How to Make Kid-Safe Slime at Home

Few things are more fun for kids than being able to take raw ingredients and turn them into something completely new; even better when that something can be played with; and maybe best of all when it’s something ooey and gooey that elicits both ewwws and ahhhs. Which is why making slime is so popular. The end product is fun for kids (and even adults) to play with, and it can be safely made at home in just 5 minutes, with ingredients you probably already have lying around. You can’t ask for more from a science experiment/DIY project.

Many DIY slime recipes and kits contain ingredients that aren’t safe for kids. Borax, liquid starch, detergents/soaps — I sure don’t want my youngsters handling that stuff and risking them putting something dangerous not just on their hands but in their mouths too. So I set out to find a DIY recipe that contained only ingredients that were safe for kids to handle.

I tried out a few different recipes, and landed on one that uses Elmer’s glue as the primary ingredient. There are plenty of truly all-natural recipes out there that only use edible ingredients, but those end up stickier, messier, and just less slime-like. Elmer’s isn’t edible, of course, but it’s not toxic either, and plenty safe for even small children to handle with adult supervision.

Below you’ll find the best how to make slime recipe out there, easily made in about 5 minutes. Your Saturday morning just got slimier.

Ingredients

• Elmer’s glue (you only need 6-12oz, but you can get a gallon for $11 on Amazon and make slime a bunch of times)
• Baking soda
• Saline solution (contact lens solution)
• Food coloring

Directions

Depending on their age, your kids can easily help you with these steps or do all of them on their own.

1. Pour Glue Into Mixing Bowl

I used 6oz of glue and it made a small handful. Perfect for one kiddo. You can easily double and even triple the recipe as needed.

2. Mix in Baking Soda

Toss in 2¼ teaspoons of baking soda and stir it well.

3. Add Food Coloring

Add any color or mix of colors you’d like at this point. I used about 10 drops, and it seemed perfect. Add more or less, of course, to change the boldness of the color.

4. Add Saline, Stir Into Slime

Add 1 tablespoon of saline solution, and you’ll notice it almost instantly starts binding to the glue mixture to create your putty.

At some point you’ll need to start using your hands to mix it all together; the spoon just quits working once it gets thickened.

Stir and mix until it’s nice and thick; eventually all the liquid will be soaked up and you’ll have an excellent ball of slime to play with.

5. Play and Enjoy!

The result is a super fun, super stretchy ball of slime. After sitting for 20-30 minutes, it’s even better because the ingredients have solidified a little more, making it less sticky. Store it in a sealed container, and you’ll have long-lasting fun for weeks until it dries out.