To Eat or Not to Eat?

Landon has acquired a taste for a new food - and I use the term "food" loosely. Listed below is the ingredients in the aforementioned food:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups water

These ingredients make up the best homemade play-dough recipe you will ever find.

As we were playing with play-dough yesterday, which I made several weeks ago and still was soft, he grabbed a small piece and put it in in his mouth.

"No, no Landon. Icky," I said.

He put a little more in his mouth.

"No, no Landon. Icky," and I took it away for a little while.

I gave it back and he put more into his mouth. I repeat, "No, no Landon. Icky," as I made an icky looking face and shook my head no. I took it away again.

Now, I know it's not harmful to him, but I still don't want my kid to be the one labelled "The One Who Eats Play-dough." Or perhaps, he will now be labelled that as a result of this blog - oh well. I sat there wondering, "How much play-dough could he really eat (or could I consciously let him eat), before he decides he doesn't like it?" I made a Baby Bop out of play-dough (not by hand, I had a mold) and plopped her on his tray.

He bit her head off.

Sigh. Play-dough goes away again. It's about a half-hour before lunch and I grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and gave that to him.

"Oooh, a cookie. Yummy Landon! Play-dough: icky. Cookie: good," I relayed while nodding my head as he stuffed the cookie in his mouth. I gave him milk to wash the cookie down and considered giving him back the play-dough to see if my point got across. I opted not to since I think his tummy gave him the message - he spit up milky play-dough with a few chocolate chips in there. I guess I'll have to wait until next time to see if he retained my "Play-dough: icky" rants.

Here's the instructions for making the play-dough. I hope your children like it enough to play with it and not enough to eat it.

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until it forms a ball (about 2-3 minutes). Knead in food coloring (I mix my food coloring in with the water, because it can get a little messy if you knead it in at the end.) Store in a plastic bag (zipper sealed) or in an airtight container. It keeps for a looooooong time.