What is the difference between clay and play dough?

Question

I would like to buy clay or play dough for my 3 year old daughter. Which one should I buy? Which one can use longer? Can you recommend a good brand?

Answer 1

for a 3yr old- the Play Dough is the best bet. It's non-toxic and much easier to play with. It will dry out though - so you need to keep it in the air tight container.

You could make your own with peanut butter
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup honey
mix it together and have fun

another recipe is
Just add equal parts of cornstarch and peanut butter together and let kids play and eat! (easy clean up on table surfaces)

Answer 2

Play dough will be less messy. Clay can get into your carpet and the material of your clothes and can really be a mess. Play Dough is man made and it is non toxic (in case she eats some) and it is not as sticky as clay. Play Dough also has lots of presses and shape cutters and play sets that go with it and clay would just stick to everything and ruin it. If you keep your Dough in the cans, with the lids on, it will stay fresh for a long time. If it starts getting dry, you can also add a few drops of water and knead it into the dough to refresh it.

I recommend Play Dough.

Answer 3

Play Doh Clay

Answer 4

Play dough has a plastic poly substance base and Clay is a substance made from earth and can be fired to make it hard, whereas play dough can not be fired and stays soft.

Answer 5

I agree with h_brida... there are many types of "clay."
You may have in mind only a few that you've seen in stores, but there are many more possibilities.

The main types are:
... "air-dry" clays (PlayDoh, Model Magic, and CreativePaperclay are a few you'd see around as a few examples)... these need to be kept air-tight or they begin to harden (overnight, etc.)... most are rated kid-safe by the Art Safety Institute or whatever that name is
..."earth clays," ceramic clays (these are type that has to be fired at high temperature in a kiln to get really hard... they will also air-dry but won't be as strong as if fired
..."polymer clays" (Sculpey, Premo, Fimo, etc. are some of the brands)... these never air-dry since they're oil-based instead of water-based... to harden, they must be baked at about 275 degrees for 30 min or so
..."modeling clays" (one good brand is made by Van Aken, though they're all fine)... these are the types that are heavy, and have been associated with kids' play for several generations... they are also oil-based so they never dry out, but they have a wax added to them so would only melt if heated

Many types of air dry clay can also be made at home (and will be a lot cheaper).
The most popular is probably "salt dough" clay. There are loads of recipes for it online, with different proportions. For a 3 year old, that would be fine ... even if she ate it.
If she is an "eater," you might want to use pretzel dough as a clay too... my son's kindergarten class practiced their alphabet letters by making them with that kind of dough, then baking and eating them.
Other kinds of homemade air-dry clay might be made from other grains besides wheat flour, or from paper or wood pulp, or even sand/etc., and might include a starch or a white glue to make them into pliable "clays."

All air-dry clays will harden though with exposure to air ... there's really nothing you can do about that except to keep putting them back into ziptop bags or plastic tubs, etc., between uses.

Other people have mentioned that modeling clays could leave marks on porous surfaces (could be oily spot and/or color), so while they are great for never drying out, you'd have to make sure they were left sitting only on certain surfaces.

Usually kids that young don't need their creations to last a long time, but if yours did want that, then you'd probably want to go with a clay that would harden (or keep the modeling clay items your kid made up away from much handling, etc.)

If your kid is into making things with "clay," trying out a lot of different types and textures can be fun too.


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 6

buy play-dough it non toxic and safe plus it is made not to damage mmost surfaces. clay will leave residue on ost surfaces and might be toxic if ingested. another fact about play dough is it very rarely dries out where most clay will harden.

Answer 7

Play-Doh is a trademark for an air-dry mixture from the Hasbro toy company. There are *many* recipes for similar home-made mixtures.

General warning: mixtures that smell good will often be chewed/eaten by children. Shop and craft wisely to avoid problems.

"Clay" refers to *many* different things, ranging from special use mud to petroleum products. Some are more likely to stain clothing and furniture than others.

"Drying out" is something to consider. Some varieties *never* dry out, which can make clean-up nigh impossible. If you want to have finished solid items, you'll want to choose between air-dry and oven-dry materials.

If it's just for playing around, I recommend making your own.

Answer 8

Play-dough is non-toxic if eaten, which most 3 year olds like to do.

Answer 9

Play Dough because if your 3 year old eats it, it will not harm them. Plus it is less messy!

Answer 10

clay stays like sticky longer and u can still mold it into something else like a month after u opened it play doh has to be kept in a closed container and will go bad in a couple of weeks if left out then overnight