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“Beware of Homemade Slime” – the headline read, and it’s going viral!
The article came about when the mother of a 12-year old girl, noticed her daughter became sick – apparently after playing with slime — also known as gak — that they made at home. This mom is warning other parents of the potential dangers of this popular kids activity.
Carolyn West, a stay-at-home mom who blogs at “This Talk Ain’t Cheap,” warns other parents to avoid what happened to her daughter Lauryn. Tweens are becoming “obsessed” with slime recently. It’s easy to mix up at home using ingredients you have laying around the house.
But for West and her daughter, things weren’t all fun and games. Lauryn began to experience health problems. She writes:
We are a pretty healthy family. We get our flu shots each year and my kids have never had strep or flu or bronchial illnesses. They have never had more than your basic cold that lasted a few days. When my 12 year old got sick, we thought it was the same basic cold. Symptoms were the same: cough, sore throat, stuffy nose. She was also complaining about headaches and general achiness. Assuming her symptoms would be relieved in a few days, we didn’t pay them much mind. Unfortunately, they didn’t go away. At all. Weeks later, we were still left wondering what on earth was going on. To the doctor we went. We had her take a throat culture, check her lungs, and ears and sinuses. She found nothing. Other than your basic cold symptoms, there wasn’t anything wrong with her on the surface.
School and health experts in the European Union have warned about the risks of playing with homemade slime. The problem seems to be the ingredients, specifically Borax.
Want a healthy alternative to homemade slime? Check out our “kinetic” sand recipe here! And don’t miss our colored kinetic sand recipe here.
In West’s article she outlines all of the ingredients in homemade slime, such as glue, borax, and shaving cream—as well as the potential health risks that each may cause.
And that’s not to mention the potential breeding ground for bacteria, especially if kids share homemade slime. One option is adding an anti-bacterial agent, such as Tea Tree Oil to the mix.
While homemade slime may not actually be the real reason for kids feeling sick, one thing seems obvious – the ingredients are not toys. They’re household chemicals that should not be played with.
In summary: we’re not sure if this is making kids sick but if your child has symptoms, you may want to try discontinuing use and see if they feel better.