Sensory toys are an important element of childhood development, but they're particularly therapeutic for children who have sensory processing disorders, including children with autism and anxiety.
Since children touch everything (EVERYTHING!), sensory toys help them get used to feeling and seeing different textures and shapes and hearing diverse sounds as they develop their senses. These 23 picks are the best you can get in two days or less — aka on Amazon. Your children will have so much fun with them, they won't even realize they're working and learning.
The Melissa and Doug Bug Jug Fill and Spill Soft Baby Toy ($23) is a see-through jug with a mesh-top lid that you can fill up with four bud buddies and spill out. The toys are multitextured and rattle, jingle, squeak, and crinkle. It's made for ages 18 months and up, and helps promote fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and sensory development.
If you have a child with sensory development issues, the Born2Calm Fidget Toy ($14) is great for stress relief, refocusing, and fine motor skills. Their texture helps ease stress and stop anxious fidgeting.
The Infantino Press and Stay Sensory Blocks ($15) are perfect for little ones 6 months and older. The set comes with 24 blocks that are easy to put together and pull apart. Help your little one build early engineering skills as they build and learn without frustration.
The Crayola Touch Lights Musical Doodle Board ($25) is a great sensory toy for toddlers, because it's mess-free and portable. With 12 lights and six songs, the sealed gel surface lets little ones doodle with their fingers without leaving a mess. It's perfect for ages 24 months and up.
The Fat Brains MiniSpinny Baby Toy ($13) is perfect for travel, bath time, or play time. It'll get your baby's senses spinning with the vibrant propellers and encourages sensory exploration, early counting, color recognition, and motor skills.
Ruff's Tactile Set ($20) will offer great sensory play with hands-on learning that enhances cognitive, language, and physical skills. It stimulates the sense of touch with a variety of textures.
Help your toddler build their sensory development with the Sensory Sen Montessori Tactile Touch and Match ($36). It pairs color recognition with basic touch development to help your toddler enhance their senses.
This magic Kinetic Sand ($22) will be your kid's new favorite toy. It's great for sensory play because it oozes, moves, and melts through their hands, but leaves no mess. The box is a contained play space for your kids 3 and up and it comes with everything they need to build their best sandcastle.
Let your child play, relax, and focus with a Squishy Stress Relief Spiky Ball ($11). It's great for kids of all ages and fun on the go.
Babies can build sensory awareness by vision, auditory, and touch with the Huile Xylophone Piano Pounding Bench ($25). It comes with six colorful keys that can be played by hand or with the hammer. Your little one can also push the balls into the slide track or pound them down to hit the voice chips and make sound.
Give your kids some water fun with the Step2 Duck Dive Water Table ($40). The pond themed table includes two decorated ducks and a frog squirter. Let them build their sensory skills as they squeeze the rubber ducks and splash around for great water fun.
The Skip Hop Zoo Elephant ($15) is a multisensory rattle filled with lots of patterns, sounds, and textures. Your baby will explore and play as the rattle crinkles and jingles for multisensory development.
The bright colors, sounds, and textures of the Fisher-Price Jonathan Adler Sensory Gym ($119) give those developing senses a boost. Your little wiggle worm will enjoy the nine linkable activity toys, colored lights, music, and mirror for self-discovery.
This cuddly companion is full of textures, sounds, and skill-building activities for your baby or toddler. The rattling reins on the Melissa & Doug Giddy-Up and Play Multisensory Horse ($57) are easy to grab, shake, and pull. Pat the mane and let them gallop away with a neigh!
Learning Resources Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog ($13) helps develop all sorts of skills for children 18 months and up. The color quills are chunky enough to build fine motor skills and the bright colors will spark their senses.
Gleeporte's Multifunctional Activity Cube ($47) is the perfect multisensory educational toy. Your child can easily rotate the cube to enjoy all eight activities that incorporate shapes, colors, and textures.
This instrument toy combines lights, sound, and touch to boost engagement. The Rabing Kids Drum Set ($31) includes two drumsticks and a microphone with different sound effects and songs.
This mesmerizing toy will increase your child's visual awareness and tracking skills. The YoYa Toys Liquimo Liquid Motion Bubbler ($15) keeps kids entertained for hours with gravity guided color droplets that move from the top to bottom of the toy at a slow and steady speed.
The Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Sensory Teether Toy ($16) will make your young one smile. It's colorful, well-designed, and soft. Watch your little one explore sight, sound, and touch.
Help your baby develop tactile senses with the Infantino Textured Multi Ball Set ($11). With six easy-to-grab textured balls, it's perfect for children 6 months and older.
The Playfoam Combo by Educational Insights ($8) is a great sensory learning tool. Help your child develop their visual artistic talent with this easy-to-store playfoam that never dries out.
The Busy Board ($60) is portable for long car rides and on-the-go activity. With a variety of activities, this all-in-one sensory board is the only thing you'll need to entertain the kids.
Give your kids a safe and relaxing place to sit and play with this AmazeYou Kids Swing Hammock Pod Chair ($39). It's perfect for indoors or outdoors and holds up to 176 pounds. It's a great sensory seat nest that also comes with an inflatable pillow and in multiple color options.