Which Moldable Sensory-Play Brand is Best?

As I’m trying to be more intentional with having sensory activities available for my kids, I’m finding that these toys are MESSY! One day, I took all the kids to Target, and bought one of each: Play-Doh, Thinking Putty, Slime, Kinetic Sand, and Mad Mattr, to see which they liked better, and to see which ones I could stand having around constantly. Here’s our family’s review of which moldable sensory play brand is best.

For more information about why I’ve become intentional on sensory play, see my article on Learning about Sensory Processing Disorder – Our Journey

Play-Doh Review

This is an old classic. I really avoided Play-Doh for many years while my older children were young because it was so messy. Once I started learning about sensory needs, I decided to let them try it. My kids loved it and played with it for hours. They liked the fact that you can shape and “serve” Play-Doh (while playing restaurant) without it falling apart too easily.

When it’s played with over a hard surface, it’s not too hard to clean up. It clumps together nicely and will usually stick to itself, pretty easily. Play-Doh does get stuck in carpet easily, though, so I try to keep it away from the carpet. In my opinion, it has two large negatives, though. It dries out quickly when kids forget to clean up after themselves, and it is made mostly of wheat. I have family that is severely allergic to wheat, so we can’t really keep a bunch of Play-Doh out around our house. I also found that when my younger kids would get into it, I had to replace it daily because it would dry out on them.

Thinking Putty Review

Thinking Putty is the thickest and most tough to maneuver of all these products. We used to keep it in my bag as an item for the kids to play with when we were somewhere that they needed to stay quiet or occupied. Other kids enjoyed playing with it as well. It is the least messy of these options. However, it was constantly sticking to both the container and the lid, making it difficult to open.It does not dry out, though, so thats super helpful.

Slime Review

This is the ultimate messiest of all the products. It sticks to everything! My older kids love it, but my younger kids can’t stand the feeling of it. Of all the products my kids tried, this was the most polarizing one. It was either their favorite, or they wouldn’t touch it. Slime also dries out if not sealed up when they are done playing with it. The kids always have to wash their hands after playing with it. This is because it’s stuck to them and they can’t get it all off when putting it away. We’ve had a couple shirts ruined by Slime, as well. It sticks to the rubbery wording or images. Thankfully, we have been able to keep it away from the carpet, but I don’t see it ending well, if the two met. I would recommend it for kids older than 5, but it’s a hit or miss product. My 12 year old insists that butter slime is the best kind of slime, but that cloud slime is also satisfying. My 10 year old likes “real” slime best of all the options. If I get more detail on that one, I’ll add a link.

Kinetic Sand Review

The kids love playing with Kinetic Sand. It’s easier to clean up than regular sand, and it feels great running it through your fingers. Even my kid who doesn’t like the feel of sand enjoyed playing with this one. They have molds and fun looking accessories to make the Kinetic Sand even more fun, but it looses it’s shape quickly. The biggest downside is that it is messy. It needs to be confined to a bin with a sheet or something under it. It’s easy to vacuum, but while my kids were playing with it, the sand scratched my flooring under the container that it was in. My kids do not do a good enough job keeping it contained to the bin for it to be stored in their reach.

Mad Mattr Review

Our family’s favorite of all these options is Mad Mattr. Mad Mattr is a consistency somewhere between Play-Doh and Kinetic Sand. It can be compacted into shapes, but can also flow between your fingers like sand. It does not contain wheat and never dries out. The downside is that it doesn’t flow through Play-Doh press-types of toys, like the ice cream maker. It does work with the Play-Doh molds, though. My 12 year old’s favorite thing to do with it is to scoop it into play bowls like ice cream. It cleans up easily. It sticks to itself like Play-Doh does, but you can also sweep or vacuum it up easily. We tend to leave ours out on the kids’ play table for them to play with whenever they walk by it. My littlest one is getting some Mad Mattr sets for Christmas with molds and accessories, so we will see if that makes them all love playing with Mad Mattr even more than they already do.

Summary of which moldable sensory play brand is best

Play-Doh

Pros: Shapes easily, fun to play with, lots of molds and accessories

Cons: Dries out easily and contains wheat (due to allergies, but may not be a downside for most)

Thinking Putty

Pros: Travels easily, (if it’s stored in a different container than what it comes in), not too messy, fun, never dries out

Cons: Tends to “glue” itself in it’s container if it falls over

Slime

Pros: Some kids love the feeling, especially Butter Slime

Cons: Sticky and very messy

Kinetic Sand

Pros: Fun to play with and cleaner than regular sand

Cons: Messy and doesn’t hold it’s shape for long

Mad Mattr

Pros: Fun, great consistency, easy to clean up, never dries out

Cons: not a lot of molding accessories, yet, and can be messy

How about you? Have you tried any of these? Please share below what your family’s favorites are. What did you like or dislike about each? If you thought this article was helpful, or know of someone who would benefit from it, please share it.