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Baby Hints & Tips

The best safe alternative slime recipes

Let’s talk about SLIME (and the best alternative slime recipes that will be safe for your whole family!)

Slime is the current sensory play trend filling our screens and making a mess in our houses. Generally speaking it’s a material suitable for older children (i.e. tweens), however younger children are getting intrigued and are wanting to join in as well. Most kids LOVE the messy/sensory play experience – there is even a 12-year-old duo from Adelaide who have their own business making and selling their specialty slime at the local markets.
But do you actually know what ingredients go into making slime that create that particular ‘slimy’ texture? Have you searched the Internet and find that every recipe contains “borax”? What actually is borax anyway? Well it’s a chemical, and when making slime using this ingredient, a chemical reaction actually occurs (read this article here for more info).
There have been recent reports about children ingesting this material and becoming quite ill. So we here at Baby Hints & Tips want to put your minds at ease and offer you some fantastic SAFE alternative recipes so that your children can still enjoy this wonderful sensory experience, but you don’t need to worry about nasty chemicals or accidents.

Slime recipe

7 Safe Slimy Sensory Play Recipes

Oobleck

  • I cup corn flour/corn starch
  • I cup of water
  • food colouring

The fascinating thing with oobleck is that it changes from a liquid to a solid and back again. Try forming it into a ball, and then rest it on the palm of your hand and see what happens!

Sand Foam

  • shaving cream + sand = easy!

This one could not be easier. Your children may have played with shaving cream before (and I’m 100% sure they have played with sand) but have you ever thought to combine them? This one is at the top of my to do list with my 2 and 4 year old.

Silky Playdough

  • 2 cups corn flour/corn starch
  • I cup of conditioner

Yes you read that right – 1 cup of HAIR CONDITIONER! The thing I love about this recipe is that it smells so good! Such a sensory delight for little hands.

2 Ingredient Slime

  • Psyillium husk powder or Metamucil (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 cup of water

This one might surprise you – when microwaved for 5 minutes psyillium husk powder (more commonly known as Metamucil) transforms into the exact slimy texture we are looking for. Use a large bowl and beware as it can bubble over as it’s heated through (and it will be volcanic hot in the centre at first). It has a real flubbery consistency, and it’s not sticky. For the full instructions and more information – here is the original source of this recipe.

Slime recipe

Yoghurt Putty

  • 1 cup of yoghurt
  • ¾ cup of corn flour/corn starch)

YUM! This is a great one for babies as it’s perfectly safe if they taste a little bit as they’re playing. You could also try dish soap instead of yoghurt (but don’t let them eat that version!).

Soapy Slime

  • 1 cup of soap flakes
  • 3 cups of boiling water
  • food colouring

How great would it be if the kids got clean while they were doing messy play? Check out the full recipe and instructions here.

Simple Playdough Recipe

  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup of salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • 1 + ½ cups of boiling water
  • food colouring

You can never go wrong with play dough for your daily dose of sensory play. A staple ingredient in every childhood, so when in doubt – just go back to what you know and this play dough recipe works every single time!

For some more super fun play dough activity ideas – check out these Top Ten Tips!

Slime recipe

Ready to try one of these alternative slime recipes yourself?

Keep in mind that with all of these sensory play slime recipes, you may need to adjust your quantities to get the desired result. Add more water, or sprinkle more flour and experiment until you get it just right. Steer clear of the borax and chemical slime recipes to ease your peace of mind that your children are engaging in safe sensory play.

Plus check out these other great Toddler Crafts that your child is sure to love!

Easy DIY toys for babies and toddlers

 

About the Author:

Lauren is a teacher and mother of two from Adelaide, South Australia. She writes all about early learning and parenting stories over at Teacher Types. Find Lauren on Instagram and Facebook

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