The craft at the library today was to make a tree like the ones in The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The base was made with a little blob of play-doh. My son colored the red fish blue fish picture and then started a mini-tantrum, so I told him that we had to go home and not finish craft time. As I was driving home, I was thinking about the craft and I don't know if I would have had him do it anyway because of the play-doh. My son is only 16 months old and I don't think that it is age appropriate yet. The story time and crafts are designed with children birth through preschool age, but I know that not everything is appropriate for the little ones. How old were your kids when they started to play with play-doh? Or do you make your own?
Play-doh for little ones with supervision is fabulous!
Shoot...I'd have a tantrum too if I were 16 months old and my mom was making me draw fish while everyone else played with squishy, brightly colored stuff. ;-)
My kids started at about age 3 when they stopped putting everything in their mouths. We bought some but the kind you make stays soft much longer. Plus they enjoyed the "cooking" process (they got to stir). My youngest is 12 and still plays with clay and playdoh - more with clay that can be baked so their creations remain. But at 16 months they are definitely still mouthing stuff, so I would not introduce playdoh quite yet.
Play Doh, being the spawn of Satan, should be used sparingly! LOL
If you're going to let him "do" Play Doh--get a mat, a little plastic table and put it OUTSIDE, if possible.
(It really is an awesome fine motor developer and fun for the kids. But...yeah...better outside!)
I'm sure the "tree" project was a little advanced for him. Have him roll worms and snakes and use cookie cutters to make shapes. 16 mos. seems younger than when mine played with Play Doh. Two seems better.
LoL!! My kids are 12 and 9 and we have NEVER had PD at our house! They played with it at school, grandmas and daycare, but it got into our carpet once and that was it. I know this didn't answer your question but hope you get some good responses. Good luck!
my boys were about 18 months....I like to make my own. It is fun and I love to knead it...it is like a hand massage! They all get mixed up anyway so this is a lot cheaper. Plus I like the koolaid colors and it makes it smell good
My children are 2.5 and 3.5 and we just recently started playing with playdoh. They have to keep it at the kids table. If they get up with it, put it in their mouth or do anything else i deem inaapropriate with it there is no more playdoh for a week.
It is VERY rare that we do playdoh here and my little one is 4 1/2. It's just so messy and even now she tries to eat it sometimes. I make her keep it in the kitchen but it still gets smeared all over the tile, on the table, etc.
With supervision a little over a year old....
My girls love play doh!
DD was probably around 18 months old. I just kept an eye on her when she was smaller so she didn't eat it.
my daughter did at 1. Its non toxic. We did play doh, and I'd also mix together various foods (flour, cooked rice) and water and let her shape those too and make a mess while I cooked. At that age they love texture, I wouldn't hold back unless you don't want the mess.
I made my own play-doh (it really is SUPER EASY, you don't have to be crafty at all) and my DD started playing with it when she was about 12 months. At this age they really only squish it with their hands and like making a huge mess (let him do it in his high chair and put a mat underneath) but it's a nice sensory experience for them.
My DD tried tasting it maybe once or twice, but the homemade stuff is really salty, so she never actually ate it.
mine were about 2. I would put a plastic table cloth on our dining table and play with them. We never had super big mess issues with it because i was right there with them and they knew if they were 'bad' with it, then I would put it away.
My son is 2 1/2, and he has a 4 yr old cousin that I watch sometimes. I have never bought playdoh for them, but I made it once about 6 months ago. They loved playing with it, but it made such a mess and I was scared the dog was gonna eat it (it had a lot of salt in it, not good for dogs). Plus, even though I made a bunch of colors, they all got smashed together and ended up a purple-y greenish brownish color. I'll probably do it again this summer, now that my son has a little more control of his hands and fingers and can manipulate it better. Playdoh can be a good activity for developing motor skills.
My good friend has a ton of playdoh for her kids, age 4 and 2 as well. She has been having them play with it forever. I guess it just depends on how much of a mess you are willing to clean up.
Just wanted to comment also and say I'm with you on the library doing non-age appropriate crafts. For yours, if there is such a range of ages there should be an adaptation of the craft for those too young to take on the full thing. I was taking my son to a storytime/craft time at our library that was specific for 2 year olds. But everytime it would be craft time, she would just show the parents what the finished product looked like, and most of the time it was stuff the kids really couldn't accomplish on their own and the parents ended up doing it all. I realize it's free, but I don't think it's too much to ask to try to involve the kids more. Ok, vent over!
I let my kids play with playdoh around 2 years of age, but I took away some of the playdoh tools that were small or I didn't want them playing with yet.
They didn't have the strength or dexterity to use a lot of the accessories that come with playdoh so for the most part we used it with them. We also tend to only let them have one color at a time to reduce the mess.
They had exposure to home made (not by me) playdoh before that.
I didn't have too much issues with them trying to eat it and if they start to get wild in their play with it, I will put it away.
I think the playdoh itself is rated 2+, but most of the playdoh packages come with accessories and are rated 3+.
