How old before baby can start crafting?

[gizmosmama]

LO is 8 months, is this too young to start crafting?
What age do you think is good?
Any ideas for what to start with?
Thank you!

At 8 months baby is probably still putting stuff in his/her mouth so I would think quite young for most crafty stuff.
Maybe try chunky crayons or a nature box.

At 8 months you need to focus on increasing hand eye co-ordination, arm, shoulder and finger strength and exploring evrything.

Start with things like posting objects through holes and putting things into boxes/containers, then do things like covering and uncovering objects.

Thank you for your suggestions, what's a nature box?

What do you want to do? My one year old likes paint, pens etc. we stick paper onto a hard floor (or better, onto a flattened out cardboard box) and let him scribble. It seems to make him laugh. He does end up covered in pen, but it's totally washable. I'm getting some crayons this week too.

My nephew was around 1 when my sister painted with him. She sat him in just his nappy on a hard floor that was covered in paper with some paint. He dipped one finger in the paint and touched the paper. Sister thought 'Oh wow this'll be really messy, not!' She nipped to the next room to get the camera, came back and DN was covered head to toe in green paint :o

I was thinking painting like hand/foot prints or potato printing etc, colouring, stick-on shape pictures... maybe I'm just a bit too keen and should hold myself back for a bit longer!

A nature box is things like pinecones, leaves, acorns etc in an old shoe box. You collect them on a nature walk. You can lay them on a table and put paper over the top and use a crayon to trace over the top to make patterns.

Depends how messy you mind the child getting . also how much you want an end result. Most tots want to explore materials and media more than they want to create a recognisable item of craft.
I had ds covered in paint making marks on paper once he could sit ( on the paper, in the paint). But to call it craft would be exaggeration.

When dd was less than 12 months her nursery sat her in the highchair with blobs of washable/edible paints on the tray. She made patterns on the tray with her fingers and then they put paper on top to take a print.

Don't mind the mess, that's actually half the fun in my book, we can just call it messy play! I also don't mind what the end result is, I'm sure I'll be blinded anyway + believe he's the next Picasso! Maybe we'll give painting a go then, I didn't realise you got ones that didn't matter if you ate a bit!

Also depends on the kid. DS2 was grabbing a crayon and scribbling at 8 months like yours. DS1 (now 4) still needs to be virtually tied to a table and bribed to put pen to paper!

Some kids just don't find crafts fun.

My favourite 'first craft' activity I have seen was when a nanny made a paper frame around some sticky back plastic. So there was a square sticky area in the middle. Toddlers and older children could then stick all sorts of crafty things on in the middl . Once they are done, cover the sticky side with another bit of sticky back plastic and you have made your very first stained glass window! Not too messy. Everyone can make something. With younger children it is just about sticking it on, older children can make a picture or pattern.

Splodge paint in an a4 plastic wallet. Seal up open end with sticky tape (try to get most of the air out) stick all 4 edges down to high hair tray - baby can push paints around and they'll mix but mess-free

Google edible finger paints if you want DC to be allowed to touch the paint (cornstarch + food colouring mostly) - I used to plonk DC in an empty bath with paints and a sponge and they would paint themselves and bath, then just hose down at the end. Might be more suitable at +1 year perhaps