Fingerpaints & Infants

When my children were too small to write anything on their own, I wrote 'thank you' on a large poster board and had them hold it in front of them with a big smile. Then I mounted the photo on a piece of construction paper and used his handprint inside with a note from you. B.

I don't know about the paints -- But I have a cute idea if you decide not to do that. My Step Mom did this with my little brother -- everytime she sent a card -- be it Birthday or x-mas -- she drew an outline of his hand on the card and wrote his name and age. It was sort of neat to see his hand size change over time and I always smiled when I got something from them.

here is a recipe for homemade finger paints: 2 c cold water, 3tsp sugar, 1/2c cornstarch, 1Tblsp light corn syrup, liquid food coloring.

Stir water, sugar and cornstarch in a small pot. whisk over low heat for 5 min until mixture is thick and clear. Stir in corn syrup. Pour paint into small containers with lids. Add a few drops of food coloring to each and shake until color is well mixed. (Parenting magazine recipe)

Paint made for children is required to be non-toxic. Just make sure the jar has an AP label. An excellent source for quality child-safe paint is www.discountschoolsupply.com
If you are uneasy about paint and want to make your own try plain whole milk yogurt and food coloring or this non-toxic fingerpaint receipe:
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
few drops of food coloring
HAVE FUN and then head for the bathtub!

Get jello instant pudding (Vanilla flavor) and add food coloring to it. Safe to play with and EAT!

Fingerpaints are safe, but I wouldn't recommend letting a child put any kind of paint in his/her mouth anyway, so watch carefully. Tempera paints work better and are non-toxic (check label). They come out brighter colors. If you handprint on fabric you can use acryllic paints, just wash it off the hands right after.

You have a great, creative idea. I'm a preschool Director and Have worked with children for years. Most children's finger paints are non toxic. If you hold his hand you could keep them out of his mouth. Good luck.

I've done cards like that before and I just used normal craft paint. I used a paintbrush to cover their palm (or the bottom of their foot) with the paint, pressed it on the card, then wiped it off with a paper towel. It cleans up really easily and it looks great.

Sure, there are several non-toxic finger paints. I think Crayola has some, usually sold in most stores near clay, sketchbooks and crayons, etc.... Or if you're still uneasy and don't mind a bit of color on his hand for a day or longer (depending on centration) mix up some food coloring and let him "sign" his thank you note.

Why not a photo of him holding the animal, and a handprint for his signature?
Just glue the picture to a piece of construction paper, write a thank you note in your son's voice, and sign it with his handprint. A forever keepsake for her and this works really good for people who send gifts, and don't get to see him often.

While attending college I did work study at the daycare. The infant room would paint with cool whip and food coloring. They kids had fun and then enjoyed licking thier fingers.

Most finger paint sets are safe. I did finger painting with both of my kids when they were young. Mostly stick hand in paint and do hand prints or watched carefully. They are non-toxic, but I don't take chances. Just keep an eye on the kido. They will be fine! Have fun... and maybe take some photos of their 1st finger painting dirty hands!!!

You can use watercolor paints and just dip his finger in the paint. Easy to wash off and non-toxic. This is how my daughter fingerpaints.

Go to Babys R Us and they have a kit that has a cute frame that you can make a print of your childs hand or footit has an ink pad that is 100% safe and washes off easily. I think that would be the best thing to use because the frame it really adorable and will be easy for her to keep for many years to come. It has ribbon so you can hang the frame as well.

try the color wonder....they don't put color on anything except the paper. you get them at Michael's and target. my kids love them.

Hi C.. I think if you buy the fingerpaints look for some that say non-toxic and it should be fine.
You can also make some fairly easy. There is a great website called www.familyfun.com that has this and other crafts on it. I love this website because you can look up crafts by age group, so it is really convenient and fun. Hope this helps.

My daughter-in-law doesn't use anything on the skin that you can't eat so I'm thinking why not use a food to paint with. I often used mustard for crafts with younger children. I have even used pudding too.

I think that mustard might be more economical. Watch that he doesn't get it into his eyes. It might burn from the vinegar in it.

I think it is a lovely gesture by the way.

I don't know anything about finger paints, but I have used stamp ink (Stampin' Up) for hand and/or footprints for my girls for years-- now ages 3 & 4 1/2. They are adopted and I just sent "Birthmother's Day Cards" to their birthmoms and "Mother's Day Cards" to their birthgrandmothers. I had photo cards made at www.walgreens.com (sort of a generic sentiment inside as I ordered several & used some for birthday thank you notes, too.) My husband and I each wrote a personal note inside, the girls each did a hand & foot print over our writing which was possible as the stamp ink is light, and then I had the girls try to write their own names. They turned out really nice.
Have fun!
A.

I would go for Crayola finger paints.

C.,

I thought maybe you could use snazaroo face paint. I am a face painter and know it comes with FDA compliant paint as well as a child safety rating. I have used the paints to practice on paper at times, so I figure your little one would have lots of fun with them and the wash off with mild soap and water. You can get them at US Toy in Plano, Parker and Independence. Have Fun.

Jen Sewell
Painted Style
Face & Body Art
PaintedStyle.com
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C.,

I believe that the finger paints are designed to be safe for our children and are water based with food color. They should be safe for your child, but I would read the ingredients just to make sure. We are importing so many products these days and I would hate to think that it came from China where we have found lead based paints in our childrens toys. It is always a safe measure to read the labels.

Good luck!

Darling - all that time alone must be making you crazy if you have enough time on your hands to worry about how safe finger paints are. Buy some and make the card already.

if you'd like to avoid the possibility of your 7 month old eating the refined sugar of the pudding finger paint and want to avoid the artificial dyes of food coloring, you can use silken tofu with foods as a natural dye. Beet juice makes a pretty pink, tumeric makes a sunny yellow, blueberries were a pretty purple.

I just tried this out with my 10 month old son and a friend's 10 month old son. Her son quickly shoved the "paint" into his mouth. But we weren't worried a bit, just laughed and enjoyed ourselves in the sun!

get the crayola finger paints that are non-toxic and he will be fine. i let my daughter finger paint when she was about 4-5 months, and lets just say most of it wasnt on the paper. he will be fine and you will love to watch him, he may eat some, but again it is non- toxic so he will be fine. enjoy it!!

pudding with food coloring in it works best. They can eat it and it won't harm them.

I found that the powdered coloring works better than the liquid.

Its what I used when my kids were little.