13 Best Calming Toys for Toddlers
Check out these top calming toys for toddlers! Whether you want to get some calming toys for anger, Christmas, or just for your calming corner, these toys provide awesome sensory input and stress relief for toddlers.
In the whirlwind of a toddler’s day, filled with boundless energy and endless curiosity, finding moments of tranquility can be a challenge for both parents and caregivers.
Which is where calming toys come in handy! They are the secret weapons in the arsenal of parents, teachers, and caregivers, ready to transform energetic moments into peaceful, quiet times.
Calming toys are beneficial for sensory processing, social emotional learning, and so much more.
I have also found that my toddlers prefer toys that are simple and calming rather than the noisy ones with bright colors.
In this article, I have included our favorite calming toys for toddlers!
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Best Calming Toys for Toddlers
Managing emotions is hard even for adults! As a parent, it can be so hard to find safe and effective ways to calm kids down, especially if they have sensory issues.
Here are some quick and easy calming sensory toys to help you and your toddler find a healthy way to deal with big emotions.
Calming toys are some toddler essentials I won’t ever live without!
Sensory Rocking Chair
We recently tried out this sensory rocker chair and we all fell in love (even me as the parent!)
It was so easy to set up and has kept my little ones calmer during the day. The rock while doing school, and when one gets upset, we have them rock for a bit and it calms them down.
Squishy Stress Balls
Squishy stress balls are great toys to help with stress and anxiety relief for your toddler. They’re easy to use and take on the road. With fun colors and textures squishy stress balls are a must if you’re looking for non-distracting fidget toys.
There are so many different options for squishy stress balls. Some have items inside that add texture and others have things on the outside like spikes.
Squeezing all types of the small toys can help reduce negative feelings like stress, anger and anxiety while also encouraging positive feelings like peace, and clarity.
Sensory Bottles
Sensory bottles are another wonderful option for calming kids. The movement of the items, especially the glitter can be mesmerizing and can work beautifully at stopping tantrums. By having them focus on the things moving inside the bottle, it can let them release the feelings inside.
They can also be a fun DIY project! Your toddler will love to pick out beads, glitter, and other soothing items for the bottles.
Check out other fun sensory bottle ideas:
- Calming Sensory Bottle
- Sensory Bottle with Hair Gel
- Unicorn Sensory Bottle
- I Spy Sensory Bottle
- Pom Pom Sensory Bottle
- 4th of July Sensory Bottle
- Butterfly Sensory Bottle
- Magnetic Sensory Bottle
- DIY Rain Stick Shakers
- Summer Sensory Bottle
- Easter Sensory Bottle
- Fall Sensory Bottle
- Winter Find-And-See Sensory Bottle
- Calming Sensory Bottle
Weighted Blankets
Weighted blankets can be amazing at calming kids. For some kids the weight of them soothes their minds and helps them relax because it feels like a hug! Weighted blankets are usually filled with little beads in small compartments which can be fun to play with as you feel them move around.
I don’t really like my toddlers to sleep with them for safety reasons, but they are great for watching movies or when they need some deep pressure activities.
Stuffed Animals
You probably realize by now that kids love stuffed animals. They are so comforting, especially when it means something special to your little one.
I love these Warmies stuffed animals as a calming sensory gift for toddlers. Not only are the cute and cuddly, but they also have some aromatherapy benefits and can be warmed up too!
Hugging a stuffed animal is one of the great self-regulation strategies for toddlers.
Bubble Wrap Popping Toys
Bubble wrap popping toys are not only fun for toddlers, but also can be fun for adults! It’s always nice to find toys that aren’t annoying as a parent that also help sooth your toddler.
Bubble wrap can help your toddler with anxiety, anger, or frustration. Fun activities to do with bubble wrap include:
Bubble wrap stomp. Lay out a big sheet of bubble wrap and have your child stomp or jump on it. You can also use it as a variation of hopscotch. It’s a great calming toy for when your toddler is angry or frustrated.
Bubble wrap counting is another neat way to use bubble wrap as a sensory game. Have your toddler count each bubble they pop to practice using their numbers!
The popping noise the bubbles make makes the fidget toy fun, and pressing the bubbles with their hands can help them work on some of their fine motor skills. It’s an all-around win!
Pop It Toys
If you don’t want your child playing with bubble wrap, these Pop It toys are great alternatives.
We always have a few in our house for our toddlers! They also work great for when we are out and about or when they need to be quiet during church.
Plus, they are reusable and so much better than bubble wrap!
Sensory Bins
Sensory Bins are awesome for sensory overloads. They can give your toddler a quiet time to play and explore different textures and feelings. And the great thing is there are so many options if your child is picky about stickiness or puts everything in their mouth.
Check out these other sensory bin ideas:
Sand
The feeling of sand moving through your hands is definitely relaxing and can help relieve your toddler of stress and anxiety. The textures of the individual grains are a great sensory way to distract your toddler from a tantrum or meltdown too.
You can have them draw pictures in the sand, practice writing with the sand, or count as they let a handful of sand fall through their fingers. They can even just build things with it! There are so many fun options.
Lava Lamps
Lava lamps are a lot like sensory bottles. Just like watching the glitter and beads move inside the bottles, watching the wax in the lava lamps move up and down can be a great way to find anxiety relief.
You could count your breaths in time with the wax to help lengthen your kids breathing and help them calm down.
Lava lamps help relieve feelings of anxiety or anger by capturing their attention and moving their mind off of their stressors.
Yoga Pose Cards
Using yoga pose cards can be such a fun activity to do with your toddler! Moving your body is an amazing way to calm yourself, and works just as well for kids. Not only does it relax them, it also helps with their gross motor skills.
By giving them an opportunity to stretch and breathe, you can teach them to release their emotions in a healthy way.
Sensory Yoga Balls
Sensory yoga balls are a fantastic toy for kids! They’re a quiet way to play and interact with new sensations. Similar to exercise balls, these toys have small spikes all over them that create an interesting texture for kids which encourage them to touch and play with them.
The textures might help to relieve any built up tension your child may have. This will help their bodies to relax and let their minds release the stress or anxiety they may be feeling.
If you homeschool, these are great alternatives to chairs and really can help your toddler focus more too!
Breathing Cards
Breathing is extremely important when it comes to calming down. Breathing cards are a creative way to help your kid focus on their breathing to relieve anxiety, anger, or stress.
You can even make these at home with your child! Let them draw fun shapes or animals and label the style of breathing. This can be a fun and meaningful way to connect with your toddler as they learn the importance of breathing in their journey to calming down.
We use these all the time in our diy calm down corners.
Calming Toys for Toddlers Wrap-Up
These are just some of the top calming toys for toddles to enjoy. I like to have a variety in my calming corner for my kids to choose what they are feeling at the moment.
The most important thing is that it is calming for both you and your toddler. Find what works and stick with it!
