There are many types of kid-friendly glue on the market, and it can get confusing when trying to decide which is best to use for your family. When your kids first start showing an interest, it can feel cumbersome to sift through magazines, ads, and articles on materials to use for your children’s creations.
White craft glue is one of the best glues for kids. Glue made for young children can be easy to learn about and easy to make! Try to identify certain glues and their characteristics as part of the learning experience and show your kids how to read labels to assess their appropriateness.
It gets easier when you understand how to target the best products and avoid those that are too dangerous for tiny hands.
There are glues out there, possibly in your home, unsafe for young children. Please read this article on a few different types of glue, their uses, safety measures, and some of their packaging. Following is a list of appropriate glues for young children, activities, projects, and even a DIY experiments.
This post may contain affiliate links.
#1- White Craft Glue
White craft glue is any PVA glue on the market. PVA is an acronym for polyvinyl acetate and is also called school glue. They come in easy to squeeze bottles in all quantities and are sold in different sizes. Crafting glue is the most popular, the safest for young children, and is easy to use.
Purchase a 6 pack of glue and a bulk refill if you do quantities of projects for lots of tiny humans.
#2- Glue Sticks
#3- Hot Glue
Start with a mini glue gun for small kids; they don’t heat up to as high of a temperature as the bigger ones. Get a pack of glue sticks and have at it. Glue guns are an excellent tool for kids as they learn to navigate through their broken toys and plastic pieces. Encourage your kids to use hot glue and an option for fixing toys and projects.
Make a box of broken toys to be used specifically for glue art. Think plastic, old wood, and cardboard.
#4- Glitter Glue
Open the bottles and stick a paint brush inside if your younger child is having trouble squeezing.
#5- Wood Glue
Wood glue is used to make pieces of projects adhere to one another. If you have a tiny carpenter, this glue should be essential. It’s probably best to use this glue with children reading and following methods. It is non-toxic but should be used with caution, especially if young children taste older siblings’ creations. Check out this article on different kinds of glue to learn more about wood glue.
#6- Fabric Glue
Also called tacky glue, fabric glue is a helpful tool for small crafts. It is non-toxic and looks similar to school glue. Fabric glue is used for a flexible bond between fabrics and thick papers. Try using a paintbrush if your child can’t squeeze the bottle yet. Give them pieces of small materials to show them how to layer, connect, and create!
#7- Slime glue
A new fascination in my house, slime glue is a glue for making colored or glitter slime. It is clear, so you can make it clear if you prefer, but it is made to be easily incorporated into other materials. We have used it to combine foam beads, glitters, paints, and beads. It turns into a squishy slime paste for kids to manipulate.
Try this activity outside or in a clean roomy kitchen.
#8- Glue Pens
Do you need an applicator and glue all in one package? Glue pens are the answer for you! These versatile tools are helpful because narrow tubes make it easy for small hands to grasp and squeeze. They come in different sizes and varieties– glitter, white, clear. Children will glue with precision as they master glue pens.
Gluing activities for toddlers and preschoolers
Sensory Smush
If you have an infant or young toddler, start small. Create a roomy area for them to explore– table, high chair, large tray. Put out a small dish of child-friendly craft sand, a large glue stick, or a cup of white glue with a brush. They will probably stick their hands in the glue and bring it to their mouth. That’s fine! This is just the introduction. Sensory experiences are essential for young kids. To read more about sensory experiences, please read this article on sensory ideas for kids.
Let them explore the glue and sand anyway they want, so long as you understand the messy risks.
To make it a clean smush activity, dab large piles of glue or paint on a piece of paper and put it in a plastic freezer bag. This way, they can still feel the glue, but it won’t make a huge mess. They will hit the bag, squish it, and probably throw it!
Introduce new materials as you see fit– foams, feathers, shells, sticks, yarn, large pom-poms
Hot Glue and Sand
Purchase a cheap seasoning/salt shaker (they have them in two packs at the dollar store here) and fill it up with sand or glitter. Use cardstock, thick foam, cardboard boxes, or whatever else you have to will be strong enough to hold this creation.
Show your child how to fill the glue gun and make sure it is hot. Ooze the glue onto the material and shake the sand/glitter onto it. Use this for basic shapes, letters, designs, and patterns. Do this activity with white liquid glue or stick form too.
Use a small baking tray or beverage tray to hold the activity for easy clean-up.
Glue Dots
Do you have any of those vibrant dot stickers lying around? They are super handy for learning activities. Use these on a thick cardboard box, cardstock, or paper for glue art mastery.
Heat the glue gun and encourage your child to go around the perimeter with the dot, fill in the dot, and stack the dots– on top of each other! This will help the child with motor skills and coordination. Small children might focus on one dot, while older children will most likely create patterns or re-create something they have seen in real life.
3-D Fabric Art
If you have any fabric scraps, felt, or carpet squares, use them! Get out a box of material and something sturdy for them to glue onto like a shoebox. You could use popsicle sticks, ribbon, and foam too. Please encourage your child to imagine and create what’s on their mind while assisting with some of the small motor tasks– lids, separating, and moving.
Use felt, foam, or old material scraps from scarves or towels if you don’t have carpet or fabric squares.
If you do this with fabric glue, remember that it takes a bit longer to dry. Be sure that there is enough time to dry before handling it too roughly, or it might fall apart.
If you have wooden building blocks, show your kids how to make a fabric block!
How to Make Glue With Flour
Do you want to make your own glue? I found a great tutorial on how to make glue at home. The recipes have ingredients you probably have at home already and are really simple to follow! Which one do you want to try!