Safe Water Beads for Toddlers
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We love water beads at our house. They are a favorite sensory activity, but water beads are actually not safe for little ones. They are used in flower arrangements and although they are nontoxic, they are not edible and a choking hazard. My kids really don’t put items in their mouths, but to be on the safe side I wanted to make water beads that were safe for my children if they did ingest them.
So to make these, you’ll need a couple ingredients.
- Tapioca Pearls
– Make sure to get the kind that cooks in 5 minutes! - Gel Food Coloring– I used blue, pink, purple, orange, and yellow
– Make sure to get the kind that cooks in 5 minutes!
– I used blue, pink, purple, orange, and yellowThen you’ll boil 10 cups of water for 1 cup of tapioca pearls. Once the water is boiling, add the tapioca. After about one minute they will rise to the top. Gently stir them and then put the lid on and let them sit for about 4 more minutes.
Next, drain and rinse them with cold water.
Then I separated them into colors. I divided the clear ones up with the colored ones and used gel food coloring to dye the clear ones and also make the colored tapioca pearls brighter. I just used a small drop and stirred them around.
To let the food coloring soak in, I laid them on wax paper and I let them sit for about an hour to dry.
Then I created an invitation to play for my toddler. I displayed the water beads in bowls, set out a silicone mold, and had a large bin with a little bit of water in it. I did that so my little one could dump the beads into to play with them. Also, these tapioca pearls are a little sticky, so adding some water helped.
He had a blast exploring!
A few things to note:
1. These are safe to eat, but I am not recommending you child eats them. I just don’t like the idea of ingesting food dye.
2. The food coloring does wear off slightly in the water and on hands. My toddler didn’t use his hands much, but I could see a little bit of color of them afterwards.
3. These do not last long. They started turning mushy and yucky colors after a day.
I do think this is a safe activity for toddlers and a great alternative to regular water beads. So what are your thoughts? Have you tried this before? Will you try it?
I feel like some commenters worrying about children under three choking on these may not be familiar with tapioca pearls, and/or may in fact think these are just another type of “water bead.”
Tapioca pearls are food. When cooked they are soft and squishy and a bit slimy. They can be chewed before being swallowed, but sometimes when used in bubble teas, mine go right down with the drink. They are small and slippery. And when they are done growing, they are done growing.
Actual water beads may continue to grow when eaten because they encounter new water sources. This makes them not only the obvious choking hazard, but also a bowel obstruction hazard, an ear hazard, a sinus hazard (depending on what size the beads are when the child decides to place them somewhere in their body.)
Tapioca doesn’t do that. If your child can not eat a piece of bread yet, avoid this for now. But if they are managing bread (which turns dense, spongy and slimy in the mouth), they should be able to manage tapioca pearls.
Thank you for explaining this so well! I completely agree!
Never saw these b4. They are so cool. Can you put them in plants? What about using as iced balls if frozen? The barley ones? How do you use them in crafting?
These are tapioca pearls, so they are technically food. I haven’t tried freezing them, but that might work! I would not recommend putting them in plants or using them for crafting.
thank you so much for that idea
I understand the water beads are NOT to be thrown down the sink as they swell and cause plumbing problems. I would really caution their use with toddlers or other kids that might want to experiment tasting them. They would swell in them also I would think? It’s such an awesome tactile activity I just can’t justify it.
Correct me if I’m wrong. The tapioca beads is the only way I would go.
Yes, I agree that using the tapioca beads is the best way. I know that water beads swell, but they do stop growing at a certain point. If there are children playing with them and there’s any chance they would put something in their mouths, then I would use tapioca pearls. Thanks for commenting!
Great site, love the content. My kids love to play with these, thanks for sharing.
I am buying for a couple of children I watch daily through the week. I thought this would be a great unit on colors and textures and such. How cost-efficient is this activity? I hate to create some ideas if these are going to be expensive to make. Do they last for possibly 4-5 days? Thank you btw for posting the fun that your little one had! And for posting the instructions! Have a blessed day!
That is a fun idea! Well, the tapioca beads cost $5 a bag. I would recommend getting a couple bags if you have several children exploring them. You also need food coloring. I used gel food coloring, which is more expensive. We just used the beads for 1 day because they started to lose their shape. So I’m not sure if they would last 4-5 days. If you kept them in water, they probably would. Sorry I’m not much help!