My ten-year-old Grand sent a text message from his parent’s phone. ‘Hi, Gran. Here’s what I’d like for my birthday,’ he wrote. He shared a link for a Bubble Push Pop Tie-Dye Sensory Fidget Pop Toy and the picture showed a blue, white, and red circle. It was advertised as a stress, anxiety, and tension reliever, great for anyone with autism, ADHD, ADD, and a gift idea for all ages.
The price was $14.99. (Is anyone fooled into thinking $14.00, not $15.00?) It was five inches in diameter and had 28 bubbles. So, I thought, if my Grand thinks this toy is worth requesting for his birthday, then I’d get one for all our Grands to play with when they visit, and I can always use something to relieve stress and tension.
I ordered two. One for the birthday boy. One for me.
If you don’t know what a POP-IT is, then you probably haven’t been around a child recently. On a shopping trip to a toy store with two Grands, ages 6 and 8, we saw a POP-IT display that would fill a grocery store cereal aisle. Every color and color combinations. Every flat geometric shape and designs from apples to bears to rainbows to unicorns. Priced from $3.00 – $25.00. All small enough to fit kids’ hands.
According to Wikipedia, a POP-IT is a silicone-based tray of half-sphere bubbles that can be pushed in, thrilling kids with a resulting popping sound. (I’d say entertaining, not thrilling.) The pop is like a muffled bubble wrap pop, and after a bubble is pushed down, it can be pushed back up.
So, what do you do with a POP-IT? “Pop it,” said my young Grands. Is that really fun? It is if you race someone to see who pops faster. Or if you create a design by popping a few bubbles. Or if you pop only the ones around the circumference or every other bubble. Or just want to keep your hands moving.
As an elementary school teacher, I knew students who picked their fingernails or twisted a strand of hair around their fingers or tapped pencils on their desks. They fidgeted. Some students kept a piece of fabric to rub or a rubber ball to squeeze inside their desks. All these kids would’ve liked a POP-IT.
When I rode in a car for 1½ hours with three young Grands, I was glad they had POP-ITS. They sat still and were calm as their fingers moved constantly, but there were a couple of arguments about who popped faster.
While I wrote this column, I picked up my POP-IT several times. I looked out the window at green treetops, collected my thoughts, popped some bubbles, and put my fingers back on the keyboard. A POP-IT a simple toy – I wish I’d thought of it – and will soon be replaced by another got-to-have-it toy. Then, you can ask your favorite kid for the one he discards. It’ll keep your hands busy and might relieve tension and stress.
Susan Writes 
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