Recommend a gift for a kid who loves ripping things up

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for a gift for a four year old who just LOVES making messes, especially tearing up pieces of paper and other tearable substances. His parents do not love cleaning up messes, so if I can find something that he enjoys that isn't messy, I'd be a hero.

I'm posting in this forum because he is nonverbal and has little receptive and no expressive language. Communicating rules is difficult to impossible! His strengths include motor skills (he can climb like a monkey and navigate a tablet with ease) and being adorable. Interests include Sesame Steeet, dinosaurs, and making a mess.

Does anyone have any ideas about awesome sensory gifts that might scratch the tearing-up-paper itch without actually creating a mess? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Don't get anything messy and ask the parents.

[Anonymous]

The best thing my similar child that age got- was an exploding science kit and the offer from their uncle to do the kit with them outside and clean up afterwards.

I enjoyed watching- I wasn't worried about cleaning up- and the paper mache volcano was destroyed in the process so it had to be thrown away.

So you may want to consider offering to facilitate the messy activity (after you talk with the parents about what would work for them). And make it a single use sort of event.

Good luck and have fun!

[Anonymous]

I would talk with the parents b/c the ripping stuff may be a behavior that they're trying to discourage if the kid can't distinguish between items he can rip and items that he shouldn't rip up.

[Anonymous]

There are a ton of different fidgets that might satisfy the same urge. You can find them on Amazon or in OT specific sites.

[Anonymous]

If he is past mouthing things, a roll of bubble wrap might be satisfying.

Play silks might satisfy the need to strew in a reusable format.

[Anonymous]

Stomp rocket is perfect for that age. He can use all his energy jumping on it!

[Anonymous]

What about one of those Melissa and Doug food cutting sets where you "cut" the food up. The wooden food pieces are held together by Velcro and makes a nice satisfying rip sound when you "cut" it up.

[Anonymous]

Pop beads--large or small--that he can enjoy putting together and then pulling apart. Ripping paper stimulates fine finger muscles so probably any number of fine motor type activities could be fun, though it depends on whether he has strong or weak fine motor skills/strength. Play dough and play dough toys? puzzles, peg boards. You can look in an OT catalogue like SouthPaw for fine motor toys, or just google fine motor probably and you'll find ideas.

[Anonymous]

Look at the sensory child has fun (or something like that)...it has a lot of good ideas.

[Anonymous]

Magna tiles? Or something Velcro.

[Anonymous]

Omg, this was my son 12-15 years ago. Honestly I miss his crazy insane younger self.

He also lived to rip paper. All kids like to rip or then cut paper. When my son moved up from simply tearing papers he became totally obsessed with cutting pictures out of magazines and wrapping paper believe it or not. He spent hours cutting out Christmas pictures (reindeer , Santa, ornaments, etc) from rolls of wrapping paper and then gluing them, collage style, into huge poster boards. I totally saved some of those..

Since you probably don't want to buy him wrapping paper , scissors and glue I'm going to recommend playdough. Specifically food play dough - like an ice cream making set? Making pizza playdoh set? Oh - and the playdih set where you give the guy hair and then cut it? All stuff he would understand and it's nontoxic

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TPMDNRQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490070327&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=haircut+playdoh&dpPl=1&dpID=61Dg8J9Yf-L&ref=plSrch





https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s_ss_i_0_13?k=playdoh+pizza+party+set&sprefix=playdoh+pizza

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s_ss_i_0_13?k=playdoh+ice+cream&sprefix=playdoh+pizza

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s_ss_i_0_13?k=playdoh+ice+cream&sprefix=playdoh+pizza

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06VXZMXNH/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1490070380&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=food+playdoh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is past mouthing things, a roll of bubble wrap might be satisfying.

Play silks might satisfy the need to strew in a reusable format.

There's no chance that this child is past mouthing things. Zero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't get anything messy and ask the parents.

Messy is the only thing a kid like this would ever play with

[Anonymous]

Also - Tickle Me Elmo from EBay?