The Nutritional Value of Crayons

I never questioned whether or not crayons were harmful before I had kids. To me, it didn't matter. You use them to color or create works of art, then put them away. I never understood that these are actually quite attractive to young children as a form of food. Weston used to gnaw on crayons when he was really little, so I never let him play with them. I figured it was just a stage because he puts everything in his mouth (and still does for that matter). But, I figured it was about time for him to explore his motor skills as well as his creativity. So, I splurged and spent $0.79 on a pack of Roseart crayons.

I am super excited to watch him color his first picture. I take out a piece of paper and hand him three crayons - red, green, and orange. No particular psycological reason as to the colors, they just happened to be the ones I touched when I reached in. He has a smile on his face and gets right to work. I watch him as he grabs the red crayon and with great precision holds it correctly in his hand and colors some squiggly lines. He then transfers it to his other hand and exchanges it for a green one. He does this for quite some time, making sure to keep rotating out the colors. Then he puts them all in one fist and begins to bang the tips on the paper. He thinks this is funny and continues to adorn the page.

I think he gets a little bored because he begins to suck on the end of the red crayon. Wanting to put a stop to this right away, I tell him firmly that he is not to put the crayons in his mouth, and pull it out. After several more attempts and a warning with each, I take the crayon from him explaining that crayons are not for eating and if he is going to eat them, then I am taking them away. He is not very happy so I decide it is time to eat lunch.

Silly mommy brings Weston lunch but does not take away his crayons and paper. I sat down next to him at the table and started checking my email. I obviously was engrossed in what I was doing because I was completely unaware of what was going on right next to me. All of a sudden I hear him gagging and choking. I look over and he has his finger completely in the back of his throat. I thought he was just being obnoxious (sometimes he likes to gag himself for fun) but then he starts to turn red. I pounded his back and he begins to vomit. It was a lot of vomit. Gross!!!!

I start to look at him to see what happened, and I see orange flecks and pieces of a crayon wrapper. I look closer and notice that he ATE THE CRAYON! I tried to find the rest of the crayon on the floor or the table when I realize it was completely gone! He had eaten the ENTIRE orange crayon - wrapper and all! Just the thought of that made me want to vomit (also the fact that there was vomit now all over him and the floor probably didn't help either). I could not believe it. I have no idea what is so appealing about the taste of crayons, but apparently they are a delicacy in Weston's book.

Bath time! I think we will have to wait a few more months before we attempt this again!

(what is left of the orange crayon - excuse the graphic nature) :)