# Why do children eat paste/glue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206 "2013-12-01T13:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/1 "2013-12-01T13:52:31Z")
When I was a kid I ate some grass and crayons, but… Why do kids eat glue? Saw it at school and on plenty of movies already. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/2 "2013-12-01T13:59:42Z")
Some glues are gelatin based animal protiens. The taste could easily appeal to someone. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/3 "2013-12-01T14:06:06Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Some glues are gelatin based animal protiens. The taste could easily appeal to someone. Others are starch-based, which could also make them appeal as food. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/4 "2013-12-01T14:16:00Z")
True story: When I was in preschool, the teacher used those generic red squeeze-bottles that restaurants put ketchup in to easily dispense the Elmer’s. So since it came out of a ketchup bottle, I ate some. As I recall, it did not taste very good. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/5 "2013-12-01T14:17:51Z")
Don’t forget Play-doh! Yum, salty… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/6 "2013-12-01T14:19:31Z")
They want a a meal that will really stick to their ribs. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/7 "2013-12-01T20:10:20Z")
Library paste, so tasty I once in kindergarten wrapped some up in a paper towel and took it home for later, is mainly flour and water, with some sort of minty additive. I can taste it now. Also contains alum, which is toxic in high doses, but who knew that. The question is not why do kids eat it, but why do they stop? [library paste link](http://letterology.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-dont-eat-library-paste.html), including a photograph of let this be a warning to you (scroll down). ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/8 "2013-12-01T20:25:58Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten glue _on purpose_, but those Elmer’s Glue squeeze bottles always seemed to get clogged up with dried glue, and pretty much the only way to make them usable again was by biting the nozzle until you loosened the glue plug. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/9 "2013-12-01T20:30:22Z")
Little kids put _everything_ in their mouths, and swallow if they can fit it down. They’re like dogs, that way. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/10 "2013-12-01T21:49:08Z")
> [@demian\_travis](#): > > When I was a kid I ate some grass and crayons, but… Why do kids eat glue? Saw it at school and on plenty of movies already. When I was in first grade I ate so many crayons once I got super constipated and learned about the most horrible thing in childhood: **Glycerin Suppository**!:eek: The day the shoved something up my butt my innocence died. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/12 "2013-12-01T22:02:29Z")
[http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/glue-from-milk/](http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/glue-from-milk/) > [@](#): > > The clumps of curds are comprised of casein, a protein found in milk. Casein proteins make up 3% of whole milk. Glues made from casein include products such as Elmer’s and other woodworking glues. The relationship between the Borden Company, it’s mascot Elsie-the-Cow and glue becomes more apparent when you consider that Borden purchased the Casein Company in 1929, and introduced its first glue, called Casco glue in 1932. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/13 "2013-12-01T22:23:55Z")
Maybe certain kinds of glue smells appealing to children. I know that I liked the smell of glue sticks when I was a kid, though I never ate any. ---
**Author:** ![FrigidLizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3bc359/32.png) [@FrigidLizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrigidLizard)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/14 "2013-12-02T20:54:32Z")
I knew a girl in second grade who ate the paste, and when I asked her why, she told me it tasted sweet. I tried a little, and it was very mildly sweet, like a broken-down starch, and I thought it was pretty gross. I can understand why a toddler might consume it, but in second grade we were too old for that behavior. Looking back, she was rather poor, and I suspect she had a nutritional deficiency. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/15 "2013-12-02T22:12:15Z")
Elmer’s glue is NOT made from casein. It’s polyvinyl acetate. > **[Elmer's Products](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer%27s_Products)** > > Elmer's Products, Inc. or simply Elmer's is an American-based company that has a line of adhesive, craft, home repair, and office supply products. It is best known as the manufacturer of Elmer's Glue-All, a popular PVA-based synthetic glue, in addition to other brands including Krazy Glue, ProBond and CraftBond adhesives, and X-Acto cutting tools. > Introduced by Borden, it was spun off independently in 1999. The company was acquired in 2003 by Berwind Corporation, a privately held investment firm... Older glues from way back were casein based. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/16 "2013-12-02T23:44:19Z")
A girl I went to grade school with used to eat glue a lot in the 2nd and 3rd grade. She was a very strange girl and got made fun of for a lot of reasons. She was teased for being ugly and strange. When they teased her for eating glue she said she didn’t care what they thought. Ironically, when she reached high school she went through a transformation of some sort (I swear, she changed so much I almost suspected a cocoon of some sort was involved). She went from being the weird girl that everyone made fun of to being the hot babe that all the guys wanted to date. As for why, I never got more than “I don’t care what you think” as a reason out of her. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-eat-paste-glue/675206/17 "2013-12-04T06:21:09Z")
Why? Delicate bouquet with notes of almond and vanilla and a hint of cinnamon. Mesmerising colour varying from pale translucency to a sharp intense white. Rich creamy mouthfeel. A palate experience dazzling to the senses - complex structure of subtle cigar box elements, with soaring white sage, lilac and a hint of strawberry combined with very low acid and tannin. Huge front and mid palate, regrettably disappointing finish; no length at all to speak of. A well cellared 1962 Perkin’s Paste is one of life’s sublime joys. Or maybe not.