Product review: Tadoodle or not to doodle

Oh thank goodness for washable crayons, but there has to be a better option!

The box says they're designed for a child's first palm grip. They wash off walls when bath time is over. OK, I'll buy that. And they're non-toxic…SOLD! The set comes with little floating stencils that your child can sit the product on or use to trace shapes. I believe the creators had good intentions but maybe JP should have tested them before they hit the market.

Let me start with the good before I get to the problem areas. J "Picasso" Melvin leaves no tub surface untouched by these orange and blue crayons. But I am very pleased to report that those scribbles do indeed wash off with little effort! Just spray on a little cleanser and wipe away. As for the non-toxic part, once again, I can vouch for that. Mr. JP decided to take a bite out of one of them just because

(Picture me doing the CPR mouth sweep with my fingers) He quickly spit out the little piece, but boy was I happy the product lived up to that promise.

Now … for the not so good part. It took a little while for him to get the grasp of the bulky product. He finally got the hang of it after a few tries, but at first he was a little frustrated because I did more drawing than him. The other drawback is that the crayon wears down much too quickly. Babies have no idea how much force to exert so he nearly mashed the entire crayon down to a nub within a week. Which brings me to the next problem, have you seen the price of those replacements? Sheesh!

I guess this is a mild example of taking the good with the bad. If buying replacements every week brings a smile to my baby’s face and keeps me dry during bath time I guess I’ll just have to shell out a few extra bucks.