they don't. But the triangle ones are washable (buy a Magic Eraser too, it helps), virtually indestructible and help little ones with a proper grip. My little guy is 2, has been using these crayons since 18 months and already holds a pen/pencil correctly without my having to teach him! I also second the laying down newspaper idea. We bought my son a table and covered it with newsprint (taped in place so it wouldn't move). He will draw on the newspaper too.
Oh! And when the weather is nice enough, sidewalk chalk is great for little hands. It's always sold in chubby sticks and you can draw from any angle. And it's fully washable.

I have a 15 month old and I bought him large washable crayons by crayola. He enjoys scribling on paper. Some times he gets a little crazy with his colors and gets the floor. These wash off very easy. Happy coloring!

Crayola has soooo many Washable marker, crayon choices check toys r us I was scared about markers too at this age but they are easy to use for kids, just make sure they are not eating them and they wash off easliy

I think Crayola makes the crayons that are big and chunky and are in the shape of a triangle (rather than the traditional type that are round). This makes it easier for little ones to hold them correctly. Plus, they're nearly impossible to break. =)

I have a 1 1/2 year old that loves to color, draw etc. Any crayons (prefferably his big brothers) or washable markers. Markers are so washable these days that messes are no biggie. I am getting him the "Color me a Song" toy for Christmas. BTW, those crayola first markers that are round and supposed to be great? dont really work for me. He cant hold them correctly and they have to be held just so to work at all. Very dissapointing.

Just get the Crayola washable crayons. I thought it sounded silly at first until my DD thought that our tile floors needed to be decorated. The crayon marks came off with effort, but most of the marks on the grout were nearly impossible to remove. I was trying to figure out why some came right off and I realized that one of her boxes said washable. I did an inconspicuous test of this and found that the washable crayons truly are easily removable and the others are definitely not! Now, no matter how cheap other crayons might be, I will only by the washable ones.

I would also recommend getting the larger crayons because they are easier for little hands to control and they don't break as easily. The triangle ones work as well....other odd shapes tend to just be harder to use.

Crayola beginners!!!!

Large Crayons. Skip the new baby crayon holders...shaped animals and such that hold the crayon so the baby can supposedly hold better/easier to learn to drawl. Sorry, I forget what they are called but sold everywhere. I read all the reviews on these types of products and parents did not like them. They did not help or teach the child to draw or learn to hold a crayon any better than a basic crayon. We just bought our 16 mon. old her first set of crayons and paper. Large triangle shaped. We are staying away from the markers for now. She does pretty good for her first few tries. She does put them in her mouth but I give her a warning and show her how she is supposed to be using the crayon after that I take them away.

Crayola make thick crayons for the younger kids. Use a table and put newspaper down. Sit with her and draw too. If you only use this table for art then it will be a routine and the art supplies will stay at the table.
Have fun
M.

Stick with crayola. The cheaper brands (Roseart) have too much wax in them- dissapointing laydown of color.

They make special easy to hold (and more expensive) crayons, but IMO the crayola large crayons are better. My little one found the ergonomic ones harder to use. Colored pencils are also great. They are especially fun just to play with.

Markers don't have to be a big mess if you use the washable ones. They come off skin (and almost everything else) with a wipe, and they truly do wash out of fabric. I liked them because they lasted a bit longer in the diaper bag. Crayons always seem to get broken and then rejected after endless "mama fix it!"s. They also make a more satisfying bright color for beginners. My 2 1/2 yr old is only just now interested in crayons. And he has been drawing since he was about 1 yr old.

To get my son interested in drawing, I bought the Crayola Tadoodles, perfect for little hands. He enjoyed it for a few months. They also make first markers, but I haven't tried them yet. The only thing about the Tadoodles is once the crayon tips wear down, it's hard to find the replacements- triangular inserts. Now at 2, we just use the regular chunky crayons (without the cute holders). Have fun!

Hi J.,
My 19m old son loves and does very well with washable markers but he also enjoys the DOODLEPAD (magnetic board). Experiment and enjoy!

Dear J.,
Just get her some good, old fashioned jumbo Crayola crayons. They're non-toxic and come in a pack of 8, I believe, which makes it easy to keep track of them. When she's not using the crayons, put them up in a cupboard so she won't be tempted to experiment with "wall art". My kids were allowed to draw at the kitchen table or their own little table and chairs set. Sometimes I'd put a cheap vinyl tablecloth on the floor for them to sit and color on, but those were the ONLY places they were allowed to have their crayons. That's why it's good to just start out with a manageable amount of crayons so you know if one's been stashed or grew legs and walked off somewhere. lol
Also, this helps with kids learning their basic colors and counting if they hear you count the crayons when they're done.
I still have some of my kids very first "drawings". I even dated some of them and sent them to relatives. When my dad passed away, we found that he had kept them all those years.

Have fun!

What works for my daughter (18 months) is big chunky crayons. I also bought the biggest sketch book I could find in a dollar store. I think it's about 12"x24". The large sketch book allows her to "draw" wide and not get it onto the dining room table. Another thing that worked for us when traveling is Crayola color wonder. These are markers with special ink that only appear on Crayola's special paper. It's great because there's no mess. Hope this helps.