(Good Housekeeping Institute, July 28, 2021)
When we talk about the importance of play (hello, educational toys!), one of the main benefits is the chance for kids to go on sensory explorations, checking out different feels, sounds, even smells. Enter sensory toys, which are designed to activate different senses. “These are toys that stimulate the tactile system through various textures, vibration, temperature, or weight,” says Shelli Dry, ODT, a pediatric therapist and director of clinical operations at Enable My Child. “Visual toys can light up, flash, run in patterns, and stimulate color receptors by changing colors. Vestibular toys would be things like swings, rocker boards, scooter boards, skateboards, and spinners — toys that move through space in different directions and different speeds. Auditory toys may have music, metronome beats, chimes, or bells.” Just watch out for toys that do too many of these at once, Dr. Dry cautions, since those may be overstimulating.
There are many advantages to these types of experiences. “Sensory toys are beneficial to all ages and abilities and not limited in use,” Dr. Dry says “They may be used to activate or to calm, to encourage engagement and hand-eye coordination, and to increase participation and turn-taking. The key is to analyze each toy’s properties and find the one that best matches your child’s interests.” Here are 15 sensory toys for babies, for toddlers, and for big kids, as chosen by the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute‘s Little Lab.
Good Housekeeping selected the PunkinFutz Sensory Set:
