When was your kid old enough for a colouring book?

CalinsBride

And crayons. We are taking a plane ride on Wednesday (eek!) and I'm thinking of everything I can possibly use to keep DS from being a total monster. Will he just eat and break the crayons? I got him a dollar store magna doodle because he likes to "write" with our pens. . .

Shayna0182

I know ds isn't ready yet.  When we go out to eat, i've tried to give him the crayons and coloring book, and he usually tries to tear up the book, and throw the crayons all over the place. 

Squishycheeks1

We bought DD some crayons when she was 13 mos., and she loves them!

She tried to put them in her mouth once or twice, but once she realized what they were for she lost interest in eating them. 

heatherlane

They go straight in my kid's mouth. And then it becomes a game, with me saying "no" and him smiling as he tries to put them back in.

blushingbrideoct07

The twins I watched were both able to play with crayons around 15 months.  At around 18  mths it would occupy them for 45 mins to an hour. 

deana716

I just tried to use those todoole crayons with LO this morning...FAIL  He only wants to eat them!

macchiatto

They got better around 18-19m, but we still have to watch them closely so they don't put the crayons in their mouths.

LynnJones

Casey is just starting to not put them in her mouth and actually color with them, well not color but scribble. 

pechezncreme06

I started giving DD one while we are in restaurants about a month ago. She does pretty well with it. She might only "color" for 10 mins at a time, but later she is interested again. She actually holds a crayone very precisely, i'm suprised. I only give her one crayon to color with, otherwise they end up all over the floor.

kiwi443

heatherlane:

They go straight in my kid's mouth. And then it becomes a game, with me saying "no" and him smiling as he tries to put them back in.

Exact same thing here.

And CB, how dare you be so pretentious with your spelling of color!

SusieQ1982

I wouldn't give colouring books anyway. They stifle creativity. If you want your kid to colour, just give them plain paper with the crayons.

Lesley0228

You just got to test it out and see. They are old enough when they stop eating the crayons, but thats certainly different for all kids. We give DD crayons and paper every few weeks to see. As of last weekend, she is still biting the ends off of crayons.

katiekate1974

AJ looooves to color, oh my word. Has for months. I don't know that the coloring book is important for him....plain paper works just as well right now for him. But I have coloring books because it seems that's the only way to get the color wonder paper these days. I say, give it a try. It's inexpensive and doesn't take up much room, so no big loss if it doesn't work!

katiekate1974

SusieQ1982:

I wouldn't give colouring books anyway. They stifle creativity. If you want your kid to colour, just give them plain paper with the crayons.

I must say, it's a sad day when coloring books get flamed. What's next? Hugs?