In an ideal world, parents would always have time to prepare and oversee Pinterest-worthy activities for their little ones. But, sometimes we need to make a phone call, respond to an email, or simply get ready for the day. That’s where engaging toys come in. We tasked our 3-year-old son with testing the Squigz Starter Set, an innovative suction-cup building set designed with fun in mind. Read on to see if these little suckers live up to their promise.
Educational Value: Simply smart
This suction cup construction set is perfectly designed for little hands to twist, press, and stick to all kinds of surfaces including bathtubs, hardwood floors, high chairs, glass doors, and even foreheads when you just really feel like being a unicorn. When our son plays with the set, we try to focus on sorting and comparison skills by identifying the colors of each piece and talking about how some have a different number of suction cups. Our son is very into sticking individual Squigz on surfaces, but has some hesitation when it comes to making long chains or towers. However, we absolutely see this set growing with him rather than him outgrowing it.
Design: Beautifully bright and solidly constructed
The Squigz Starter Set is an artful and unpretentious construction set. Each construction piece is made up of bright colors and high-quality silicone rubber. They stick to smooth surfaces easily and provide a satisfying popping sound when you yank them off later. In addition to smooth surfaces, the Squigz also connect to each other, so you can make a tower, a long chain, or anything you can imagine. The clear canister the Squigz come in is a bit flimsy and its lid is difficult for our 3-year-old to take off (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). We’d love to see a nylon rope handle on the canister so that he can carry his Squigz more easily from room to room. There are 24 individual Squigz included in the starter set, and they’re broken up into eight different styles. The pieces range from having just one suction cup all the way up to six suction cups. Squigz are deceptively simple and incredibly portable. This single set can be a great bathtime toy, an activity while making dinner (our son loved sticking these to the fridge), or a fun way to improve fine motor skills during free play time. We even took these over to the grandparent’s house for Sunday dinner and our son had a blast sticking them to the sliding glass doors while the adults sat and talked. Another nice feature is how quiet this toy is. No buttons, no bells, or whistles, just a slight popping noise when you pull them off of a surface. And, because they are soft silicone rubber, instead of hard plastic, they aren’t even noisy when they’re dumped all over the floor, a perk that any parent can appreciate.
Entertainment Value: Varied and imagination building
Our son loves sticking individual Squigz onto our glass door and then pulling them off one at a time and placing them back in the container. He also gets a kick out of sticking them to our clawfoot tub and then sliding them down into the water. If he’s feeling extra silly, he’ll ask for us to stick one on his forehead so he can pretend to be a unicorn. Because our son just turned 3, he’s at the minimum age for this toy. As he grows, we’re looking forward to even more imaginative and elaborate ways to play with these little suckers.
Age Range: 3 and up
Most of the Squigz pieces are large enough to not pose a choking hazard but there are a few smaller ones that land the toy an age range of 3 and up. This set also requires a good amount of hand strength and fine motor skills to connect and disconnect the pieces, so a younger child may grow frustrated with them.
Ease of Cleaning: Beyond easy
These are a cinch to clean, whether you toss them in the dishwasher or simply leave them on a towel to dry after bath time, they require minimal effort to keep in pristine condition. If you needed to wash and dry the set in a short time frame, hand drying each Squigz piece does feel tedious.
Price: Worth it
The Squigz Starter Set retails for roughly $26. At first, the price point gave us pause, after all, with 24 pieces in the set, that’s more than $1 a piece. But, this toy set is so portable, flexible, and fun that we think it’s worth every penny.
Competition: If you’re set on Squigz, you’ve got options
Squigz Deluxe 75 Piece Set: If you have an older child who loves to build large structures or if you have a few kids, you may want to splurge on the Squigz Jumbo 75-piece set. At $65, the set is more expensive than the Starter Set, but the price per piece is significantly less. And, rather than a flimsy plastic canister, this set comes with a soft plastic zippered bag for storage. Squigz 2.0: If you want a more durable carrying case (with a handle!), Squigz 2.0 is the answer. It comes with a few new design styles (including center connecters) and 12 more pieces than the Starter Set for a total of 36. With a retail price of $40, it’s around $15 more expensive, but for an experienced Squigz builder, these would be a great add-on. The Squigz Starter Set is fun, durable, simple, and educational. We think it makes a great addition to any playroom.
