Gluten Free Play Dough For Children with Celiac Disease

Every child loves to play with play dough. But can children with celiac disease play with it? Well the answer is no. children with celiac disease cannot play with normal play dough made with flour containing gluten.

There is some research which suggests gluten is absorbed through the skin, but the biggest risk is that the child will inadvertently ingest some of the play dough when their imagination goes wild! The other risk is that they will cross contaminate their food with traces of gluten which get trapped under their nails or on their clothes.

So best to keep children with celiac disease away from play dough made with gluten containing flour. The good news is though you can make up a batch of gluten free play dough especially for your children with celiac disease.

There is no need if your child to miss out because here is an easy to make gluten free play dough recipe which is every bit as good as the real thing. 

These are the ingredients:

½ cup rice flour ½ cup corn starch ½ cup salt 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 cup water1 teaspoon cooking oil Food coloring, as desired

Instructions

1)    Mix ingredients in a pot
2)    Cook and stir on low heat for 3 minutes or until it forms a ball
3)    Cool completely before storing in a seal-able plastic bag

 A word of advice for parents, care givers and teachers. Ensure that when children with celiac disease are playing with their play dough that they are settled on a table away from the normal gluten containing play dough. This requires supervision. It is easy for cross contamination to occur. Other kids may want to share their own play dough, or use the gluten free pay dough after handling the gluten one.

 In fact it would probably be easier to manage if ALL play dough was made from the gluten free recipe if you have children with celiac disease you are teaching or caring for. Remove the risk and all the kids can play happily together and have lots of fun!!

To find out more about how to provide a 100% gluten free diet for children with celiac disease click here "What Is Gluten Free?" http://www.cooking.what-is-gluten-free.org/

 

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