The Best Sensory Fidget Toys for Children
January 07, 2022
Sensory toys are an amazing way to support your child’s growth in every aspect, including physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development.
Encouraging sensory play enhances your child’s five senses - eyesight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Through a variety of stimuli, each of these senses can be activated through play to promote healthy development in your child.
Sensory toys can be interactive. They can be shared amongst children to promote social interaction and participation. Your child will learn the importance of sharing and can develop key communication skills through their sensory play.
How Can Sensory Toys Be Beneficial for Children with Autism?
This type of explorative play is especially helpful for children with autism who may struggle to focus or communicate.
Calming toys can be used to ease their anxiety and help them to feel more comfortable in their environment. When an autistic child feels nervous or upset, they may start to feel agitated or angry (often referred to as a meltdown). During these times, sensory toys for autism can be used.
Autistic children can often struggle socializing and they feel nervous when they’re surrounded by people. Sensory play can enhance the social skills of children on the autistic spectrum to motivate them to interact with other children and adults.
Sensory toys, such as fidget toys or sensory boards (insert link to blog 4) can help autistic children if they start to feel stressed or overwhelmed in a busy environment by providing the perfect distraction.
Activating the five senses has amazing benefits for cognitive development in toddlers and young children. Many autistic children can be slightly behind their school friends in their cognitive abilities.
Encouraging them to use a variety of sensory toys can promote the healthy development of cognition and enhance their rational thinking skills.
Top Sensory Fidget Toys for Children
To give your child the best possible chances at developing in all aspects of their health, sensory fidget toys are the way to go! They provide stimulation of the key senses and promote physical, emotional, and social well-being for children of all ages.
If you’re looking for some calming toys to provide for your child, here are some of the best cheap fidget toys that will keep your child occupied for hours without breaking the bank!
Pop It Fidget Toys
Pop It fidget toys are simple, yet effective. They offer visual and auditory stimulation with flashing light, lots of different colours, and engaging sounds.
Our Large Flower Pot Fidget Toy has a popping feature that feels and sounds just like bubble wrap! It’s got a beautiful multi-coloured flower design that will immediately grab your child’s attention and make them want to explore.
It can help to calm your child’s nerves and ease their anxiety. When the bubbles are popped, they appear on the other side of the toy so that your child can have endless popping fun!
Find our Large Flower Pot Fidget Toy here!
Sensory Plushies
Plushies activate the touch receptors in your child’s hands, helping them to interpret new textures and fabrics. They can be a great distraction if your child starts to feel overwhelmed or agitated in an unfamiliar environment. The soft touch of the plushie can have a soothing and calming effect in any situation.
Our Sensory Squid Octopus Plushies are calming toys that feel super soft to touch. Your child will enjoy flipping this reversible octopus from happy on one side to angry on the other side. Each side has a different colour to provide visual variety.
Check out the Sensory Squid Octopus Plushies we have available and grab one for your child!
Fidget Spinners
The first thing most people think about when they hear the words ‘fidget toy’ is the good old fidget spinner! They grew in popularity a few years back and they have also now entered the world of toys.
Fidget spinners are great sensory toys that can keep your child occupied for hours as they explore their senses. They offer visual stimulation with lots of different colours and some options also have LED lights that turn on when the toy is spun around.
As well as activating eyesight, they can encourage your child to explore their touch senses and develop their fine motor skills through grabbing, pulling, and spinning the fidget toy.
The KeepEmQuiet Hand-held Spinner Push Pop It Fidget Toy combines everything your child needs in a sensory fidget toy to reduce anxiety and soothe any nervousness.
Not only does it have popping bubbles but it also spins! It’s a great option for children with autism as it can provide a distraction whilst they are waiting in line or travelling on long journeys.
See our Hand-held Spinner Push Pop It Fidget Toy here!
Rainmakers
Rainmakers are great sensory toys for autism as they activate sight, hearing, and touch all in one. These cheap fidget toys are long plastic structures that contain lots of exciting beads, balls, and glitters inside to engage your child whilst they are at home.
When your child flips the rainmaker over, the multi-coloured balls and beads inside the toy cascade down to the bottom. As they fall, they make a soothing noise that is similar to the sound of falling rain, which activates your child’s auditory system.
Your child can observe the falling balls and beads as they create a beautiful whirl of colours before flipping the rainmaker over once again.
The Rainbow Rainmaker at KeepEmQuiet is the perfect educational and exciting game for your child to enjoy all day, every day. Take a look here!
Fidget Balls
We can’t forget the fidget balls. Fidget balls are exactly what they say on the tin – they're balls! These sensory toys can be squeezed, rolled, and thrown to get your child moving and interacting with their environment.
Some fidget balls also make a squeaking noise when they’re squeezed which will keep your child engaged in their sensory play. They’re great for children with autism or learning difficulties who struggle to process sensory stimuli because they activate multiple senses at once.
Our Sensory Textured Colourful Fidget Ball Set comes with balls of all different shapes, sizes, textures, and colours to promote exploration and fun wherever they are. If you think your child will love this set, check them out in our store!
Sensory Slime, Putty, or Playdough
One of the best types of sensory toys to activate the touch and smell senses include slime, putty, and playdough. They have unique and interesting textures that will help your child to engage with new materials that they may not have come across before.
Your child can shape the slime, putty, or playdough into lots of different shapes. Maybe they want to make a colourful flower using glittery slime or maybe they have a favourite animal that they want to recreate in bright playdough. The options are endless!
Encourage your little one to get involved and get their hands dirty with all of the different types of slime and putty we have here at KeepEmQuiet. We know your child will love them all! They can all be found in our sensory toys online store!
Sensory Light Toys
Light-up sensory toys are the perfect way to grab your child’s attention and get them participating in sensory play. Whether it’s an LED fidget spinner or a light-up chewing necklace, there are so many options when it comes to finding a sensory light toy for your child.
Night lights produce a calming glow that helps your little one drift off into a deep sleep and there are even options that project different patterns, such as stars or galaxies, onto the walls and ceiling.
Autistic children often struggle to sleep, so this is a perfect option to promote a healthy bedtime routine. They can help autistic children to calm down and relax if they are feeling overwhelmed or worried.
Our Glowing Dinosaur Night Lamps come in packs of three different colours to provide a relaxing glow. Have a look at our night lights here.
Modelling Sets
Modelling sets come in all different shapes and sizes. Whether it’s a set of building blocks that can be used to make mini houses or a bundle of tiny pieces that combine to make a toy helicopter, they can often be themed kits.
Modelling sets can develop your child’s fine motor skills by enabling them to play with intricate pieces to create an amazing structure. They can explore their imagination and build their favourite things.
Our Construction Modelling Set can be squeezed and sculpted into lots of unique shapes so your child can get creative! Find our exciting kit here.
Final Thoughts
To provide the ultimate sensory experience for your child, sensory fidget toys are spot on!
Here at KeepEmQuiet, we want to promote the use of all kinds of sensory toys. The more variety your child has, the more likely they are to develop amazing physical, cognitive, emotional, and social abilities as they grow.
We’ve just released an exciting new sensory fidget kit that has everything your child needs for days of fun and games.
You can get the most popular fidget kit in the UK here:
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