I’m writing this to let you know our experience with homemade slime. I am not a doctor or a scientist or a chemist. I just don’t want what happened to my daughter to happen to anyone else.
If you have elementary age kids, you are probably familiar with the current slime obsession. My daughter and her friends became obsessed with it a few months ago and couldn’t get enough of it. So much so that they decided they would start making it themselves at home, a simple endeavor providing you have the right ingredients.
Basically, homemade slime consists of:
Borax
White Glue
Water
Shaving Cream
Food Coloring (optional)
You might have also heard how stores can’t even keep enough glue in stock. True story… we had a horrible time finding Elmer’s Glue at our local Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Target.
There are variations of the above for sure, but these ingredients are what my daughter and her friends were using to create their slime.
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.
You know how as a parent you just kind of the get the feeling that there is more to something than meets the eye? My husband was actually the one who connected the dots. He told me one night, “Do you think it could have something to do with the slime she’s been making?”
It was like a lightbulb went off. It kind of made sense all of a sudden. From that moment, we banned her from making, holding, touching or even looking at that darn slime.
The very next day, her headache went away. Her throat didn’t hurt anymore. She still had some congestion, but wasn’t coughing. Two days later, the congestion started going away. She was breathing better and talking better. No more achiness.
What the what??? Could the homemade slime have been poisoning my daughter?
Then this article started to make it around on some of my friends’ Facebook feeds: Schoolyard Slime Craze Risk to Children Says Experts.
So I started to investigate a little more about what on earth my child was getting into. What I found out was disturbing.
BORAX - From the website, CQ Concepts:
Boric acid, sodium borate, and sodium perborate are estimated to have a fatal dose from 0.1 to 0.5g/kg. These substances are toxic to all cells, and have a slow excretion rate through the kidneys. Kidney toxicity is the greatest, with liver fatty degeneration, cerebral edema, and gastroenteritis. Boric acid solutions used as an eye wash or on abraded skin are known to be especially toxic to infants, especially after repeated use due to its slow elimination rate.
GLUE - From the website, Mediline Plus:
Symptoms of breathing in (“sniffing”) glue fumes may include:
- Anxiety
- Convulsions (from breathing in large amounts)
- Drunk, dazed, or dizzy appearance
- Excitability
- Headache
- Irritability
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Red, runny nose
- Low oxygen level in the blood and organs (respiratory failure)
- Stupor
- Seizures
- Coma
SHAVING CREAM - From the website, How Stuff Works:
Propolene glycol is a humectant like glycerin, but unlike glycerin, it’s more frequently found in antifreeze and brake fluid. Triethanolamine, better known as TEA, is an emulsifying agent, meaning it helps keep the oil and water from separating. It’s also a very controversial ingredient in the cosmetic industry because not only is it a skin irritant, but many formulas containing TEA are found to be contaminated with nitrosamines, which are linked to cancer. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) are two more controversial skincare ingredients. These make a great lather, but they also have a number of health implications. Lauryl mimics estrogen, which is especially problematic for women, and laureth often hosts a known carcinogen called dioxane.
Scary stuff.
Toxic. Respiratory Failure. Seizures. Cancer. Coma.
No thank you! Can I ever be 100% sure that the homemade slime ingredients were causing my daughter’s illness? Probably not. But… one thing I’ve learned in 17 years of parenting is never to ignore your gut instinct… and ours said that making slime was hurting our kid.
All I can say is please be informed. What seemed so innocent turned out to be full of ingredients that are deadly. So even though these ingredients might have really had nothing to do with Lauryn being sick, the fact remains that these ingredients are dangerous and have no business being in the hands of children. Or anyone.
Have you had experience with similar symptoms? Would love to hear if this has happened to anyone else.
Because I *am* a chemist, I feel it is important to point out that the symptoms you list for glue are *not* the symptoms for common white glue - in fact, here’s the first sentence of the website you link to:
“Most household glues, such as Elmer’s Glue-All, are not poisonous.”
You’ve listed the scary side effects for inhaling the solvents in industrial glues, which are absolutely not used in the slime recipe.
Also, the toxicity you mention for Borax - 0.1-0.5 g/kg - that means that per kg of body weight, you need to ingest 0.1-0.5 g to reach the toxicity level. That’s a huge amount to just be absorbed by the skin during play, so unless your child is actually eating the stuff, it’s not going to be a problem.
Please stop fear-mongering. If you want to prohibit your child from making and playing with this stuff, that’s fine - but stop spreading misinformation.
Thank you for your comment. I wrote this post to share our personal experience. As I said in the beginning, I am not a doctor or chemist but I AM a parent and when something doesn’t seem right to me, I feel the need to share it. I do understand that most of these products might not technically be harmful if used properly. I also know that kids don’t always use the proper quantities or brands per online “recipes.” For instance, I know kids who are adding additional ingredients to the slime recipe. My concern is the reaction some of these chemicals have when mixed together… and yes, some people do have more serious reactions to them than other people. I just want everyone to be safe. Not trying to spread fear… just want parents to understand what their kids are playing with.
Yes, I understand the need to protect one’s children - but here, especially in the case of the glue, you are literally quoting information that is irrelevant to the slime. You are ignoring the information that the glue you are using is non-toxic. You cannot in good faith post this information.
If you do not understand why white glue (or Elmer’s glue) is different than industrial glue - especially after the website you link informs you that they are unrelated - you have no business discussing their toxicity. Leave that to the experts.
FYI, the industrial solvents that cause these toxic effects evaporate quickly - hence why sniffing glue is possible - and if added would lead to the slime turning solid very quickly. Nobody is adding these to slime - it would completely ruin the slime within minutes.
This is not even going into the problems with you citing shaving cream as toxic, nor the problems with your claim of Borax toxicity. Seriously, just because something has a scary chemical name does NOT MEAN it is dangerous! Remember that water is properly called Dihydrogen monoxide and will kill you if ingested in large enough doses. All chemicals will.
Thank you Carolyn for your post and sharing your experience. I would much rather prohibit kids from something out of FEAR and misinformation than to find out too late I was allowing them to enjoy something harmful. I applaud you for being brave and thoughtful and considering the welfare of other children. This is how we as parents help one another and allows me to continue to have faith in our human race and not feel we are becoming a cold dark uncaring society.
Maybe Wendy could post her expert opinion on Snopes to “point out” her vast knowledge as a chemist any information that should be left to the experts! I will often check there if I question the validity of “fear - mongering”.
Thank you, Mimi. I think anytime we come across something that could potential (notice I said…. potentially) harm our kids we have the obligation to say something.
Hi Carolyn. I just want to suggest you check out the efficacy of those flu shots, and make sure you don’t get the cheaper ones from the multi-dose bottles containing thimerosal (mercury). This year they are really celebrating because they claim the vaccine is just under 50% effective. It’s usually in the teens. We have never given it to our kids (well, mostly because they are vaccine injured), or ourselves, and we have never had the flu. That’s more toxic, I believe. Best of luck keeping your kids healthy!
I don’t remember the type of flu shot we got - it was back in November or December I think. This definitely wasn’t the flu. No one in my family has ever had the flu and we get the vaccine every year.
As a side note, my son did a science experiment growing bacteria. The highest bacteria levels he found were on cell phones and in slime he and his siblings had played with. It gets passed around and is a warm, moist environment, perfect for germs. Ew.
That makes so much sense. I can’t imagine the germs being carried up in all that slime.
Thank you for this informative article! My daughters have been constantly making and playing with slime using the recipe you mentioned. My youngest has had the exact symptoms you mentioned for a month. We are taking a break from making slime. I think it’s really harsh for anyone to say you are fear mongering. Heck, if you don’t agree, let your kids make as much slime as they want! But with all the effort we put into keeping our kids safe and healthy, is it really worth the risk? I think not.
Thank you, Julie. I only wrote this because of our experience. You’re right… if people don’t agree with me, they are free to make as much slime as they want.
Wendy, I’m not a chemist but let me tell you my experience with Elmers glue. Back in the day we used Elmers glue to get high in school by sniffing the fumes. And it didn’t take long to get high. Just several minutes of smelling the stuff. Some of the kids that did it got sick, some didn’t. Majority of whats listed as the effects of inhaling household glue were the symptoms that we experienced. I just googled ” sniffing Elmers glue effects” and the first article that popped up was from NY Times and heres what it says. “Most household glues, such as Elmer’s Glue-All, are not poisonous. However, household glue poisoning can occur when someone intentionally breathes in glue fumes in an attempt to get “high.” Industrial-strength glue is most dangerous.” And this is what we did in school with the Elmers white “non toxic” glue. So Wendy, stop acting like you’re the judge and jury because you’re a chemist, people react differently to different chemicals. You dont know how some kids will use the glue and the ammount..etc. You dont have to be a chemist to know that The reactions are diffent to it. It’s comon sense. Carolyn wrote this article to bring awareness through her experience. Not everyone will have the same experience but I guarantee someone will.
Thank you for the comment, James. I really appreciate it.
Please note! There are recipes that DO NOT call for BORAX….of COURSE you shouldn’t be making it with that! It’s a CLEANER!!!!!
My teenage daughter found a recipe and I made sure it had nothing harmful - one ingredient was saline solution…nothing harmful in that….
But for children…please stick to the recipe that my preschool uses:
I remember it called for flour, water, cream of tartar, salt, oil and food coloring - kids love the consistancy….
Thank you, Cammy. Yes, PLEASE use the recipes that are safe.
There was a post on here about the amount of bacteria in slime. While I agree with being warned about the ingredients as a possibility, I would be more inclined as to the amount of bacteria that is being passed around with just the general use of the stuff. My kids have made slime off and on for over 15 years. We have not a had a problem with the individual ingredients. However I have found it very disgusting with all kinds of growing yucky stuff after just a week or two.
Thank you for your comment, Katie. I hadn’t even thought about all the bacteria there could be in the slime, especially since the kids pass it around a lot. So glad you haven’t had a problem with the actual ingredients.