Toys for
Sensory
Development
Play is an essential and natural way for children to develop and refine their sensory abilities. It involves the use of the senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—to explore, understand, and interact with the world.
It's important to provide a safe and supportive environment that allows for exploration and discovery, enabling children to engage their senses freely and learn from their experiences.
Toys serve as important tools for supporting sensory development in children. They come in various shapes, textures, colors, and sizes, offering an array of unique sensory experiences. For instance, toys designed with different textures—soft, rough, smooth, bumpy—encourage tactile exploration, refining the sense of touch. Vibrantly colored toys stimulate visual senses, aiding in color recognition and visual perception. Toys that produce sounds or music engage the auditory senses, while scented or flavored toys offer olfactory and gustatory (big words!) experiences.
Additionally, toys that involve manipulation, such as building blocks, puzzles, or playdough, aid in fine motor development by encouraging hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Through these multi-sensory experiences, toys serve as valuable tools in helping children explore, understand, and process sensory information, fostering holistic sensory development.
Proceed with caution...
Just like with all toys, it is essential to ensure safety while using sensory toys, especially toys like: trampolines, swings, play dough, or sensory bins. Safety precautions, such as safety nets, proper installation, and age-appropriate guidelines, should be strictly enforced to prevent injuries on larger toys. Toys like play dough and sensory bins may be tempting to children to explore with their mouths. Be sure to only engage in these activities with appropriate adult supervision.
While these suggested toys can be beneficial for sensory development, individual experiences may vary. Some children might find some of these sensory experiences overstimulating or uncomfortable. Therefore, it's important to observe each child's response and ensure that they enjoy the activity without any negative sensory overload. If in doubt, consulting an occupational therapist or a sensory integration specialist can provide tailored advice based on a child's specific sensory needs and preferences.
take a look at our top picks for sensory development...
Crinkle Baby Toys
What we like: These toys are designed with materials that produce a crinkling sound when squeezed or touched, capturing a baby's attention. The crinkling sound engages the auditory senses, encouraging babies to explore cause-and-effect relationships —squeezing or touching the toy leads to a sound, fostering their understanding of actions and consequences. These toys are lightweight and easy to grasp, supporting hand-eye coordination and encouraging babies to manipulate and explore, promoting sensory and motor skill development in a playful and engaging manner.
Skill targets:
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Auditory
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Cause & Effect
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Hand-eye coordination
Types of Crinkle Toys
Baby Play Mats
What we like: Baby play mats are highly beneficial for sensory development due to their design and features that offer a range of sensory stimuli. These mats are typically constructed with various textures, colors, patterns, and interactive elements. They provide a soft and comfortable surface for babies to explore and play, promoting sensory development in many ways. Look for play mats that incorporate a variety of different toys, mirrors, sounds, or visual elements.
Skill targets:
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Visual
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Tactile (touch)
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Auditory
Types of Play Mats
Water Tables
What we like: Playing in water allows children to experience different textures and temperatures. They can feel the wetness, the varying temperatures of the water, and different objects within it, fostering their sense of touch. Water tables also often come with colorful toys, floating objects, or activities that provide visual interest. Children are engaged by the colors and movement of the water, stimulating their visual senses.​ The combination of various sensory inputs - touch, sight, sound - in a water table setting encourages the brain to integrate these inputs, aiding in sensory processing and development.
Skill targets:
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Visual
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Tactile (touch)
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Sensory integration
Pop Tubes
What we like: Honestly, what's not to like?? Pop tubes are fun, brightly colored tubes that can be used in a variety of ways. They make a unique sound when stretched out or pushed back together, capturing auditory senses. They are able to be connected together and made into larger structures for practicing fine motor skills. Use these pop tubes as a "fidget" for your child who needs calming, soothing relief or practice making letters by manipulating the tubes.
Skills to target:
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Tactile (touch)
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Auditory
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Fine motor development
Trampoline
What we like: Trampolines offer a unique sensory experience that stimulates multiple senses and contributes to overall sensory integration. Jumping on a trampoline provides vestibular stimulation, which involves the inner ear and helps with balance, spatial orientation, and coordination. This input is essential for the development of the vestibular system, which contributes to a child's sense of balance and body position. The act of jumping and bouncing also provides proprioceptive input, which refers to the body's awareness of its position in space. This type of input helps improve body awareness, muscle tone, and coordination.
Skill targets:
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Sensory integration
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Vestibular input
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Proprioceptive input
Our favorites
Swings
What we like: Similar to trampolines, swings offer vestibular and proprioceptive input for sensory-seekers. Swinging back and forth or in circular motions provides vestibular input. This motion stimulates the inner ear, aiding in the development of balance, spatial awareness, and coordination. Additionally, pushing or pulling against the swing provides resistance, offering proprioceptive feedback. This input helps in body awareness, muscle strength, and joint stability. As a plus, the rhythmic, repetitive motion of swinging can have a calming effect on the sensory system. It can help in self-regulation and emotional stability for some children.
Skill targets:
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Vestibular input
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Proprioceptive input
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Sensory integration
Types of Swings
Scented Dough
What we like: The addition of scents to play dough provides an olfactory element to the sensory experience, enhancing the overall experience. Scented play dough engages the sense of smell. Different scents, whether they're pleasant or calming, can evoke specific emotions and memories, offering a multisensory experience. The combination of touch (kneading, squishing) with the added dimension of smell provides a richer sensory experience. This multi-sensory engagement helps in the development and refinement of sensory processing skills. Certain scents, such as lavender or chamomile, are known for their calming properties, while citrus scents might be more invigorating. These scents can assist in mood regulation and emotional responses.
Skill targets:
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Olfactory senses
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Sensory regulation
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Mood regulation
Bonus!
What we like: Just like the scented variety, textured dough adds a fun element to the play dough experience. There is a variety pack of dough with a variety of different feels and smells.
Skill targets:
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Tactile
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Olfactory
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Sensory regulation
Sensory Bins
What we like: These hands-on containers filled with various materials provide rich sensory experiences. Themes for sensory bins can vary widely, from nature-inspired bins with leaves and pinecones to ocean-themed bins with water and toy sea creatures. By adjusting the contents, the sensory experience can be tailored to a child's interests or needs. Children can touch, feel, and interact with different textures, promoting tactile stimulation and exploration. The combination of visual, tactile, and sometimes olfactory (if scents are added) inputs helps children integrate and process sensory information. This aids in improving sensory processing skills.​​
Skill targets:
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Visual
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Tactile
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Sensory processing
Types of Sensory Bins