The unexpected parenting superpower hiding in a jar of slime

Look, I get it. When someone mentions slime, your first thought is probably that time you found it melted into your couch cushions or cemented in your kid’s hair. Maybe you’re having flashbacks to Nickelodeon slime from the ’90s, and your mom’s voice echoing “absolutely not in this house.” Same, honestly.

But what if I told you that the gooey substance you’ve been banning from your home might actually be the key to having those meaningful conversations with your kids that feel impossible to start? The ones about mental health, friendships, or their struggles with siblings? Yeah, I was skeptical too.

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When life gives you trauma, make slime

Sara Schiller, co-founder of the Sloomoo Institute, didn’t set out to become a slime evangelist. She and her business partner Karen Robinovitz created Sloomoo out of something much heavier—personal tragedy that would break most people.

Sara’s older daughter was born with a rare genetic syndrome that left her unable to speak, feed herself, or dress independently. Ten years after her birth, Sara’s husband had massive bilateral strokes at age 50, leaving him unable to speak or care for himself. Around the same time, Karen’s husband died from mental health issues, and nine months later, her cousin was murdered in the Parkland school shooting.

“You can’t make any of this up,” Sara says matter-of-factly, acknowledging how jarring it sounds to hear it all laid out like that. But here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn: a friend’s 10-year-old brought over a bag of slime.

“Karen started playing with slime—four hours had gone by, and she was like, ‘Wow, I feel really good,'” Sara recalls. When they played together with Sara’s two daughters, they discovered something remarkable: her severely disabled older daughter, her typically developing younger daughter, and two grieving adults were all having fun together on an equal playing field.

That moment became the foundation for Sloomoo Institute, a sensory experience center that’s part museum, part playground, and entirely devoted to the therapeutic power of play.

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The secret weapon for hard conversations

Here’s the thing about trying to talk to your kids about the big stuff: it’s awkward as hell. Whether you’re trying to navigate topics like sex, drugs, mental health, or just the daily “how was school” that gets met with a grunt, finding the right moment feels impossible.

“What slime allowed me to do—and I had no idea it was going to offer me this—was the ability for us to be playing and connecting and having these really, really difficult but lovely conversations without her even knowing we were having them,” Sara explains.

The magic is in the distraction. You’re both focused on the slime—talking about textures, passing colors back and forth, mixing scents—and suddenly you’re also talking about whether they’re being teased at school or how they really feel about their sibling. “It was doing something together,” Sara says, comparing it to how some parents find baking works the same way, “but slime is super fun and playful, which makes it cool.”

For Sara and her younger daughter, now 13, slime became the bridge to discussing incredibly complex emotions—like whether she felt embarrassed by her older sister’s limitations, or how to handle being teased about their family being different. “Those kind of conversations I think are really subtle, but really important,” Sara notes. They had variations of these conversations “for many, many months, probably even a year, as she started to realize her sister was different.”

But won’t It destroy my house?

100% this was my first question too. Sara has a public service announcement for us: “You can get Sloomoo slime out of anything using white vinegar and water. You can get it out of a mohair sweater, you can get it out of your rug, even if it’s been there for six months.”

Apparently it’s the science of slime: white vinegar separates the glue particles so they lift right out. Crisis averted.

Sara also suggests treating slime like a pet (genius, actually) to teach responsibility. It needs to go back in the jar with the lid screwed on tight. It’s a natural opportunity to teach kids about taking care of their things without you turning into the nagging parent you swore you’d never become.

The screen-free sweet spot

As a somewhat play-averse parent, I know finding play that both you AND your kids actually want to do is rare. Role-playing with stuffed animals can feel like slowly dying inside, especially if you’re already touched out and running on three hours of sleep. (More power to you if that’s your thing, but I don’t think I’m in the minority here.)

Here’s what Sara discovered at Sloomoo: “The adults who come will end up leaving saying, ‘I needed this more than my kids,’ or ‘I had more fun than my kids.'”

There’s science behind why it works. The tactile nature is genuinely rewarding for our overstimulated brains. The scents trigger powerful memories (hello, childhood cereal fights with siblings over Froot Loops). And crucially, nobody can be on their phone while playing with slime—not you, not your kid.

“Kids need to know that you are there for them. And that is not being on your own device,” Sara says, calling out the elephant in every room with a charging cable.

According to the National Institute for Play, which Sloomoo partners with, play is the second most important thing to your health after sleep. The absence of play actually harms your health. So basically, playing with slime is as essential as your morning workout, except more fun and with less sweating.

Getting started without losing your mind

If you’re ready to dip your toes (or fingers) into the slime world, Sara recommends starting with beginner-friendly options like cloud cream slime or butter slime. For making your own, use Elmer’s glue—yes, it’s more expensive, but it makes the best slime. You can find tons of kits and inspiration on the Sloomoo website.

The real goal? Just five minutes a day. “Five minutes of slime play a day can change a life,” Sara says. Whether it’s while you’re having your morning coffee or after brushing teeth at bedtime, people reported feeling significantly better after just a week or two of incorporating this tiny pause into their routine.

It’s basically a deep breathing exercise or minute of meditation, except you’re actually doing something your kids want to join you for.

The bottom line

Look, none of us have it all figured out. We’re meal planning and grocery listing and coordinating carpool schedules while simultaneously trying to raise emotionally intelligent humans who will one-day text us back. “It will eat you up over time, and you’ve got to just say, like, I’m gonna take a minute and have fun,” Sara reminds us.

Maybe that fun is slime. Maybe it’s dancing in your kitchen or walking down the street with silly walks. Whatever it is, the point is to break from the norm, look your kids in the eye, and connect at a human level—no devices, no distractions, just presence.

And if it happens to come in a jar that smells like chocolate chip cookies? Even better.

source https://www.mother.ly/child/child-learn-play/sloomoo-institute-founder-sara-schiller/