Well, I have nothing to add! These wonderful ladies have said it all. I would have written Treeholm's post exactly as she wrote it. I'm just chiming in with the cyber hug and encouragement for you to be tough, it's your business, your rules, they signed the contract agreeing to abide by all of it.

I do take my group outside every day possible and we only craft one day a week, but I have babies as young as 10 months learning to colour with washable markers. I tape a paper to their booster table and help them learn that they are making colours, not putting it in their mouths, same with playdo, fingerpainting. Parents love it when you hand them a piece of paper with 5 marks on it made by their baby! Handprint crafts are awesome for babies because they make a great keepsake for the parents and the babies are learning about the textures and ins and outs of crafting.