Foam Sensory Activity for Babies and Toddlers: Mouth Safe!

Theo is over a year old now and so I guess that means we have a toddler on our hands now?! Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, I sometimes struggle with ideas of what to do each day. Luckily this foam sensory activity was easy for me and a big hit with a toddler. It’s always fun to do a sensory activity that lets your baby or toddler intentionally get messy. I saw an idea on Pinterest to do a sensory activity for toddlers with shaving cream and using food coloring to dye it different colors. Unfortunately, Theo wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth right now and I didn’t want to risk him accidentally ingesting shaving cream. This DIY foam is an awesome alternative to that idea, because it’s safe for your baby to put in their mouth (unless of course they have an allergy!). This is because it is made with canned chickpeas. You could do this activity anywhere from 6 months, 8 months, 1 year, and beyond! What kid wouldn’t like playing with foam?

I know you’re saying chickpeas??? Garbanzo beans??? Are we talking about the same thing?? But YES! The liquid from canned chickpeas actually has a name: aquafaba and it is a vegan alternative to egg whites that people use in baking.

It really doesn’t matter brand or anything regarding your canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans. I get mine in a 8-pack at Costco, but this one from Bush’s is actually a really great deal on Amazon.

All you are going to do is drain a can of chickpeas and RESERVE THE LIQUID! Make sure you don’t throw away the actual beans too– use them to make crispy chickpeas as a snack or make some hummus!

Throw that liquid (aka aquafaba) into a bowl and either use a hand-mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to start whipping it on high. I also included a pinch of cream of tartar which helps it whip up better and hold stiff peaks for longer.

Once you have whipped it on high for about 3-5 minutes and stiff peaks have formed, you can turn off your mixer. I divided mine out onto paper plates and gently folded in some food coloring, just to make it a little more interesting. I tried using turmeric to naturally color it, but unfortunately that deflated the foam– so I wouldn’t recommend that! If you are wary of artificial food dyes and really feel like your kids will put the foam in their mouths, these natural food dyes should do the trick!:

We did this foam sensory activity outside on Theo’s splash pad which made clean up extra easy– all I had to do was hose it all down! In the end, he didn’t end up trying to put the foam in his mouth, but at least I had peace of mind knowing that if he did before I could stop him, it would be safe for him to do so!

He loved mixing everything up and feeling the texture of the foam. This sensory activity was a big hit!

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