Tablets aside, Play-Doh can easily be any child’s favourite. It can keep them busy for long hours. Think of pretending to cook, building houses, making animals, and aiming for your sibling’s head. The creativity and fun are limitless.
But if your child has coeliac disease, fear of the squishy, soft, squashy, and stress-relieving playing tool becomes natural. However, they wouldn’t be eating the Play-Doh… should it still be a cause for alarm? Here is what you need to know:
Is Play Doh Gluten Free?
Play-Doh is like the dough for your cake and pastry; it’s hard for your kids not to fall in love with its colourful, soft, and modelling ability.
However, Play-Doh is made with wheat flour. This makes it not gluten-free. Hasbro confirms that people with gluten may react to it.
While your kids know not to chew or swallow these play toys, they can chew on them, lick their fingers, or play in ways that may get them in their mouths. Touching Play-Doh isn’t the same as eating it, which brings us to the next section…
Can You Get Gluten Exposure From Touching Play-Doh?
Gluten won’t trigger your child’s coeliac disease just by touching his/her skin. Unlike food allergies, which trigger skin reactions like hives in some circumstances, you need to eat the gluten-containing item to trigger coeliac disease reactions.
However, one thing our kids struggle with is keeping their hands out of their mouths. I once saw my son playing with the Play-Doh and licking his finger afterwards.
In some cases, the Play-Doh residue on your child’s fingertips may get into their mouth while they eat. Always encourage them to wash their hands after each play session.
Best Gluten-Free Alternatives to Play-Doh
With these alternatives, you or your child won’t miss out on the wholesome fun of modelling something weird.
Whoa Dough
Chuckle & Roar’s WHOA Dough is a great alternative to consider. It has a non-toxic and gluten-free stamp on its label.
This product can sometimes be mistaken for the similarly named cookie dough. Check the package to ensure you’re handling the modelling compound.
Aroma Dough
Another gluten-free option for modelling dough is Aroma Dough. It is made with rice flour and is gluten-free as stated by the manufacturer. It has scented and unscented varieties. I usually prefer the unscented, so the idea of the kids getting it into their mouths becomes zero.
If your child has other allergies, be sure to check the product information for the allergens as well.
Kinetic Sand/Mad Mattr
Play-Doh is exciting, but kinetic sand and Mad Mattr are ecstatic. They offer a cloud level of sensory play.
According to the Kinetic Sand website, the product is gluten-free and casein-free and derived from natural sand.
Mad Mattr also confirms its product is gluten-free.
These materials don’t take the exact form of modelling doughs but can still be used to model exciting shapes and simulate imaginative play.
FAQ
Is Crayola play dough gluten-free?
No. Crayola Play-Doh lists wheat flour among the ingredients. It is not gluten-free. They further state that their other modelling material may not contain gluten but is made on the same machinery, creating the possible risk of cross-contamination.
Is Lakeshore Playdough gluten-free?
Lakeshore speciality sensory doughs, just like Mad Mattr Sensory Dough, are labelled as gluten-free. They also don’t contain corn, dairy, eggs, gelatin, latex, nuts, or soy. This may not apply to all their products; do check each product label.
Final Thoughts
Classic Play-Doh is not gluten-free because of its wheat content. However, handling it will not pose the same risk as eating it. Accidental ingestion and possible transfer of residue to food are top concerns for kids.
The exciting news is that there are lots of gluten-free alternatives (doughs and sands) with gluten-free labels. If your child is fuelled by their imagination, you can get these products.