Is Finger Paint Safe For Baby? A Guide To Non-toxic Products
Teaching our children new skills is a beautiful part of life. One such skill is painting, but they will usually start with their fingers before they use a paintbrush. However, since the paint will end up directly on your child’s skin, it often leads to the question, is finger paint safe for your baby?
Not all finger paint is made with non-toxic ingredients, which means that not all finger paint is safe for your baby to be using. However, most non-toxic finger paints are safe for your baby to use, and they will generally state that they are non-toxic on the label.
Not all paint is suitable to use as finger paint, especially for your baby or toddler, and many paints can, in fact, be very harmful to your young child. So which paint is non-toxic and can be used as finger paint for your baby and older children to safely enjoy? Let us take a look.
What Finger Paint Can My Baby Use?
With so many different kinds of finger paints to choose from and so many different descriptions on every label, you may be wondering what finger paint is okay and best suited to let your young baby use.
It is usually best that the only finger paint that you let your baby use is a non-toxic finger paint that was specifically designed with the intention of being used by babies, as they may end up putting it in their mouth.
There are two main things to look for when it comes to finding a finger paint suitable for your baby: it needs to be non-toxic, and it needs to be age-appropriate.
Non-toxic Paint
Finger paint is usually designed with babies and young children in mind, which means that it will generally be made without any harmful chemicals and substances as the company that is making the finger paint is aware it will get on babies’ and children’s skin.
There is a very wide range of paints that are designed for babies and children, but some of them are not made to be non-toxic. These paints are not suitable as finger paint, and it is not recommended to let your baby use these paints.
Usually, if a finger paint is non-toxic, it will state so on the label of the finger paint. So when shopping for finger paint for your baby to use, try and always buy a finger paint that specifically states that it is non-toxic.
Age Appropriate
Most finger paint will come with a label on the side that indicates what age bracket that finger paint was designed for.
The reason for this is because finger paint that is designed for ages 0-3 years is usually not only non-toxic but is made so that if it is accidentally consumed that it will not be harmful to your baby.
Kids in this age bracket are usually still trying to put anything they can get their hands on in their mouth, so any finger paint they use needs to be completely safe in case of accidental ingestion.
When your baby is older, there will be a wider range of no-toxic finger paint available to them; however, it will most likely not be safe if consumed. This is usually not an issue, though, as by the time your child reaches that age, they will understand not to put the paint in their mouth.
This is why it is important that when you are searching for a finger paint for your baby, always check what age bracket the finger paint was made for, and try to avoid buying finger paint that was made for older age brackets.
Is Finger Paint Non-Toxic?
One concern for parents is wondering if finger paint is non-toxic? After all, there is a high chance that the paint is going to end up being full-on body paint and possibly even a light snack. So, is finger paint non-toxic?
Thankfully most finger paint is usually made to be non-toxic as most companies are aware of the fact that finger paint usually ends up being all-over-the-whole-body-paint as babies and children very rarely stick to the paint, staying on their fingers alone.
For the most part, finger paint is usually considered to be non-toxic; however, this is not a blanket statement and will differ from brand to brand of finger paint.
Most companies that make finger paint take this into consideration and truly do care enough to make sure that all ingredients that go into their finger paint will not cause any harm to your little one.
It is always important to make sure for yourself, though, and do a quick check on what ingredients are in the paint that you are about to purchase as some ingredients, although they are not considered to be “toxic,” are still not great to be going on your children’s skin.
The key here is to do your own research and make sure that whatever brand of finger paint you are buying truly is non-toxic because there are plenty of truly non-toxic finger paints that are available for you to choose from.
If you are struggling to find a non-toxic finger paint for your baby that you feel comfortable with, you can always make your own homemade finger paint for your little one to use so that you know it will be completely safe.
How To Make Homemade Finger Paint
In a pot, mix some cold water with four tablespoons of corn starch until it forms a paste. Mix this paste well and ensure that there are no lumps.
Once this has formed a paste, you can go ahead and add one cup of boiling water to the paste and once again mix well to ensure that there are no lumps.
Next, place the pot with the mixture on the stove and put it on a medium heat. Constantly stir the mixture while it is on the heat.
Once you see streaks forming in the mixture, take the pot off of the heat but continue to stir the mixture continuously.
The mixture should then begin to thicken up and turn into a texture that resembles custard; once it reaches this point, it is done, and you can stop stirring.
Add spoonfuls of the mixture into a few separate cups or bowls, mix in a few drops of different food coloring into each cup or bowl, and there you have it, your very own non-toxic, baby-safe finger paint.
Is Crayola Finger Paint Safe For Babies?
Being one of the most popular, if not the most popular, brands of finger paint for children, is Crayola finger paint one of the companies that make their finger paint safe for babies?
Crayola finger paint is one brand of finger paint that is thankfully considered to be safe for babies and children to use.
Crayola, as a company, has done a lot of research into making sure that their products are free of harmful ingredients and chemicals, thus making their finger paints non-toxic and suitable for young children to use.
They have also made sure that if their finger paints are ever consumed, ingested, or inhaled, they will not be harmful to your baby or child.
This makes Crayola a great brand of finger paint to let your baby, or child of any age, use since whether or not this finger paint ends up on their arms, legs, faces, or even in their mouths, it will not cause your child any harm.
At What Age Can Babies Finger Paint?
Finger paint is fun and all, but is it even necessary to let a baby finger paint? And if so, what age can babies finger paint from?
There are many benefits to babies’ finger painting at all ages, and they can start with this fun activity from as young as six months old.
At this age, babies are learning about so many new and different things, such as textures, colors, different senses, and so much more. Giving your baby some finger paint is a great and fun way to help them learn.
Your six-month-old may not know exactly what to do with finger paint yet, but they will definitely be intrigued by it and want to get their hands in it.
You can help your baby engage with this activity by moving their little hands and fingers for them and showing them what to do by dunking their fingers in the paint, letting them feel around, and then placing their fingers on a piece of paper.
They may not start copying what you are doing on their own yet, but the more you do it, the more they will start to realize what to do, and in the months to come, they will start being able to make a few masterpieces of their own.
Babies can generally start this fun activity at around six months since this is when their attention span will usually be long enough to engage in an activity for a few minutes before wanting to do something else.
There are many developmental benefits to letting your baby finger paint from such a young age. Some of the benefits are things such as:
- Improving and developing their fine motor skills, as well as helping to strengthen all of those little muscles in their hands and fingers.
- Learning about colors and what happens when you mix different colors together.
- They start to learn that their actions have an end result (in other words, if their hands are covered in paint and they touch a piece of paper, that paper will now have paint on it.)
- It stimulates their mind, creativity, and imagination.
These are just the ways that finger painting is beneficial to a 6-month-old baby, and as they grow, there will be even more benefits that finger painting will have on your baby, such as:
- Teaching them to share (you can ask them to, please let you have a toy or paintbrush they may have been playing with during their finger painting time to teach them to share their things.)
- It can help them promote their social skills by doing activities such as working on one painting together with you, a sibling, or a friend. (They can practice taking turns and sharing colors.)
- They start learning how to express themselves in fun ways and in ways outside of using words.
So as you can see, your baby really can start finger painting at any age, and usually, from around six months old, they will be able to focus on the act of finger painting for long enough for it to really start to be a benefit to them.
Conclusion
Finger paint is safe for a baby as long as you ensure that you are buying the right type of finger paint that is non-toxic and made specifically for babies in your babies’ age bracket.
Not only is the right kind of finger paint completely safe, but it is also a really great tool to help your baby further their learning and development in a new and fun way for them.
Remember that when you go shopping for finger paint for your baby that not all finger paint is non-toxic, and not all finger paint is age-appropriate, so read the labels carefully and ensure that the paint you are buying checks all of the boxes for what you are looking for.
You can stick to the classic finger paint brands that you know and trust, like Crayola, or you can even make your own finger paint for your baby if it would make you more comfortable knowing that every ingredient in the paint is completely safe. and even edible for your baby.
In the end, as long as you have the right kind of paint that is safe for your baby, finger painting is a great and safe learning tool for your baby that will help them grow, and they will have fun while doing it at every age.
