Last Updated on December 10, 2021 by Danielle
ToyBuzz Rating
Endless squishy fun that sticks and pops too!
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Squigz At A Glance
Manufacturer: Fat Brain Toys
Ages: 3+
- Strengthens hands
- Developmental benefits
- Open-ended
- Sticks to any smooth surface
- Awesome bath toy
- BPA Free
- Expensive
- Flimsy packaging
- Difficult to build complex structures
- Squigz are fun, imaginative, and unique sensory toys. Made out of flexible silicone, they have a great tactile feel, which is great for developing little hands. The pieces not only stick together, but can also stick on any smooth surface from tabletops to bath tubs. Pull them apart and they make a satisfying POP!
Construction toys keep kids engaged in open-ended creativity for hours and there are so many developmental benefits. Who doesn’t love putting things together and pulling them apart? Traditional building toys use building blocks that can be stacked on top of each other, but Squigz from Fat Brain Toys uses the power of “suction”. Advertised as “fun little suckers,” Squigz are as fun as their name sounds.
Suction Construction
Each piece is made out of soft, squishable silicone. With a whimsical colorful design, they are easy to grab, pull, and chew. Each of the 8 colorful shapes has a different soft, squishy feel. The longest piece is about three inches long. Each piece has a different number of flexible ends, which act as connectors for other pieces.
Not only can the Squigz be stuck together, but they can also be stuck to any smooth surface from a wall to the ceiling.
On each end, there are suction cups. Some have only a single suction cup but our favorite piece has 6 suction cups. With a little pressure, the ends stick together.
Not only can the Squigz be stuck together, but they can also be stuck to any smooth surface from a wall to the ceiling.
They are just as fun to take apart. When you pull them apart, they make a satisfying loud POP! It is as addictive as popping bubble wrap. They pop off any surface without leaving any trace behind. It’s the ultimate fidget toy for restless hands.
They are just as fun to take apart. When you pull them apart, they make a satisfying loud POP!
This really opens up how you build with them. Instead of starting your creation on a base plate, you can build unique structures off walls, high chairs, or even other toys. Kids will love inventing new ways to use them. Our favorite place to stick them? Our foreheads! We walked around with the Squigz on our heads for a few hours and have the suction cup marks to prove it!
Squigz are made out of silicone rubber and Fat Brain Toys says that they are completely 100% latex, PVC, and BPA free. The best part? When you step on them, they don’t hurt. We did find that they pick up dust easily, which causes them to lose their suction abilities. If you have a pet or carpet, this is something to be aware of. Still, they are washable and you can even stick them in the dish washer. We are impressed with the material and even after continuous usage, the silicone showed no signs of wear and tear. Still, we wonder about their long-term durability. The only downside? They come in a thin, cheap plastic container that will eventually get cracked and worn over time.
More Than A Building Toy
Little ones will love sticking them everywhere. They are fun to stick on desks, walls, windows, doors, and on each other. The fun part? Just finding a surface to stick them on. Just be warned that they won’t stick on every surface and stick to some surfaces better than others. We did notice if your walls are textured, they will not stick to them so you do need a completely smooth surface.
Little ones will love sticking them everywhere. They are fun to stick on desks, walls, windows, doors, and on each other.
Squigz are the ultimate distraction. You don’t need more than one to keep kids distracted. They are perfect for keeping kids busy in a high chair. Throw them in a diaper bag and you can take them everywhere with you. Kids love sticking them on restaurant tables, car windows, or even on the airplane food tray. Any smooth surface can become a blank canvas for Squigz.
Compared to other building toys, Squigz are much more versatile and more open -ended. With a little creativity, there are so many ways to play with them. You can stick them together to build something but can do so much more.
For example, we discovered that Squigz can also be used as suction cup darts! Try throwing them at a door or window to get them to stick. We found when you wet the ends, they stick better.
Because of their ability to stick when wet, Squigz happen to be the ultimate bath toy. They actually stick better when wet.
Because of their ability to stick when wet, Squigz happen to be the ultimate bath toy.
In the tub, just sticking them and removing them off the tub wall is fun. The best part? Since they have no holes for water to get into, you don’t have to worry about mildew.
Developmental Benefits
There is a reason that occupational therapists love Squigz. Whether you have a young or special needs child, Squigz are a wonderful sensory toy. It’s one of the best toys for autistic children. No matter how you play, there are so many great development benefits including dexterity, colors, coordination, spatial skills, and creativity.
Whether pushing or pulling, this is a great toy to build grip strength and keep your hands busy. While lying on their tummy, you can have kids pull them apart to build core strength and balance. You can stick them on surfaces and have your little one pull off the pieces. They are a great toy for bilateral coordination. When they build, kids will have to use both their hands to stick the pieces together to form a strong bond between the pieces. Of course, kids will love pulling the pieces apart from each other to make them “pop.”
Because they are brightly colored, they are also fun to sort by color, which helps promote speech and language skills.
What Age Group Will Enjoy Them?
Squigz are best suited for children between 1 through 5. Fat Brain recommends the toy for children 3 and older. While the pieces are sizable, we don’t recommend Squigz for children younger than 3 unless you remove the small orange, single suction cup pieces. At that age, they will be too young to understand how the toy works but it still is an excellent toy for building fine motor skills. Smaller kids will likely use them for teething and gumming on.
Most of the pieces are fine, but the single orange pieces are small enough to be accidentally swallowed and cause a choking hazard. You could remove these pieces from the set but if you are really worried, we recommend the PipSquigz instead. They give you all the fun of Squigz but come with gigantic pieces that can’t be swallowed. At around 3 years old, your toddler will be able to stick the pieces together and pull them apart.
How’s The Building?
Squigz are not really designed for older kids. For older kids, you are pretty limited with what you can build with Squigz. It would have been great if the set included some building ideas. For younger kids, Squigz are perfect since younger kids just want to stick something together quickly. It doesn’t take long to figure out how Squigz work.
Squigz are great for creating long chains like necklaces or bracelets. It does require a little pressure to get the ends to form a good bond.
While it is fun to stick them together to create a random structure, it’s really hard to build an actual structure with the pieces. You can stick the pieces together to build complex structures and objects, but don’t expect them to hold for very long. You really have to start building them off a smooth surface, because the pieces won’t be able to support themselves.
While it is fun to stick them together to create a random structure, it’s really hard to build an actual structure with the pieces.
While the Squigz are very flexible and can be stretched to connect them with each other, we found that if you stretch them too far, the pieces will pop out after awhile. That’s our biggest problem with Squigz. They are not great for complex creations.
Complex creations will not hold and the suction cups will come apart causing the structure to collapse and topple over. This is especially true if you are trying to build something tall. Don’t expect to build anything that can be carried around or will hold for extended periods of time. When we tried to build a rocket, the structure would just collapse under its own weight or would come apart after a few minutes. Once we built it, our rocket popped out of shape in less than 5 minutes.
If your child loves to build realistic things out of Legos, they will become frustrated and bored with Squigz. These are much more open-ended. You can build something that resembles a rocket, house, or car but it is difficult to form something that is recognizable unless it is jewelry. Of course if your child has a huge imagination, the shapes can become anything from dinosaurs to super heroes.
The basic Squigz set comes with only 24 pieces. That is just enough pieces to build with. At about $1 dollar a piece, they are pretty expensive. We wish that you got more pieces for the price. If your child loves them, you are probably going to want additional sets or a larger set. We recommend the Deluxe set, which comes with 50 pieces.
Final Verdict
For kids that love to build with Legos, Squigz won’t replace Legos. Kids will not be able to build anything complex with them. Instead, Squigz are a great developmental toy with a ton of versatility. Along with so many other developmental benefits, it’s a great toy for strengthening the hands. You can use them everywhere from the living room floor to the bath tub. It’s the ultimate bath toy. Even if they don’t understand how to build with Squigz, young kids will love sticking them everywhere they can and pulling them apart. It’s great development fun that sticks . . . almost everywhere.
Squigz
WHERE TO BUY
* Certain links may earn us a small commission. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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