We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A pack of three sensory snake cubes that can be folded up, stretched out, and stacked to boost ~creativity~. Just be prepared for all the, "Look what I made!" comments each time they change its shape.
Promising review: "I ordered these as 'fidget' toys for an active class of first graders — something quiet that they could handle during spare minutes for students who finish work a little early. My class loves them! These can be manipulated quietly so as not to disturb other classmates who are still working. They are long enough to work with creatively, but not too long for little hands. They can be used fairly mindlessly when needed to keep hands busy, or they can pose a challenge to stretch creativity. They've been in daily use for several weeks, and they haven't broken! I'd definitely buy these again." —Jen Erlenbush
Get it from Amazon for $8.99.
2. A CuberSpeed puzzle fidget ball to help hone in on your little one's problem-solving skills while providing them with something to keep their hands busy.
Promising review: "This toy is super fun for kids who like puzzles and enjoy the click/clack of a fidget. It isn't super easy, but not so frustrating that they give up too fast. As a play therapist, I recommend this toy for the sensory and gifted kids who can focus on a task just long enough. The ages that have liked it the best in my office are the 6-9 year olds." —Greg or Krista Reinhardt-Ruprecht
Get it from Amazon for $8.99.
3. A bucket of 24 adorable squishy fidget toys small enough to fit in little hands and cute enough for you not to be annoyed when you find them scattered throughout the house.
Promising review: "If your kid is into fidgets and things, they will love these. They are very soft, almost powdery feeling, and rubbery. They feel great and are cute. These are great for the price, they come in a cute hard plastic bucket to carry them in, and kids LOVE them right now. Your kid will love you...mine was sooo excited! 100% recommend." —Payton
Get it from Amazon for $10.70.
4. A colorful set of two pop fidget spinners to appease all their popping and spinning needs with one gadget instead of needing to fill your bag with their entire toy collection.
Promising review: "I ordered these fidget spinners with the pop things on them for my 7-year-old who struggles to focus in class. He said he loves them and that they’re better than just a normal fidget spinner 'cause you can pop the bubbles in and out. They are durable and haven’t broken after being dropped a few times. They are exactly as pictured. I recommend these fidget toys to anyone of any age!" —Haley Hartland
Get it from Amazon for $6.99 (available in two colors).
5. A pack of fidget toy bracelets to help keep your little one's mind at ease while you're on the go. Plus, they totally pass as a cute accessory!
Promising review: "Sensory toys like this have helped my child increase his grades in school through a battle with ADHD. He can fidget at his desk without disrupting the other students, and the teachers are LOVING it. Highly recommend" —Jennifer Shasteen
Get it from Amazon for $10.99+ (available in six quantities).
Psst, here are even more toys reviewers say keep their kids busy for hours.
6. A 4-piece set of silicone fidget balls designed with "bubbles" to keep your little buddies from squeezing and pushing down other things, like that expensive Chanel lipstick you JUST bought.
7. A fidget toy in the shape of a classic game controller any gamer, regardless of age, would appreciate. This would be super ideal for times where you're playing a single-player RPG and they want to feel like they're playing, too!
Promising review: "I got this for my 3 1/2 year old grandson who loves to play with buttons on anything he sees. We attached the little loop string, and he loves it. He can move all the buttons and gadgets on it. It is durable, but he dropped it, and the top split open, and the string fell off. Just had to snap it back together, and it was OK. Fun, portable toy for him to play with." —Conscientious thinker
Get it from Amazon for $5.99+ (available in five colors and packs of one or two).
8. A 20-piece set of mesh fidget toys designed with a hidden marble in each sleeve that can be pushed back and forth. Plus, it comes in 10 colors so your kiddies can coordinate with their outfits each day!
Promising review: "I am a middle school math teacher, and these fidgets do what fidgets should do: provide kids with a quiet and non-disruptive way to burn energy, without being complicated enough to distract the student WITH the fidget, or their neighbor. I LOVE these. Fidget spinners and most other fidgets end up being a distraction...but even if these get passed kid-to-kid (which will happen), they don't cause any problems. Highly recommend." —JP
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
9. A 5-pack of the classic fidget spinners we all know and love. With its ergonomic design and compact size, it's no wonder why kids (and adults) can't stop playing with these little gadgets.
Promising review: "I use this product during speech therapy with my students. It keeps them calm and entertained while I work with each student in group therapy sessions. These spinners are pretty heavy and make a clamorous noise if the kids drop them on the table, but they are of excellent quality! Each one came individually packaged, and the paint/colors are of great quality. They do hum a great deal depending on how fast you spin them, but overall they are a great product and worth the money." —Charli
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
PS: Here are a bunch of toys and gifts our shopping editors swear by!
10. A set of six Crayola "Globbles," which are essentially the round version of those little sticky hands we all used to play with and smack against the walls and our parents' car windows (before they told us to stop doing that) when we were younger.
11. A set of three rainbow push popper fidget toys so vibrant and cheery they'll be showing them off to all their classmates (before they ask their parents for the same ones). Your kiddo is such a trendsetter!
Promising review: "I'm very pleased with this product. The colors are vibrant, as I expected from the pictures. They are also a nice size and sturdy, not flimsy. It does seem that there is a quiet side and a loud side when popping, but I wouldn't consider the loud side necessarily too loud or annoying. These are great for kids to use while trying to manage big emotions, but also fun just to play with. Planning on buying more to use in my classroom." —529
Get it from Amazon for $5.99.
12. A best-selling magnetic fidget ring pack to help curb screen time and serve as a de-stressing device for anxious little ones. You might even find yourself fiddling with 'em, too!
Promising review: "I am a special education teacher, and I bought three of these for my students who need fidget objects. These were an instant success with the class. They are great for spatial-relation work activities!" —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $9.98+ (available in five styles and quantities).
13. A set of pop tube sensory toys to bend into different letters, numbers, or any sorts of shapes their creative minds come up with. They also make a satisfying *popping* sound as they connect!
Promising review: "These are fun for kids of all ages. My grandbabies love them because they can hold them in their baby hands. They are brightly colored and flexible. Unlikely to hurt anything. Older kids like them for the noise they make when they are stretched or closing. They create long chains (they attach to each other) and wild twisty things. All in all, a good toy for this grandma to have in her house." —Katy
Get it from Amazon for $5.97+ (available in two sizes).
14. An 8-piece set of "Wacky Track" fidget toys your kids will actually put down the tablet for and snap into different shapes. Bonus perk: They don't make any noise!
Promising review: "My 2.5-year-old loves this! Kept him busy and quiet for a good 20 minutes. I even find myself distracted with it while on hold during a call. I love that it's hard to take the links apart for toddler so I'm not concerned with being a choking hazard. He prefers it open-ended instead of snapped together. Great buy." —Gigi1180
Get it from Amazon for $5.99.
While you're browsing for ways to keep your little one occupied, here's a list of the best toys for the toddler in your life.
15. A 12-sided fidget toy (aka a dodecagon) with gears, buttons, a joystick, switch, stress balls, and more that over 11,000 reviewers think is worthy of being rated 5/5 stars.
Promising review: "Our soon-to-be 8-year-old son loves his fidget cube. He struggles with anxiety and mild ADHD and decided he wanted a calming box for his birthday. The fidget cube was one of the items we put in it and he plays with it all the time. He loves it." —Jennifer Moody
Get it from Amazon for $7.64+ (available in seven colors).
16. A super durable "Flippy Chain" fidget toy (yes, the one from Shark Tank) small enough for them to fiddle with without being too distracting.
Promising review: " I have personally witnessed, as a special education teacher, what a difference these made for middle school students and have since purchased seven of them for my students and one for myself! They allow students to focus and concentrate on the teacher and difficult tasks. In the past these students were looking for things to fidget with in their own belongings, punching buttons on calculators, clicking pens, you name it, all which distracted both them and others from learning. Now they use their "fidgetys" (as we call them) in their non-writing hands, out of sight, so they are not distracting and so discrete that others aren't even aware of them. Great product, and so exciting to see students listening, learning, and not looking/acting different from their peers in the classroom! I HIGHLY recommend this product!" —Kindle Customer
Get it from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in four colors and in sets of two).
17. A two-pack of Pop Fidget llama sensory toys to keep your little one's hands occupied for hours (and hours and hours). No probllama!
Promising review: "I don’t understand these. My kids begged for them so begrudgingly after some extra chores, I purchased these. Apparently, they are not ice ball makers as I suspected but rather some awkward popping toy that looks like an alpaca. Is this like the 'fortnight llama?' IDK. Anyhoo, kids love it, and that’s what matters." —AMac
Get it from Amazon for $5.09+ (available in multiple colors and in unicorn or elephant form).
18. A 5-pack of the highly-rated Monkey Noodle fidget toys capable of stretching up to eight feet long without ever losing its original shape.
Promising review: "I bought these toys for my 3-year-old who is on the spectrum. I figured these would be like every other toy we have bought him to date: he plays with them for anywhere from 1 hour to 2–3 days and then never touches it again. I took these out of the package and not only did HE go nuts about them, but so did my five other kiddos (ages 1–12)! We are one week in and so far, NONE of them have tired of playing with them. My ASD little one carries them with him everywhere he goes! They work wonders for helping him work out his extra energetic while also giving him the sensory input he so desperately needs! I never thought I would honestly be emotionally writing a review about a thing called Monkey Noodles 😄 but I seriously love these things! And a bonus – they are a CA company so I have even more stoke supporting a Made In The USA company! FIVE STARS!!!" —GodFearinMama
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
19. A 3-pack of Monkey Ring fidget toys boasting an oddly satisfying spiky texture to twist and squeeze to their little heart's desire.
Promising review: "My 6-year-old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD. He struggles sitting still in settings like church or a restaurant. We purchased this to give him something to occupy his hands. He loves it and it seems to help him focus. Another parent saw him playing with it and asked where she could get one for her son. Her son (a two year old) enjoyed the texture and bright colors. I'd highly recommend this product for any kid." —Sara
Get it from Amazon for $8.99.
20. A waterproof, easy-to-clean, 27-piece jigsaw puzzle popper fidget game to serve as a relaxing solo or team activity that'll work those STEM skills!
Promising review: "I’ve seen those bubble-popper toys everywhere but hesitated to get them because they seemed like the kind of thing your kid might play with for five minutes and then forget about. But this 'Tetris'-style puzzle I was drawn to right away — the nostalgia of the classic game morphed into a sensory experience sounded awesome to me. And it is! I love this thing. It’s so satisfying to put together and pop the little bubbles. My six- and three-year-old and I played with it for like a solid hour right away!" —Emily
Get it from Amazon for $13.95+ (available in three colors).
On that note, here are a bunch of parenting things that have a truly impressive amount of 5-star reviews.
21. A set of 10 fidget rings to give little fingers something to play with while still allowing them to use their hands to go about their other day-to-day activities.
Promising review: "Purchased these for my son who has some Tourettes tics and generally just wiggles all the time. There are great. Made of spring steel and not plastic. Very shiny silver and gold. They fit little fingers great, a little tight on mine but I have giant fingers so take it as you may. He loves them and they make absolutely no sound in any way so they are very usable in a classroom situation and do not cause a disturbance. Shipping was ridiculously fast. Highly recommend." —Paranoid Survivor
Get it from Amazon for $6.29.
22. A durable 6-sided fidget cube complete with a protective case and a smooth silicone exterior so curious children can explore its buttons, gears, joystick, switch, and other silent and audible doohickeys.
Promising review: "I bought this for my son who is currently doing virtual school and has such a hard time focusing. He has so much energy and is constantly distracted and struggling with this remote learning. We just got this, but in one day he's already paying attention so much better. He keeps the cube in his hands and is sitting and listening and following directions. I can't believe how much this is helping him!" —LukesMommy
Get it from Amazon for $13.99+ (available in 10 colors).
23. Or a 50-piece fidget toy set if you can't decide on just one! This kit comes with dinosaur- and unicorn-shaped poppers, marble mesh toys, a fidget game controller, fidget rings, Monkey Noodles, and so much more!
Promising review: "This turned out to be so much cooler than I expected. I assumed for the price, that half the stuff would be very poor quality. Instead, most of it was very good quality and the rest was pretty darn decent quality. I'm impressed! My kids are over the moon. My husband took the remote fidget toy. I took a fish squish and the peas. My son and daughter split the rest. Four people are happy clams!" —saiphyn
Get it from Amazon for $25.45.
And if you happen to have a 7-year-old, here are even more toys and gifts for their age group that they'll enjoy.
You, winning the award of being the best parent/teacher/human ever:
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.