Slime Safety: How To Make Slime Without Worry

You can squeeze, stretch, scramble, sniff, and stare at your slime to your heart’s delight, but don’t let anyone take a bite. Though the ingredients that make up slime are wonderful and simple, they aren’t friendly to your insides. Unfortunately, kids are all too likely to take a nibble of their slimy creations at some point regardless of your instructions, especially if it smells like food. Every kid is different, but if yours is a slime-munching risk, you would benefit from slime safety tips on how to make slime without worry.

Supervise, Supervise, Supervise

We wouldn’t exactly call slime-making an orderly task. It’s more of a structured mess that yields something cool at the end. In the heat of the moment, you’re busy looking for ingredients, bowls, measuring cups, and cleaning supplies while this goopy thing takes shape.

It’s all too easy for your child to overflow with curiosity, and want to see what their slime tastes like. Though telling them not to taste it is your first step, don’t let up on supervision. It’s easiest to tag-team this activity with another adult so kids aren’t alone.

Wash Hands or Use Gloves

Next up on this slime safety guide to making slime without worry is a recommendation to protect your kiddo’s hands, either by wearing gloves or washing their hands afterward. For some kids, especially those who have sensitive skin, are prone to eczema, or have open cuts or burns, the ingredient borax can cause a rash and blisters with a lot of direct contact.

While it’s easy enough to make slime without touching borax too much (hint: use a mixing spoon), gloves guarantee your kids won’t come into contact with it at all. If you don’t have gloves, at least make sure they wash up afterward, so no residual borax sits on their hands. This way, there’s no obstacle between them and playing with their new creation.

Use a Kid-Safe or Edible Recipe

If you want to make sure there’s little doubt about safety, you can completely change up the recipe. We still suggest you caution your kids against eating the slime, though. Even alternative recipes aren’t supposed to be a snack, and it’s safer in the long run if they don’t create a habit of nibbling on slime. That said, here are three borax-free recipes concocted by Little Bins for Little Hands:

• Gummy Bear Slime
  • 1 cup of gummy bears
  • 2 tablespoons of corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon of oil (as needed)
• Marshmallow Fluff Slime
  • A tub of marshmallow fluff
  • Powdered sugar (as needed)
  • Food coloring
• Jello Slime
  • 1 cup of cornstarch
  • 1 package of sugar-free gelatin
  • 3/4 cups of warm water

If you have more specific questions about safety, get in touch with our Dope Slimes team. And, if you’re looking for more fun, try out our signature Dope Putty—it’s like slime but tougher and more moldable.