Sensory toy advice needed

[mum0fthree]

DS 7 is constantly squeezing my (little) muffin top belly,and rubbing his face and head on it. If I am wearing leggings he will try and do the same with my bottom. when I remonstrate with him he replies "but it is so lovely and squishy". obviously I need to stop him doing this because it isn't appropriate for him to be squeezing my butt and pretty embarrasing when we are out.

He is obviously sensory seeking so I need a replacement, i have looked on the sensory warehouse but I am struggling to find something he can use for his hands and face. We already have the squidgy balls but they are made of rubber so I doubt he would like that on his face and head.

Any ideas?

Can you sew?

I'd make him a big a squidgy velevteen teddy bear. You can experiment with the stuffing so it's a mixture of kapok/dry rice/beans/polystryene/old tights balls with him to get exactly the right consistency of "squidgeness" if you sew it yourself. There are very simple free patterns on the web you could sew by hand. I've done this quite a bit for touchy sensory toys for my lad as it means I can get them just right for him, and the bought stuff is so expensive. Silk and velvet & fleece seem to be the best fabrics. Use Velcro or a zip at the the back so you can remove the stuffing to ensure the toy is washable as if it's a hit you may find it gets taken everywhere and dropped in muddy puddles.

If you hate sewing but like the choose your own filling idea this company does nice kits www.bemybearparties.co.uk/. No sew as they are intended for kids to fill. The products are quite durable and have velcro backs so you can restuff and wash as you see fit. If you give them a ring they are friendly and may help you choose a size/nice fur texture.

(Says the Mum who loathes kinitting cos she's crap at it but is ploughing through a Dr Who Scarf. Started in March so it'll be ready for Xmas lol! Just finished some fiddle finger puppets)

what about those really light, squidgy cushions you see, often on stalls in the middle of shopping centres?

they are like mini beanbags, but infinitely more squishable, and come in allsorts of sizes/colurs/shapes.

or the wheatbags you get for heating and soothing tired muscles (not really as squishy, though)

SpaceKraft might have somehting - they do a lot f sensory things

Great thanks for your replies, i have found the perfect(hopefully) item on SpaceKraft, The cuddle ball.

try to source it elsewhere, if possible (often just googling the name given in the SpaceKraft catalogue is enough) - I have often found SpaceKraft to be much more expensive than other places.