Sensory Items We Love
As a neurodivergent household, we have a few sensory items laying around. There are a few that have held up over the years and are incredibly popular with my kids, so let’s talk about them!
The Nugget
We got our Nugget in 2020 for my daughter’s birthday, right before they shut down their factory during COVID. I really got it because at the time, my daughter was insisting I stay on the floor in her room every night and I was sick of laying on the hard floor. I knew it would be much more comfortable on the Nugget and it would also double as a great toy for her. I had no idea how right I was. Our Nugget has been a crash pad, a mattress, a stage, a fort, a house, a vet clinic, a tent, a couch, and so much more.
I’m very seriously looking at getting the new S’more chair from the same company for the kids for Christmas. I want a chair for the reading nook in my son’s room and I’ve been looking for something for almost a year now, and I think that chair will be the best option. I love how durable their products are and how adaptable to every day life.
Swivel Chair
We first encountered this swivel chair at Occupational Therapy with my daughter when my son was an infant. She loved it, giving her that spinning sensory input she loves, and my son was fascinated by it. We got it for the kids for Christmas after we got back from Argentina in 2024, and it’s become a permanent part of our family room.
Of course it spins but if you’re unfamiliar with this particular chair, once it starts spinning, you have to physically make it stop. It has something to do with how the fish seat is angled and the weight shift of the person sitting on it. I don’t do physics so I’m not even going to try to explain how it works in detail!
The kids are constantly jostling over who gets to sit on it, so much so I’ve seriously considered getting a second one. I don’t think I’ll be doing that though, our house is nowhere big enough for that!
Durability wise, it has a metal base and a plastic seat, and ours still looks brand new. It’s lighter than it looks so it’s easy to move around. In the 18 months we have had it, it’s become a house staple
Circle Swing
I’m not sure why any other swings exist when there is the option of this swing. It holds more than one kid, it spins & swings back and forth, it’s see through because it’s mesh, and it’s incredibly stable. My kids have tried to flip each other off of it and it’s very difficult to do!
We have a very small yard on the side of our house, with no room for a full swing set. And while I would love to put a swing in the house, there just isn’t a good place for a swing of this diameter. I bought this stand for a hammock back in 2022, but we hardly used the hammock. When I decided to get the swing, the stand was the obviously locating for it. It works great in our yard and the stand has helped up over the last 4 years. The nice thing about the stand is there are two ways to hang the swing, giving you options!
Modular Balance Beam Set
I got the kids this balance beam set for Christmas last year. We have done dozens of obstacle courses (thank you years of OT) and have had stepping stones but I was looking for something that help with my daughter’s balance while also didn’t take up a ton of space. This set comes apart and stacks into two sets, making it very easy to store. The connector pieces each have a different texture on top, adding to the sensory input.
Because it is modular, you can make it as long or as short as you want. And because the connector pieces are octagons, it doesn’t have to be straight or just one line. I love a toy that has more than one purpose or ability, so this quickly became a favorite of mine, well before the kids fell in love!
While we do use it for obstacle courses, it generally lives wrapped around the outside of our couch, like in the picture.
