Finger painting is a fun way for children as young as 6 months old to experience the world of colour. This activity requires no skills or special equipment but has many benefits. Finger painting will help your child to improve their hand-eye coordination, develop their creativity and keep them entertained for hours.

By using simple ingredients from your cupboard to make your child’s finger paint, you can avoid having to invest in “nontoxic” commercial finger paint which may contain nasties such as wheat or gluten, chemicals, preservatives, oil, artificial food colouring and/or synthetic scents. These additives can be harmful to your child, especially when finger painting time becomes body painting time.

Rest assured that our easy and inexpensive finger-paint recipe contains none of the nasty ingredients listed above. Here’s all you need:

Ingredients –

• ½ cup flour
• 1 cup of water
• Salt
• Food colouring
• Extra cold water

Instructions –

1. Combine water and flour in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Mix until ingredients become a thick paste and start to pull away from the sides.
3. Take off heat and add a pinch of salt.
4. Add cold water to the mixture until it reaches your desired consistency.
5. Divide into small bowls and add food colouring.
6. Store in a sealed container.

Tips for Making Homemade Finger Paint

• If your paint is too thick, stir in more water until you have a thick, creamy paint that spreads easily without dripping. Repeat this process if your paint thickens when cool.
• Empty plastic squeeze bottles are great for dispensing and storing homemade finger-paint.
• Cover your painting area with newspaper or a disposable tablecloth and dress your child in an old shirt or apron for easier clean-up.
• For no-mess fun, place a couple of tablespoons of paint into a large zip-lock bag, squeeze out the air and seal firmly. This way, little hands can have loads of fun pushing the paint around without even touching it.