Sometimes playing with your food is a good thing! Mixing art with food is a great thing. Edible finger paint is simple and quick to make, and kids as young as one will enjoy painting with this fun art supply. Clean up is as simple as tossing the kiddo in the bath after the painting is done. And, you don’t have to run out and get a thing for this project — you probably already have what you need in your refrigerator.
Supplies for Edible Finger Paint:
- Plain yogurt
- Food coloring (I used gel food coloring)
One of my favorite tricks for a toddler is to mix little cups of plain yogurt (or vanilla pudding) with a few drops of food coloring in each cup. You don’t need that much food coloring because when the yogurt dries, the color is actually darker on the paper than it is when it’s wet. Also, you don’t want the paint to be so dark that it stains the kid and whatever he touches.
Before we tried this, I considered buying finger paints, but I was really pleased with this activity because it was free (we already had the supplies on hand), and because it’s edible and washable. The paintings look nice when they’re dry, too. The colors are really bright.
The Process:
Strap your child in their high chair and let them use the yogurt as “paint.” They can paint paper (just let it dry for a vibrant art piece, suitable for grandma’s fridge or a thank you card), grapes (for a snack), or even just the high chair tray itself. This paint works great with paintbrushes or with fingers.
This was my son’s first time finger painting, but he got the idea really quickly. Of course, plenty of the paint got into his mouth, but the beauty of this paint is that it’s okay to eat it! We used plain, unsweetened, unflavored yogurt, so it’s not so tasty on its own that the kid wants to eat it all and not paint with it.
Of course, you can adapt this activity to use what you have on hand. If you have pudding, use that. If you don’t have food coloring, use some cocoa powder to make brownish paint. If you want, experiment with natural food colorants like beet juice or pureed carrots.
Cleanup is easy. Just use a washcloth/sponge, and soapy water. For the kid, depending on how messy he or she is, you might be able to wipe them down, or you might prefer to toss the kid into the bathtub. Because yogurt is a dairy product (and already sour-smelling to begin with), I advocate the bath afterward. If you don’t feel like dealing with chair clean up, give your child the yogurt and stick him in the bathtub with no water and let him paint the walls. When he’s done, just give a bath.
My son had fun painting. This activity gave us about twenty minutes of fun, but this was our first foray into painting, and he’s only 18 months old. For his age, he paid attention for quite a long time. Older kids might last longer.
@melissa: Yes, it is okay to keep and hang. It totally dries out, so it’s just fine as a gift!
So when the art drys, it is OK to keep and hang? It doesn’t smell or drip down? How long does it take to dry? Thinking about doing something like this for Christmas presents and want to make sure. Thank you.
This idea sounds so cute! I think I also add sprinkels when I try it. Thanks for the tip
Do with Kaedyn when she can eat dairy products.
Tried this with my 14-month old and it went really well! Thanks for the idea!
http://minipiccolini.com/2012/02/edible-finger-paint-for-valentines-day/
This is absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait to do it tomorrow with my almost-two-year-old-going-on-10 and my four year old (going on 25, obviously, LOL).
We did this yesterday and my boys loved it! They were MUCH messier than your sweet guy. Good thing we went outside. Thanks so much for the wonderful idea. I posted about it (and your great blog!) here: http://growinghomeonline.blogspot.com/2010/09/edible-finger-paint-and-other-messes.html
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but I would be worried I was teaching my child it’s okay to play with your food and eat paint.
I did this with Sweetpea! Since Sugar Plum is milk protein intolerant still, I’m looking for an alternative for her – applesauce maybe? Not quite as “paint-y” but I’m sure she won’t notice. I added sprinkles and cereal for her to create with as well!
What a fun idea- I love it! I’ve never heard of yogurt before- genius! Thanks so much, I’ll be linking to this.
Also great for painting in the tub!
If you use pudding, or something with sugar in it, you want to be sure they don’t get it in their privates (for girls especially) or ears. Sugar leads to bacterial infections if left to thrive. :)
I did naked-baby-painting-in-the-tub before, but with flavored yogurt (the YoBaby stuff is very runny, and I was letting her use the spoon herself for the first time and didn’t want to clean it up off the high chair and floor.) I set a plastic stool in the tub like a table (the kind with legs, so her legs can fit under) and she went to town. I kept the diaper on, to prevent sugar in the pooter, since it was a flavored kind. MUCH easier clean-up than when my niece yogurt-finger-painted in the high chair!
This is such a great idea! I’ve heard of using pudding before, but didn’t want to give my baby pudding. Yogurt is the perfect alternative.
This is so fun. I’ll be doing it this week. We’ve got yogurt in the fridge! Thanks, Heather!