water beads
the last few weeks we have spent a lot of time indoors. so we have been on the hunt for more indoor activities. one of the activities we tried were water beads!
i will say that after 2 play times with them we as a family have decided our almost 2 year old is not quite ready for them. the beautiful little beads look like a temptingly tasty treat and no matter how many gentle warnings not to eat them, we could not take our eyes off of her for fear she might just do so. the risk of swallowing a water expanding bead was just not one we wanted to take.
but there are a lot of people who are realizing the sensory benefits of this fun and simple toy.
for older kids, it can be really fun to watch these micro beads expand to a hundred times its size by adding water. we hydrated less than a table stop if the dry beads and it yielded all of these beads pictured.
but the bouncy little beads can quickly become a big mess! so take care to make sure they don’t end up down your drain, or ingested by a child or pet.
once our little flower is a little older I look forward to helping her sort the different colors and learn about volume and all the fun lessons these beads can hold. until then they will stay tucked away in our little rainy day contingency fun shelf of secret toys. i have a feeling she will be better able to understand the rules of playing with them by the time she is 3.
for when we do want to play with them a little more often, the benefit is that just a few beads will last a handful of play times. simply store them in a jar and they will stay hydrated. you can dehydrate them again but that takes quite a bit of time. or so i have read.
if you are looking for something to do with them even if you don’t have a kiddo to entertain they are quite fun for adults and a little relaxing to run your fingers through, if you can get over the squishy sound they make. they also make a great medium for plant cuttings or even to help with water retention in potted plants.
while they are considered non toxic, they are a petroleum based plastic gel, so please be aware of the environmental impact of dumping these outside. these could be very dangerous if ingested by birds, small animals or marine life.
with all my warnings stated, i still am a fan of the potential in these tiny fun beads! and if you want to go in on a container of them with a mom friend or 2 there are more than you will ever need in that tiny bottle!
***Amazon Affiliates Disclosure: Meghan Dendy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com***
