Yo Yo Water Balls are squishy fun!
Written: Dec 29 '03 (Updated Dec 29 '03)
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Pros: cheap tactile play
Cons: there are warnings that cord can wrap around a neck
The Bottom Line: This is a great item for fidgeting plus a good stress reliever for the adults. Kids get some sensory relief from handling the ball.
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| bonniesayers's Full Review: Yo Yo Water Ball |
The Yo Yo Water Ball took off as a summer hit for children earlier this year. I learned of it’s existence through eBay and quickly picked up two for just a dollar. They are still selling in the same price range with an assortment of colors and a multitude of varieties including lighted balls.
The first two I purchased were red for both my sons to explore without fighting over them. My kids took instantly to the Yo Yo Water Ball, squishing it around in the palm of their hands and bouncing the ball from the rubber stretchy cord. It looks like a gel inside of the same color as the Yo Yo Water Ball. The cord stretches like a bungee cord. The top of the cord has a small finger loop that easily fits an adult thumb inside, but works best with an index finger.
There are many ways to play with a Yo Yo Water Ball including twirling around like a lasso, squeezing in the hand for sensory input by moving your fingers along the due to the little knobs or stems located around the ball. Since I have eczema I find these irritating at first to my skin, as it takes getting accustomed to the texture. The cord can stretch up to three feet.
The red Yo Yo Water Ball is quite mesmerizing to look at and reminds me of a disco ball at a nightclub spinning around. My seven-year old son kept his red Yo Yo Water Ball in his hands while watching videos. This worked well since his hands were occupied and not pressing the buttons constantly on the VCR. He did not have it for many days when I noticed it was empty due to his popping it. The way my son was handling the Yo Yo Water Ball was not the intended way since he squeezed it so hard that you could see a white ball of liquid at one end. He laughed so much seeing the ball look this way so I let him continue utilizing it in this manner.
The liquid was cleaned up and no one was exposed to anything dangerous. After that incident I started receiving emails on my disability related groups warning about the Yo Yo Water Ball, so I kept the fact that we owned a pair of them secret. The emails contained the headline, “ Office of Consumer Affairs Warns Parents to Keep Toy Away From Children, Urges U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to Recall Toy”. Personally I did not see any harm in the Yo Yo Water Ball for my children as there are no flammables in my house plus no smokers visiting. Some official tested the Yo Yo Water Ball by holding a lighter to it. They claim it is a fire hazard, but the liquid gel is not toxic.
The next issue brought to the forefront on the Yo Yo Water Ball is the risk of strangulation due to the stretchy material of the cord when tossed becoming tangled around a child’s neck. As a result of these warnings major retailers do not sell the Yo Yo Water Ball. This is made in China and Taiwain and selling consistently on eBay. “ Consumers who have questions about the dangers of this toy can contact the Office of Consumer Affairs toll free at 888-283-3757.”
For the holidays I made many purchases on eBay for stocking stuffers. When doing a search with the word “autism” you will find many therapy related items, including the Yo Yo Water Ball. I wanted to obtain another one so each child would have one again, and chose blue this time. They arrive in perfect condition when shipped versus buying at a store. This shade is similar to a cobalt blue and has a longer cord than the red Yo Yo Water Ball. These are also sold by the case for a very reasonable price, although I would not give to another child as a gift and let the parent make that decision.
My eight year-old son likes to play this as a Yo Yo Water Ball and does not sling it around in the air. He wants to learn to juggle and uses this with other balls to practice at times. The blue Yo Yo Water Ball has a small dolphin inside it when I bring it up to the light it is visible. This did freak me out the first time I saw that, but they do advertise some having sea animals inside or glow in the dark models as well.
My son does know to be careful so it will not pop. He uses his index finger within the lop to bounce the Yo Yo Water Ball up and down and from side to side like he is making someone sleepy or moving it around like it is walking on air. He also spins it around slowly in a circular motion. We keep them on a table and not on the bed or couch, since it does have a liquid inside. The blue one feels nice and soft with the red one hard and prickly, this coming from the eight-year old, but I agree with his assessment. There are more spikes on the blue Yo Yo Water Ball than the red and they are shorter and thinner in texture.
For my household the Yo Yo Water Ball is a toy I do not mind even with the warnings that have been issued from the various agencies. My children are using it appropriately, which works as a therapy tool for their sensory needs and deficits relating to autism. For the price it is a lot of fun and can be used outdoors as well as indoors.
A search at eBay for Yo Yo Water Ball will produce pages showing what they look like. The articles I have referred to can be found at these links:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml03/03190.html
http://www.state.ma.us/consumer/New/pr061103.htm – this shows a small photo of the Yo Yo Water Ball
http://www.safechild.net/for_parents/yoyoball.html
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1.00
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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bonniesayers
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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