While most toys can entertain any kid for at least a little bit of time, finding the best toys for kids with ADHD can sometimes be a little more difficult. What makes a toy especially helpful for kids with ADHD, and what are the best toys for kids with ADHD?
What Makes Toys Good for Kids with ADHD?
You might be wondering what distinguishes a toy as not only being fun and engaging for any kid, but especially for a kid with ADHD. For the most part, kids with ADHD benefit most from toys that help improve their memory, require linear thinking and follow obvious yet exciting patterns, and help improve their social skills by encouraging social interaction with other kids.
Of course, any child would probably love the toys that are designed specifically for kids with ADHD in mind, as they are specifically created with the purpose of capturing attention and captivating developing minds. Keep reading to find out what types of toys are best for kids with ADHD, and to see some of our top picks!
The Best Toys for Kids with ADHD: Encourage Movement
Our StairSlide is one of the best toys for kids with ADHD—not only is it simple and easy to use, but it can provide hours of activity. Movement is important for all kids, but especially for kids with ADHD, and while they will probably want to be active all on their own, the StairSlide can help channel their active minds and bodies.
If your kid often runs all over the house but you want them to stay in a particular area, either so you can better watch them or so you can get have some quiet space to get some work done in other parts of the house, just set up our StairSlide! It will keep your children entertained for hours as they race up the stairs and slide down over and over again!
The Best Toys for Kids with ADHD: Keep their Hands Busy so their Minds Can Focus
Sometimes toys are purely for fun, when all you want your kid to do is play. However, toys can also help kids with ADHD to focus better in classrooms and other environments where they need to pay attention to learn and retain important information. Toys like the Tangle Fidget Toy and classic Fidget Spinners are perfect for this purpose—they are small and easy to slip in a backpack or even a pocket, they are quiet so they won’t distract others or hinder their ability to listen to whoever is speaking to them, and they will keep their hands busy so that their minds can focus on other tasks and learning opportunities at hand.
Provide Sensory Experiences
Kids with ADHD love playing with anything that feels interesting to touch and manipulate. This can range anywhere from slime to bubbles to foam. Kinetic Sand is a favorite for many children and parents because it is relatively easy to keep clean, can be easily transported for any occasion that might take you away from home, and can be used over and over again.
Build and Connect
Legos are a classic toy, and are well known for inspiring creation and innovation in both young kids and adults alike, so they can be fun to play with as a way to interact more intentionally with your child. Lego kits that result in specific creations are great for helping your kid practice following directions, while a bin of random Lego pieces is great for encouraging original creativity! Another option is Interlox Squares, which are super easy to transport and can be cleaned up really easily since they are a little bigger than most Legos—and probably won’t inflict as much pain if you step on one of them in the middle of the night!
Captivate Attention for Hours
Some toys designed for kids with ADHD can be super simple in nature and serve as a fidget toy specifically, allowing kids to fidget with something in their hands so that they can in turn focus better on other information being taught to them. However, other toys are created for the purpose of stimulating both the hands and the mind, and the Perplexus Rookie is one of them. While we wouldn’t recommend this toy as one to bring to school to help enhance focus during school lessons, this toy is perfect for road trips, waiting rooms, and playing with around the house during a quiet moment.
Teach Time Management and Planning
While we at StairSlide won’t be the first ones to recommend video games as your child’s go-to activity (that’s why we created the StairSlide, after all, to help your kids stay active and screen-free), we must admit that sometimes video games can serve a purpose in helping your kids develop some important skills, as long as those video games are used in addition to all the other screen-free activities we recommend. For kids with ADHD, Minecraft is a popular and, in some ways, useful game for helping kids learn about planning and time management. Both skills are necessary to be successful in the game of Minecraft, and both skills are also very important for kids with ADHD to practice. Just make sure that you take time to practice those important skills out in the real world, too!