Is your baby showing  interest in scribbling already? While some think it might be too early for their child to start using crayons and pencils, others have children who show extreme interest in scribbling quite early and may want to use some tips for encouraging their little one:

1. 100% supervision. No matter how old your toddler is, he or she requires supervision when taking their first steps to drawing. Pencils, for example, can be dangerous if a child plays unsupervised with them or if allowed to run around with pencils in his hand. You don’t want to imagine what could happen if your little darling fell on a sharp pencil! And although most are now non-toxic, you wouldn’t want your child munching away on the crayons.

2. Try 1 or 2 colors at first but don’t restrict the access to the pencil or crayon box too much – children do get overwhelmed fast but at the same time it is a good opportunity to learn how to make choices.

3. Give some room for creativity. Set up a place where your child will let his/her imagination work. It could be a big piece of paper or even a wall that you can easily wash. Some of my friends cover a certain portion of a wall in the nursery with plain wallpaper and let their children draw and color their ways to perfection.

4. Take your time and sit down with your child to draw, color or scribble. While at it, you can teach your child so many other things: names of the colors, sharing and bonding.

Remember: children like to get their hands dirty. When buying pencils and crayons, look for the washable type – it will ease your laundry time!