Activities for toddler

[LiamsMum]

Just wondering how old your children were when you started to allow them to draw, paint, etc...? My little boy is 19 months and I'm really not sure when to introduce him to some paper and crayons, mainly because at his age he would be more interested in making patterns on the walls or taking a bite of the crayon. He is still very much into exploring and I don't even know if he would be interested in 'drawing' or any kind of craft activities yet. My husband thinks he is too young, he says we should wait until he is old enough to understand what he's doing. I'm really not sure... would appreciate some thoughts. Thanks.

Dd is 17 months, and has been colouring and painting and doing other little art projects (pasting colourful shapes, etc) at nursery ever since ... well, probably about 6 months old. Of course at first we knew that the carers were actually doing more of the painting and colouring than she was, but it was at least giving her the idea of what to do ...

And now, just the other day I sat her down with a colouring pad and crayons, and she coloured quite happily for a good ten minutes or so. It is neat to see how her 'colouring' has progressed - she used to just make little dots on the page (and that was more by accident than design), but now she makes lots of little lines.

Probably not a Picasso, but it still makes mummy really proud, and gives me something to put on my fridge! :-)

(And working with the crayons gives us yet another perfect chance to talk about colours.)

(Oh - not sure if this is a good tip or not, but when I have coloured with her, I have been extremely reluctant to guide her hand at all - It was really tempting at first to take her hand and move it back and forth across the page, but I was determined to let her do it in her own way, in her own time, and it has worked out well.)

And as far as fear of them colouring everything else - well, I reckon she's going to do that some day anyway (I think all kids do at some point) - We just keep the crayons out of reach and then supervise her when she does use them.

We also have her sitting at a proper little table and chair while she does this, and she seems to really like that, too.

I have a scribble drawing ds did at around 18 months. I remember introducing him to crayons around that age - nice big fat chunky ones that wouldn't break. We'd only get them out for 10 minutes at a time, do some scribbles, stick them on the fridge and he was happy. I think he really enjoyed just going mad with different colours - I'd encourage him to use different colours and it helped him with his colour recognition too. When he was 2 he got a chalk easel, which again, he just loved scribbling on, wiping it off and doing it all over again. In the summer we let him chalk on the patio outside. Now he's nearly 3 we're getting drawings that actually start to look like things - lovely smiley faces, rockets, elephants, complete with trunks and ears and nine legs! The easel is permanently up and he likes to draw letters now - he's nearly got the hang of writing his name (good job its only 3 letters long!) I tend to avoid paint - I can't stand the mess, but he's certainly been painting from around 18 months at his minders.

I say let him explore with crayons and paper. It helps with fine motor skills and is just good fun!

Ds is 17 months old and has been producing nursery masterpieces for a while. He is v keen on pens and pencils. Biros (supervised!) are good for producing visible lines. He has great triangle shaped chunky pencils from ELC which encourage proper pincer grip and he enjoys those although it has taken a while for the need to press hard to produce substantive colour to sink in. I did try felt tip pens on the basis of instant strong colour but he prefers to suck the end of them. Crayons are out as he bites them into little bits which probably don't taste v nice but are a definite choking hazard. I'm psyching myself up to paint now that the weather is better...

I'd go along with everything said here. Children are never too young to draw, once they can hold a crayon. ELC sell nice chunky versions of crayons/chalks etc. Sponge painting is fun and manageable at 19mths, too. A roll of lining wallpaper is inexpensive and you can use lots of it without feeling too extravagent. Keeping the crayons out of reach is a definite must, though, at this age!

Ds, 18 months, has started to enjoy scribbling (any other discription would be over hopeful on my part) over the last couple of months.

His biggest breakthrough came when he discovered felt tips at playschool. It seems to find them more impressive than crayons so we have a packet of water soluble felt tips at home now. I would def back having a special place (we use the low chair set up on the high chair) where colouring happens. Do expect a little bit of experimentation on taste and how it feels on hands etc but that can be cleared up and passes.

We have spent a lot of time repeating 'on the paper' and it's now sticking. If he sees me writing now he comes over and has a little scribble which seems like the way in should be. We also paint at playgroup now and it's a right royal mess, again, it washes off eventually. Yesterday he walked around for half the day with blue paint on this face, auditioning for Braveheart.

Yes I agree with everyone here, dd started from about 12 months or so, just getting familiar with the idea of making marks on paper, progressing to lines and dots. By her 21 month check she wowed the HV's with her perfect circle drawings, so I'm convinced I've got a little van Gogh on my hands (as you do when your child shows any talent at anything!) Now aged 26 months she can draw faces with eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows (?) and hair!! We've also had v clear fish and flowers and I'm pretty sure its because she started so young

I have just today bought a great set by Crayola that consists of paints, sponges (eg in the shape of feet, love hearts, smiley face, etc), rollers that make different patterns (eg little squares), brushes, a pad and a mat to collect some of the mess. It cost £14.99 and I think well worth the money. It does actually say not for children under 36 months but everything says this and so long as you supervise this should be fun.
I got home late today so haven't used it yet but am looking forward to having a go tomorrow.
My daughter has had felts, crayons, paint for a good few months now. Crayons just seem to get bitten off so I'm avoiding this for the moment and felt tips do end up in the mouth a bit too so need to keep an eye on her but I think it's worth starting now.
Good luck and get a plastic splash mat if you can (Mothercare do one for £4.99), certainly a good investment!

LiamsMum, you can get non-toxic crayons and washable paints/textas, and use an old shirt put on backwards or buy a smock...or you can just put him in old clothes and let him go for it! Put a plastic tablecloth down first and let him draw on a large piece of paper (try the butchers or fish and chip shop!), either on the floor or on a table. We had a plastic outdoor table which we no longer needed, so dh cut off the legs to about 2 ft, and now it is a perfect height for the kids, and nice and big AND easy to wipe over! Painting is probably better outside in the warmer months (just in case!) - those big easels with the blackboard/magnetic whiteboard are great. You can use lots of things to paint, like dishmops, water-filled balloons, flyswats, rollers...powder paints are excellent and last for ages. If you really don't want to use paint, you can actually "paint" with water - my kids love to "paint" the fence and the bricks with a bucket of water and a big brush! (It makes the fence/wall darker so they feel they are really painting it!) If you can handle the idea of glue, I'm sure your son would love it! Cut out pictures from magazines, group them, stick them on...use dry pasta, or foil, or leaves...almost anything really! You might need to buy a bigger fridge to display all his masterpieces on though! (Don't forget to write his name on them so he can see it written down - not all in capitals) Have fun!

P.S. If you don't already use it, playdough is very good for creative play as well as fine motor skill etc...the homemade stuff is the best! Let me know if you need a recipe (I also have a paint recipe).

Could we have the playdough recipe please. Thanks Mollipops.

And the paint one too, please?

Message withdrawn

Pleasure meadow and s-t-p!

Playdough
1 cup plain flour
half cup salt
2 tbspns cream of tartar
1 tbspn cooking oil
1 cup water
food colouring
Place dry ingredients in a saucepan. Add oil and then water and mix well. (You can put the food colouring in later but I find that if you add it to the water it's more even.) Cook over a medium heat, stir constantly until dough becomes thicker and does not stick to the saucepan or feel sticky or tacky. (Make sure you don't undercook it as it doesn't work out!) Remove from heat and allow to cool. Can be used immediately or stored in plastic wrap in the fridge (or the cupboard in an airtight container if it is cool weather!) (TIP: Let it dry on the saucepan and scrape it off - if you soak the pan it goes gluggy and is a lot messier to clean later!) Keeps for ages and the kids love it, so much better to use than the shop stuff! Non-toxic, but so salty they usually won't try it twice!

Fingerpaint
2 cups cold water
half cup plain flour
2 tblspns cornflour
4 tblspns cold water
food colouring
Place 2 cups water and flour in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Blend together cornflour and 2nd amt of water. Stir into flour mixture and cook until it thickens a bit. Remove form heat, allow to cool and add food colouring. Don't worry about the lumps, they add texture to the painting experience! Can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Have fun!!!

That's the same playdough recipe I use and I can vouch that its very easy to make. Very strange when it starts to turn thick. I made mine months ago and keep it in an old lunchbox in a cupboard. When its not played with for a while the salt sort of crystalises on top, but with a good knead its soon back to normal.

Ds had some ELC Soft Stuff for Christmas, it was awful to handle when it was cold, went hard quick and has now ended up in the bin. I swear I will never buy playdough again. The homemade stuff washes off clothes without a trace and if you get it on the carpet, just let it dry and it hoovers up lovely.

Thanks Mollipops - will try it this weekend.

Thanks Mollipops - will need to buy cream of tartar at weekend.

On the subject of 'activities for toddlers' all suggestions of what to do with a toddler who has so much energy that he hardly ever sits still in the day, would be greatly appreciated!

Our son, who is adorably affectionate and loving, in a very rough and ready kind of way, is 20 months. He will scribble, build bricks etc for seconds, watch tv for a couple of minutes, listen to a story for 5 minutes and run around for hours! Help... taking him to playgroup etc is proving a nightmare and I am sure all friends and relatives are beginning to avoid us in case we ask them to babysit!!

Please note, he has an hours sleep in the middle of the day (which he needs desperately) and is in bed by seven (thank goodness!)

It's difficult at this age, isn't it? They're not really old enough for structured activities but they get a bit bored and hyper. I remember taking my boys to a local kids "Art Activities for under 2s" session and watching them eat glue! Doh!
I think the parks and playgrounds are practically the only solution, Winnie. Luckily summer's coming... Or how about dancing to loud music? Or making loud music yourselves with saucepans and spoons? Swimming could be good if he likes water. Or he might be ok with a bit of biscuit making, if you could stand the mess- even if he lost interest in seconds flat and threw flour around the kitchen at least you could both eat the results!
The person you really need to ask is Ems- I'm always amazed and admiring at the activities she suggests. I haven't seen her posting for a while but if you see her name on any of the threads- try the cooking ones?- grab her and ask her! I'm sure she's your woman. I could use a few tips for 3 year olds, actually. We seem to have been stuck in a Thunderbirds obsession for longer than my boredom threshold allows. Time to make them make cakes methinks...

My DS at this age ate playdoh when I left him in the leisure centre creche for an hour. I knew nothing of this (and probably they didn't notice either) until I found this green squashy stuff in his nappy, absolutely disgusting. I remember fishing through the dirty nappy trying to work out what it was as it looked like something had gone terribly wrong with his insides before it struck me it was playdoh.

It is a difficult age, I had and still have a very active DS but certainly as he approached 3 his concentration has increased, he will now sit down and watch a whole Disney film (bliss!) and on the whole is happy to do art based activities and now draws and paints very well. He now makes things with playdoh instead of eating it. I know it is hard when they are so active but it does get better. In saying this DS' favourite activity at the moment is continually jumping off the furniture!

Winnie, I know how you feel! My daughter is 22 months and extremely active. I am the Mum at any group who is darting all over the room trying to retrieve her from some peril, she never even looks back to see if I'm coming. I was almost at the point of giving up a class as she was so all over the place but she has, after about 9 months participation, finally 'got-it'! She will still wander off but is now interested in story-time (previously couldn't hold her attention for more than 2 minutes) as I think she is starting to understand more. If you can get to a class which has a bit of variety, ie bit of play, bit of climbing, bit of singing, bit of story, it really does pass some time, use up some energy. Also, we do a music class, singing Twinkle, Twinkle, etc, it may sound dull but she absolutely loves it and so do all the mums, I promise it's not as twee as it sounds!
Other than that, I take mine swimming once a week, now just on my own, put her armbands on and she's floating away on her own. She goes demented in the pool, whizzes down the slide, etc, she loves it. She is absolutely worn out afterwards and we do it about 3/4 o'clock and she's practically begging to go to bed at the end of that day.
If you have a garden, a cheap sandpit is a good investment, especially if you get one with a lid as you can put water in that part. Take out loads of cups, child's watering can, etc, and that seems to entertain mine for a while. I also get mine to water my plants with her can, great!
Painting, washable felt-tips, crayons are great. Mine tries to eat them all too but I think all kids stuff is non-toxic now so I keep pulling them back out of her mouth hoping one day she'll understand!
I don't know why but mine loves Teletubbies, I mean won't move for the entire time they are on (which is a miracle!). I'm sure you've probably tried but if not, give it a go!
Every so often I read a great book called 'The Toddler's Busy Book' by Trish Kuffner, bought off Amazon. It's full of good ideas I keep meaning to try and funnily enough was just reading it this morning. It's the best book I have found. So many things you could do, none of them involve spending money and going somewhere they are silly things like 'rock play', get them to pick up stones when you are out (mine is obssessed with stones at the moment), take them home, make sure they are quite big so if they go in the mouth they won't choke and give them a good clean. Put them all in something like a tupperware box with a lid give them some more empty ones too and they do actually put all the stones from one box to another. Not hours of fun admittedly!!!!! but even silly things like this help pass away some time. She has about a million little things like this to do. As I say, it's not hours of relief but it's sometimes nice to do lots of little things. I hope I don't sound like some mad woman now, 'lets play with the rocks', what a nerd!!!