Keeping Your Children Safe From Household Adhesives

Thinking back to your school days, wasn't it funthroughout the house. This might be the kitchen
to use white paste to stick togethertable, for instance, where you lay out newspapers
multi-dimensional pictures for the holidays? Littleto cover the surface and let kids make things
construction paper pilgrims were pasted to athere. For larger-scale projects like building model
sky-blue backdrop with a separate paste-on ofcars or airplanes, a garage workshop or floor is a
green hills or puffy clouds to make the picturegreat place to spread out the newspapers and
more interesting. Washing up afterwards wasset up supplies.
messy, but fun, as you peeled off the white2. Help kids dress for the part. While you can't
paste residue that had dried on your hands.necessarily dress them for school to work with
Nowadays kids still play with glue to make artglue, you can ask the teacher to provide coveralls
projects in school, church, and other communityfor the clothes, even if they are the paper
programs. But some of the glue products todaydisposable kind. If the school is unable to cover
are stronger than those of yesteryear, like Superthis cost, ask for a letter to be sent home to
Glue, for example. Granted, kids should not beparents requesting kids to bring in an old adult
playing with this high-grade adhesive, but someshirt for art days. Keep one for use at home, too.
parents are not as careful as they should be3. Teach kids to use art products with caution.
about things like this.Help them read the labels and follow directions.
If your children are clamoring to make artOften, children approach artwork spontaneously,
projects or to use glue and paste for buildingand they are less interested in the materials they
models or repairing book pages, and things of thatuse than in the final product. Help them
nature, teach them the right way to use adhesiveunderstand the stickiness of glue and the need to
products. Kids who don't know how to use thesehandle it with care. Kids who assemble model cars
things correctly can cause problems by getting itor other objects should work with glue in a
on their clothes or school supplies, or having gluewell-ventilated area to prevent the inhalation of
get in their hair or stuck to their skin. Usingfumes. Deliberately sniffing strongly scented
solvents to break down the adhesive is notmaterials like glue can lead to a temporary
particularly fun or safe, either. Here are a feweuphoric feeling that brings with it the risk of
guidelines to make adhesives' use safe for all:injury or death. Supervise your kids' use of glue
1. Set up a contained work area. Whether youand related products to be sure they don't misuse
teach preschool, elementary grades, or any levelthem.
of student, or simply let your kids play with glueChildren that learn how to use these materials
at home, make them keep the products in acorrectly should be able to manage more serious
specified area to keep the glue from spillingmaterials in the future, with proper guidance.