Should a just turned 12 month old be able to do/enjoy arts and crafts?

[LoveYouForeverMyBaby]

I took little one to a playgroup and they had an arts and crafts station making Xmas decorations - gluing and glittering onto polystyrene baubles. I always try and expose her to crafty things but to be honest, she just doesn't seem interested yet. I thought maybe she's a bit of young and will just keep exposing her to it but not expecting too much.

She prefers chewing on things, banging toys, musical instruments, rough and tumble play, peek a boo games that sort of thing.

Anyway a helper at the group told me she was surprised little one was disinterested in and that there were babies younger than her joining in and doing arts and crafts.

She also said it was probably because I was too stressed and not giving her enough time and should b sitting with her and getting crafty everyday.

Now like I said I do exposé her to arts and crafts (stickers, crayons, paints etc) but largely they end up in her mouth so obviously I have to be sensible as to how much I push artsy play when she seems to enjoy (at the moment) other types of play.

I feel a bit upset about being told I'm not doing enough.

What are everyone's thoughts? Thanks.

Umm...

I think the world has gone mad. That is what I think! Your DD sounds like a perfectly normal delightful baby.

Who is this person who told you that you are 'too stressed', by the way? And not spending enough time being 'crafty' with your daughter?

That's crazy! Besides the fact that most craft equipment isn't for use under 3!

My 22 month old isn't even into painting and crayoning yet (despite my best efforts). The only time I introduced him to glitter he had the most amazing jazzy nappy contents the next day!

Far too young to be interested. Did the helper know how old she was? Also, a lot of helpers at toddler groups are kind old ladies who don't have a clue what's going on in my experience.

What? She's 12 months old. It would be a bloody miracle if she wanted to sit still for long enough to do crafts, let alone had the fine motor control for it!

The 'helper' is clearly deranged. I'm sure there are a few exceptionally early developers who like crafts at 1 but most babies have another year at least of preferring to bang pans together and smear themselves with paint/nappy cream/Philadelphia cheese.

Thank you curtsey my gut feeling was she was a tad on the young side too.

She was a helper at the playgroup who I have never met before.

Also it was close to dd's nap so that's by I was rushing to tidy up and finish the arts project which she was watching me do. That was when the helper said she was surprised she wasn't joining in and not interested etc and it was my fault,. Made me feel like a crap parent!

Crafts every day with a 12 month old? That's bonkers as conkers.

DS (15m) likes the odd scribble with crayons, and he's started to enjoy stickers, but painting I let nursery do and he just eats playdough or any crafty stuff. Let him wander round the room randomly banging stuff on other stuff, I say (or is that just my DS?)

Thank you for confirming my thoughts everyone. maria she knew her age, I politely said "oh she's just turned 12 months I think she's a tad too young" and she said "oh no there are muh younger babies here that have enjoyed the station and showed an interest" I was upset and thinking but how??

Tell her your dd is only interested in the fine arts.

Haha fine arts yes!

I would tell that women to eff off (politely or not as the mood took me!) It';s one thing to suggest a child might enjoy it, quite another to say you aren't spending enough time with her because she doesn't!!!

Neither of mine were interested at that age. DD might have scribbled with a crayon but not in a meaningful or interested way. DS didn't get into crafty stuff until he turned 3 and even now is only really into drawing and colouring. DS got more into it at around 18 months and loves it now at 2.2

If you want ideas on stuff to do with her, mine did enjoy sensory stuff at that age. I wasn't brilliant at any of that parenting activity stuff, but squidging mud in their hands, playing with a bowl of soapy bubbly water worked, playing with leaves and pine cones. But even then not for long and very messy so I never bothered much!

But it's completely unnecessary at that age unless she enjoys it. The main thing is to make crafty stuff available (but you don't even need to do that at 12m - just as she gets a bit bigger) so she can do it if she wants it. Having crayons and paper lying around is all you need to do for now and then you can buy more stuff if she shows an interest.

What a strange thing for her to say!

At just turned one, one of my children may have let me guide their hand to stick one thing on a bauble before grabbing it and throwing it, and the other would have eaten the glue.

Your dd sounds quite advanced in the arts and craft dept to me!

I'll tell you what would stress you out - making a huge bloody effort to incorporate carefully varied and appropriate crafty things into every day!

Just say yours is more interested in "sensory play." That's very developmentally approriate. And vague.

My 18 month old spends most craft sessions wiping paint on herself or playing with the glue pen (!). I would say that its only in the past 2-3 months that she has put more crayon on the paper than in her mouth. She only gets truly excited when there is glitter about :)

Madness! I'm all for letting little ones play with crafty stuff, but with no expectation of actually making anything. It's all about tactile experiences and enjoying making a mess at

Thank you for the ideas espanol, I was thinking of maybe getting or making one play doh? Could that be a good suggestion for her age as well?

Thank you yellow, she seems to enjoy new things for a little while and will always grab hold of it and examine the new object, but as for enjoying gluing a bauble and putting glitter on it, it just seems a bit too grown up for a 12 month old and I would think requires a a good dealof dexterity and concentration.

The only kind of arts and crafts she seems to enjoy tend to be sensory boxes, or hand or foot prints or squelching different textures like spaghetti.

(oops)

...that age.

Play workers should know that! Nothing nicer than a good hairfull of glitter and a sticky smile. Even crayons should be tasted - it's a right of passage.

Sounds Far too young to me. Proper Crafts for DD started at around 15-20 m . The woman is rude!

Sometimes I wonder if I'm a bit slow on the uptake because I'm subconsciously trying to keep dd a baby (she's my pfb) but you've all reassured me. Thank you.

play worker was undoubtedly quite bonkers - a lot of batty people seem to get into that kind of work, I do not know why, perhaps they enjoy making mothers feel bad or something.
Play-doh might be nice.....

IME at that age the only thing they do with craft stuff is plaster it all over themselves. So unless babies have changed a lot in the last 10 yrs yours sounds completely normal! Next week they'll probably be telling you she should be cooking her own dinner.

My 13 month old prefers eating crayons to drawing with them.

Haha to cooking her own dinner! Yes "what you mean you still make her food for her?"

There is a craft station at one of the groups I go to. The average age of a child playing at it is around 2-3. I have a 21 month old - a crayon eater. To be honest I never even gave my older children a crayon until they were about 18 months which they fed the teddies. I never had glitter in the house until playschool age. Tell her you're concentrating on phonics at the minute, crafts next term