There’s an unexplainable gravitational pull that draws your kid’s handful of sand right into their mouth. ‘Cause let’s be honest, kids would live on any non-edible, “don’t-touch-it,” and plain dangerous diet if they could.

So imagine what a relief came over parents when one mom shared an “edible sand” recipe on her TikTok. The sand takes a minute to make and all you need are some Cheerios and a blender. Elle Anna Christine posted the TikTok showing her blending the Cheerios and laying them all out on a tray. She then added some beach-themed toys as decoration.

The video was viewed a whopping 2.6M times and has since been bouncing around from one mom to another. Bored Panda reached out to Elle Anna, the Illinois-based mom behind the viral TikTok video so scroll down to see what she had to say in an interview below!

This mom shared the “edible sand” recipe on TikTok and it went viral

@elleannachristine🌞🐠🌴 ##fyp ##sensoryplay ##upcycling♬ Laxed (Siren Beat) – Jawsh 685

Bored Panda contacted 23-year-old mom Elle Anna Christine from Illinois. She said that the idea of “edible sand” came because “there aren’t many beaches around us, so I wanted to make my daughter one that was safe to play in.”

Her daughter Amara, who’s 7 months old, absolutely loved the idea, but “she didn’t eat very much of it.” Mom suspects that it’s because “she doesn’t have coordination yet, so she could barely pick up any of it.” The “edible sand” may work better for kids slightly older than Amara’s age. But just like most kids her age, Amara “is really into touching everything and putting everything in her mouth right now.”

Elle Anna would definitely recommend trying the sand out because it’s a lot of fun, but it’s better to be done outdoors “since the process is pretty messy.” The Illinois-based mom said she has done more edible crafts on her TikTok, like “putting a couple of Amara’s toys in jello last week,” but the “edible sand” is the biggest one so far.

One more mom shared her own spin on the “edible sandpits”

@mamabee2012Edible sand! ##fyp ##cheerios ##generalmills ##toddler ##sensoryplay♬ original sound – mamabee2012

Bored Panda also spoke to Angela Thayer, educational writer and sensory play creator at “Teaching Mama,” about the edible Cheerios sand idea. Angela told us that she has seen it and loved it because “parents don’t have to worry about what their child will put in their mouth.” She also said that “it’s taste-safe and a great texture for kids to explore.”

“Edible sand” is an example of sensory play, which is an excellent tool for kids to explore the world they live in. “As children grow, their senses are their most familiar and most basic way to explore and process new information,” Angela explained. Meanwhile, “sensory play enhances learning through hands-on activities that stimulate the child’s senses.”

And people hailed the idea as “genius”

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