Children love to express themselves using their creative side. Coloring is always a great activity to do with your little one as it can help with the development of their fine motor skills and encourage creativity.
You may think that all crayons are made the same but you would be very wrong. In this day and age, there are far more options available to parents than there were as little as a decade ago.
Crayons now come in different sizes. They are made from various materials and a variety of color palettes. But we are going to concentrate on the best non-toxic crayons that are available in 2024.
Why are we featuring non-toxic crayons you may ask? Well, the truth is that children, especially little ones, seem to really enjoy putting things in their mouths that are not supposed to be consumed – like crayons.
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Short On Time? Here Are Our Top 3 Choices
| Title | Price | Prime | Buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Top | Honeysticks 100% Pure Beeswax Crayons | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 | Jumbo Crayons for Toddlers | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 | Crayons for Toddlers | PrimeEligible | Buy Now |
Why Choose Crayons?
So with so many other mediums available to children, why should you choose crayons? Here are a few reasons:
Size
Crayons are quite small even the more chunky ones. Because of their small size, they force your little one to focus on their finger movements and improves their muscle control in their hands and fingers.
These skills will be crucial in the coming years as they start to learn to write.
Mess
To be honest, crayons are one of the least messy art mediums. There are no spilled pots as there is with paint. There is no drawing on themselves as they can do with markers. Crayons are far less likely to leave marks on walls, carpets or furnishings.
Art Experimentation
Crayons allow your little one to easily see what happens when they mix two colors. They can see what happens to a crayon when they press down too hard or when they press lightly.
Crayons give them the opportunity to experiment with early science concepts.
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Why Choose Non-toxic Crayons?
From the minute your little one is born, they put everything in their mouth. From their hands when they are very small, which is not a problem.
It is a normal stage of development but once they are able to move around on their own, they will put anything they find in their mouth.
Often what they find is not suitable or safe for them to be ingesting and crayons are no different. The first time that you give your little one a crayon you can basically guarantee that it is going straight in their mouth!
As parents, it’s our job to provide a safe environment in which our children can explore safely and when it comes to creative activities, this is even more important.
Many of the crayons that you may have purchased in the past that state they are non-toxic is not necessarily correct or even true.
There have been reports in the past of some crayons containing high levels of mercury especially in the darker colors such as purples and blues.
Lead has also been found in some yellows and oranges. Neither of which is something you want your little one to ingest. There is also the environmental impact that the production of typical crayons can have as they are made out of paraffin wax.
This is a petroleum byproduct but it does not biodegradable which means that those crayons will always be around, stuck in some landfill somewhere!
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Crayons.
Opening a new box of crayons is so satisfying and exciting. Each perfect crayon all lined up in the box ready for lots of creative fun! But not all crayons are made the same so here are a few tips for when you are crayon shopping:
Variety of colors
This is going to depend on the age of your children. If you have a very young toddler, you may want to concentrate on the basic primary colors.
For older children, they will absolutely love the large variety of colors that are available with the more sophisticated sets.
Storage
Do not kid yourself that those crayons will go back in that perfect little box or that the box will even survive that long. The best piece of advice I can give you is to plan on having a little box to store all your crayons in when they are not being used.
This will also help to teach your little one about tidying up at the end of an activity.
Crayon size
You may be thinking that you didn’t even realize that crayons came in different sizes. Well, they do and for good reasons. There are jumbo crayons that are short and stubby which are great for little hands that are learning to hold them.
They can also be used to help your child develop their pencil-holding technique. Purchasing a variety of crayon sizes will be great for a toddler to experiment with.
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Old crayons
There are lots of activities that you can do with crayons that do not actually involve coloring in the traditional sense. One of my favorites is to gather all the old crayons that I have and use a hairdryer to create melted crayon art.
You can also melt all the collected crayons together and make some new fun crayon shapes. Just let your child’s imagination run wild!
Here Are Some Of Our Favorite Non-Toxic Crayons
Here are our five favorite non-toxic crayons that I am sure your little ones will love and that you can be sure are perfectly safe even if they decide they look quite tasty!
1. Honeysticks Beeswax Crayons
Honeysticks beeswax crayons are made from 100% pure New Zealand beeswax. They contain no paraffin wax or cheap fillers and they are one of the only crayons on the market that are made with 100% beeswax.
This makes them completely non-toxic so if your little one decides to snack on one they will be perfectly fine.
These crayons are made from a by-product of honey production meaning that it is a sustainable process that has the most minimal impact on the environment. The best part is that they come with a wonderful honey scent.
Their chubby shape makes them perfect for little hands to hold with ease but makes them more difficult for them to break them in half meaning that they should last a good while.
They are also available in thin and long as well as the chubby size which is perfect for older children.
These crayons have fantastic reviews and they are also an Amazon’s Choice product.
Buy on Amazon
2. Jumbo Crayons for Toddlers
These crayons come as a box of 16 and are made from natural non-toxic wax. The wax does not include soluble elements, such as lead or asbestos.
These crayons have also acquired CPSC certificates in the US and CE certificates in Europe. They’re safe for little ones even if they do put them in their mouth.
These crayons are chunky which are perfect for little hands and help children to develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
They also come in a range of vibrant colors that are perfect to help children express themselves. These crayons are another Amazon Choice product too.
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3. Palm Grip Crayons
These crayons are made from 100% non-toxic natural wax. The wax does not include any soluble elements such as lead or asbestos and they have been tested to ensure that they meet the American Toy Standards.
They have a very unique shape – egg-shaped crayons. These are specially designed for little hands to be able to create their magical art effortlessly.
Each box contains a set of 9 vibrant colors and they are washable. The crayons will wash off hands with hand soap so no worries about staining little one’s hands.
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4. NOYO Gel Crayons – Non-Toxic
These come as a pack of 36 colors and I think they would be better for older toddlers. They are non-toxic and give children the opportunity to learn to color in 3 different ways – crayon, pastel, or watercolor.
They have the consistency of smooth butter that you can blend easily just like a pastel or even add a dap of water and you have stunning watercolors.
They are the perfect no-mess paint colors, with easy cleanup and no staining as they easily wash off.
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5. Lebze 12 Colors Toddler Crayons
These crayons come in a box of 12 vibrant colors, which are perfect for toddlers. They are made from a non-toxic natural wax. The wax does not include soluble elements, such as lead or asbestos.
These crayons have also acquired CPSC certificates in the US and CE certificates in Europe. They are safe for little ones even if they do put them in their mouth.
These crayons are so easy to use as they have a silky texture and they can also easily be washed off bathtub walls and tiles, meaning that they can continue their creativity in the tub!
They are the perfect addition to any toddler’s arts and craft area. They provide the perfect opportunity for developing thinking skills, fine motor skills, and color exploration.
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Final Thoughts
Crayons are a great piece of equipment to help your little one develop many different skills such as color exploration, fine motor skills, thinking skills, and also social skills.
Out of the five that we have featured, my favorite has to be the Honeysticks Beeswax Crayons. Not only are they the perfect size for my toddler’s hands and are made from 100% beeswax, but they also smell fantastic!
