A mom found an ingenious way to create "edible sand." It's gone viral.

Apparently, babies like to eat sand. Babies are weird. However, instead of denying her toddler the simple pleasures of eating tiny little rocks, mother Elle Anna Christine found a way to create edible sand. She posted a video of the "recipe" to TikTok, where it has since gone viral. Other moms have even tried it out, to much success. Now there's just a bunch of babies who think it's okay to grab a handful of sand to munch on. And that sand tastes sweet, not like salt and dead sea animals. Which is great, really.

To make her edible sand, Elle simply took a big scoop of Cheerios and put it into her NutriBullet. In the video, the cereal was blitzed up into a flour-like texture in mere seconds. Then, she laid the "sand" out onto a pan and decorated it with beach toys, to give her toddler the illusion that she was actually playing in the sand on the beach. The mom explained, "There aren’t many beaches around us, so I wanted to make my daughter one that was safe to play in." Since the video was first posted, it has been viewed over 2.6 million times. Elle called this "sensory play." For many parents who have children with disabilities, this method of creating edible sand has been a godsend.

While her daughter, who is only seven months old, didn't actually eat much of the sand, Elle believes this is only because she isn't old enough yet. "She doesn’t have coordination yet," she said. "So she could barely pick up any of it." Like many babies her age, the little one is "really into touching everything and putting everything in her mouth right now." Even if your child doesn't eat the sand, this mom thinks it's definitely worth a go as long as it's done outdoors (it can get pretty messy otherwise). This is not the first time Elle has made edible crafts. In the past, she has put some of the baby's toys in jelly.

Angela Thayer, an educational writer and sensory play creator, saw the edible sand idea and said she loved it. "Parents don’t have to worry about what their child will put in their mouth," she stated. "It’s taste-safe and a great texture for kids to explore." The craft is a great way to help children explore the world around them. She explained, "As children grow, their senses are their most familiar and most basic way to explore and process new information. Sensory play enhances learning through hands-on activities that stimulate the child’s senses." If you haven't tried it yet, you definitely should. Apparently, it smells pretty good too!