Sensory toys can make incredible gifts because children of all ages and skill levels can benefit from sensory play. Sensory toys are designed to stimulate the senses which promotes learning and brain development. Below you can find a sensory friendly gift guide for all your holiday gift giving needs!
Vestibular Sensory Toys
Vestibular input refers to our sense of movement. Kids who seek vestibular or movement-based input cannot get enough spinning, swinging, sliding, and rolling. Many of the toys that promote vestibular input are also great for gross motor development and releasing energy!
- Playskool Sit’n Spin Classic
- MOLUK Bilibo Seat
- Little Tikes Trampoline
- Hanging Nest Swing
- Balance Stepping Stones
- Alex Active Monkey Balance Board
- Foam Pogo Jumper
- Scooter Board
Visual Sensory Toy Seekers
Visual input refers to our sense of sight. Kids who seek visual or sight-based input often seek opportunities to watch object light up, spin, move, flash, and flicker. A healthy visual system can impact reading skills, depth perception, visual tracking and more.
- Sensory Fiber Optic Lamp
- Lava Lamp
- Liquid Motion Bubbler Timer
- Light Bright
- Orbeez Mood Light
- Spirograph
- Handheld Spinning Light Up Wand
Tactile Sensory Toy Seekers
Tactile input refers to our sense of touch. Kids who seek tactile or touch based input, may seek the touch, and feel of different textures. They may show interest in things that are soft, sticky, rough, and even enjoy “messy play.” Engaging the tactile system can be calming and help to improve fine motor skill development.
- Finger Paints
- Wikki Stix
- Play Foam, Play Dough, Putty
- Kinetic Sand, Instant Snow, Moon Sand
- Sensory Play Table
- Ball Pit
- Handheld Massagers & Fidgets
- Poppets
Proprioceptive Sensory Toy Seekers
Proprioceptive input refers to sensations through pressure and body movement. Kids who seek proprioceptive or body-based input to their muscles and joints are the ones who will often be seen jumping, falling, pushing, pulling, and climbing. Many toys that have proprioceptive input have one thing in common…force.
- Plasma Car
- Tricycle/Bike
- EZ Steppers
- Inflatable Bop Bag
- Body Sox
- Moon Shoes
- Meet Hugo! Warmkins Therapeutic Monkey
- Abilitations Inflatable Dream Chair
Oral Proprioceptive Sensory Toy Seekers
Some kids can even crave proprioceptive input to the joints and muscles in their mouth, which is demonstrated by their need to chew on everything. The sensory toys below are also good options as replacement behaviors when clothing/non-food objects are mouthed.
- Vibrating Toothbrush
- Chew Stixx Pencil Toppers
- Silly Straws
- Chewy jewelry
- Animal Jigglers
Olfactory Sensory Toy Seekers
Olfactory refers to our sense of smell. Kids who seek olfactory or smell based input, are the ones who find opportunities to engage their sense of smell. Toys that elicit this sense can be worn on the body, integrated into play, infused into everyday items, or diffused into a room.
- Scented Play Dough & Putty
- Scented Jelly Belly Bubbles
- Crayola Silly Scented Markers
- Colored Smencils
- Scratch & Sniff Stickers
- Scented Loomi Bandz
Auditory Sensory Toy Seekers
Auditory refers to our sense of hearing. Kids who are auditory or sound-based input are those who want things louder and tend to make that noise themselves.
- Shake & Rattle Rainmaker
- Musical Instruments
- Pop Tubes
- Sound Puzzles
- Funky Toys Echo Mic
- Noise machine
