With it’s viral videos taking over Social media, there’s a toy that’s made a resurgence in the market and has become a bonafide cultural phenomenon – it’s SLIME FOR KIDS.
Kids love slime and that is no secret, but their fascination with the ooey-gooey toy is reaching official craze levels.
And, did you know that Slime is NOT a new trend.
In fact, it was created in 1976 by the brand Mattel, as a green colour booger like substance and its popularity has skyrocketed again due to the traction that its videos have gained on Social Media.
In this post, we talk about what slime is, how slime kits have gained so much popularity, how to make it and most importantly – is it safe for your kids?
What is Slime?
The natural world is full of slime makers. Slugs and snails leave behind gooey trails. Bacteria can create layers of slippery slime in water pipes. Even your body makes its own kind of slime. In our joints, we have slime that helps protect our bones.
For kids though, slime is a toy like substance that occupies a weird middle ground between reality and fiction since it behaves like a solid and liquid at the same time. For most kids, they sometimes get introduced to slime kits as a science project where they learn about viscosity, polymers and chemical reactions.
Why do kids love slime?
Kids find slime fascinating. This fascination has led to hundreds of Instagram accounts pop up where people start to make their own slime and play with it.
For kids, slime provides a kind of ‘sensory play’, which helps to engage a child’s senses, stimulate creativity, and can have a calming, in-the-moment effect. The gooey texture of slime also triggers their curiosity since it occupies a weird middle ground between solid and liquid. Something, which most kids are not used to.
A bit more technically, slime videos can evoke ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) which is a deeply relaxing and comforting feeling usually accompanied by tingling sensations in the head that travel down to the spine and the limbs which is why it is so soothing to watch.
What are the different types of slime for kids?
As the trend of slime has continued to grow – the types of slime we encounter has gotten more colourful and creative.
Just a few of the slimes invented during the initial obsession include
- Thick & Glossy
- Butter
- Crunchy
- Clear
- Icee
- Jelly
- Cloud
- Cloud Creme
- Cloud Dough
Is Slime Safe?
For the uninitiated, homemade slime usually calls for water, glue and Borax, a household cleaner. Kids love squeezing and kneading the squishy mess, but the DIY magic isn’t all fun and games all the time.
Parents must take some cautionary measures especially if you’re attempting to make slime with your child. While many Slime products are safe – there are some slime kits, toys & ingredients which you need to watch out for.
If you’re attempting to make slime – a chemical called Borax which is a common ingredient in slime that helps to create its stickiness may cause irritation, diarrhoea, vomiting and cramps in some cases. So, make sure that your child is only making slime under parents supervision and see how much of each product your child is putting in. Also, make sure that you and your child wear gloves while attempting to make Slime and wash your hands thoroughly when done.
As an alternative, avoid using Borax based slime making products altogether and use slime kits available at Toddle (See more info in the How to make Slime for Kids Section)
Additional Note: Babies may not be mature enough to handle slime, even if it’s non-toxic. In an interview with Romper, Bineesh Moyeed, Pharm.D, says that when it comes to babies, parents should be extra careful. “Babies have very sensitive skin,” says Moyeed, “and things like harsh detergents or glues can cause skin irritation.”
How do you make slime for kids?
While there are tutorials out there that can teach you how to make slime, it can be a time consuming & messy effort to get all the ingredients together, understand the process and mix the ingredients together safely to have the desired effect.
So, at Toddle, we created our very own slime kit which includes making your own slime, having fun and learning at the same time. What’s best is that our slime kit is not only entertaining but will also a valuable STEM activity that you can do with your kids.
Here are a few ways in which our educational slime kits enhance your child’s STEM knowledge.
- Playing with Slime will allow you to teach your kids about the Chemistry behind Slime.
- Kids begin to understand the process of slime making and create a slime thinking map.
- Kids have to write a lab report.
So, check out our non-toxic slime kit here, share pics and tag us when you’re enjoying playtime with your kids with this ooey gooey substance.
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