10 Easy to Set up Taste-Safe Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers

Today I’m sharing some taste-safe sensory play ideas for toddlers. Sensory play is heaps of fun for children – it’s also educational and has a long list of benefits associated with it. The toddler phase of childhood is a wonderful time to plan sensory play activities as at this age, children are really starting to explore the world around them.

What are Taste-Safe Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers?

Taste-safe sensory play is, essentially non toxic sensory activities. Despite the numerous benefits, some parents and guardians may feel nervous about introducing new sensory play ideas for toddlers into the mix, due to the fear of children eating the play materials. Although children should always be carefully supervised when participating in sensory play, it is difficult to stop toddlers from putting things in their mouths.

If you are particularly worried about the toddler in your care putting sensory play materials in their mouth, this is the post for you. They don’t require much effort to set up, so are perfect for work at home mums like me, or working mums. Here are 3 taste-safe sensory play ideas for toddlers that are still in the habit of putting things in their mouths when playing.

Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are easy to put together – in fact, you don’t really need to have anything planned beforehand. Sensory bins consist of big tubs, or bins, filled with sensory play materials and accessories.

For example, you cannot go wrong with a tub of water and some scoops. When it comes to water play, your imagination is your only limit! There are plenty of other edible sensory play ideas for toddlers if water does appeal to you. Why not try these taste-safe sensory play ideas for toddlers, once you’ve utilised water:

• Ice cubes and large toys (such as dinosaurs) frozen in ice.
• Pasta and noodles
• Porridge oats and cereal
• Lentils, beans, and other dry pulses.

Messy Play

Give me any toddler that doesn’t love a bit of messy play! You’d be surprised by just how many taste-safe sensory play ideas there are for toddlers that love a bit of mess. Here are a few of our favourite taste-safe messy sensory play ideas for toddlers:

• Oobleck. Simply mix together 1 cup of corn flour and 1 – 1 & ¼ cups of water together in a bowl and mix. You can then add food colouring to the oobleck for extra fun.
• Edible Moon Sand/Cloud Dough. Mix ½ cup of flour and two tablespoons of vegetable oil together, then add food colouring for fun.
• Edible Playdough. If you haven’t made your own playdough before, I definitely recommend giving it a go! By combining flour, cream of tartar, salt, and water, you can create silky smooth playdough in just 5 minutes. Add food dye for colour, or create a truly exciting sensory experience by adding spices or fresh herbs.
  

  The Skittles Experiment is great for kids of all ages

Arty Foods

If you want a truly taste-safe sensory play experience, why not use actual food? It sounds crazy, but here are a few fantastic ways to use food to create art during your sensory play sessions. 

• Use condiments such as ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise as paint. These are all obviously 100% taste-safe, plus the added benefit of using food when creating art with your toddler is that it can help them to experience more flavours and textures.
  
• Skittles paint. Did you know that you can colour sort Skittles and add water to create some bright, taste-safe paint? The food colouring used to coat the Skittles comes away from the sweets when water is added, leaving you with a fun watercolour-style paint that’s safe for toddlers to use.
• Yoghurt is a great material to paint with! The silky texture glides nicely onto paper and provides toddlers with a great sensory experience. Use different flavoured yoghurts, such as strawberry flavour, to create different coloured paints, or try adding food colouring.

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