• naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Natural Living
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Homemade Ideas
    • Natural Solutions
  • Activities for Kids
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Playdough and Slime
    • Sensory Activities
  • Recipes
  • For Your Home
    • Backyard Chickens
    • Easy DIY Projects & Crafts
    • Organizing Tips
    • Tips and Hacks
  • For Moms
    • Caring for Yourself
    • Parenting
    • Product Reviews
    • Travel
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • SHOP
↑

Living Well Mom

Simple, easy, and natural ways to care for your family.

  • naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Home
  • Seasonal
  • Essential Oils
  • Natural Solutions
  • Autism

DIY Stress Ball For Kids (Relieves Stress & Anxiety)

By Brenda P in Activities for Kids

sensory activityThis post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to make a DIY Stress Ball for kids (or mom!) This easy-to-make stress ball has a fun, soft texture kids love squeezing as it helps them calm down, soothe themselves, or just play with it for fun. It's great for autistic kids too! You may find you have to make one for every person in your family! this idea now...
How to make a DIY Stress Ball for kids (or mom!) This easy-to-make stress ball has a fun, soft texture kids love squeezing as it helps them calm down, soothe themselves, or just play with it for fun. It's great for autistic kids too! You may find you have to make one for every person in your family!

This DIY stress ball is perfect for helping kids (and adults) calm down. The soft, unique texture just begs to be manipulated. Learn how to make this easy DIY project, so you always have one (or a few) on hand. 

Kids with autism, sensory processing disorder, and other special needs are often sensory seekers. That means that they’re fidgeters who seek out sensory experiences to calm their mind and promote relaxation.

One fun activity you can do at home is to make a DIY stress ball with water beads.

diy stress ball for kids pinterest image

Does a stress ball work for anxiety?

Short answer: yes. Stress creates tension in the body, and the act of squeezing stress balls (as well as other sensory and manipulation activities) can help alleviate some of that anxiety.

Playing with play dough, slime, or gak can have a similar calming effect. But it’s easier (and avoids a big mess) to carry around a stress ball when you’re out and about than it is to carry slime with you!

This DIY stress ball has a fun, soft texture that kids with busy hands will love squeezing to calm down, soothe themselves, or just play with for fun. You may even find that the whole family loves this ball and you have to make one for every person in your family!

kids squeezing orbeez filled stressball

DIY Stress Ball Supplies Needed

Here’s what you’ll need to gather together for this fun project.

  • Water Beads
  • Balloons (clear look the coolest)
  • Plastic Bottle
  • Scissors
water beads in a bowl
snowflake graphic with free printable ispy game printed page

How To Make A Homemade Stress Ball

Here are the step-by-step instructions for this tutorial.

Step 1

The night before you want to make the stress ball, soak a teaspoon of beads in water overnight. 

Don’t use too many beads because they expand to over 100 times their original size. You need fewer than 100 beads to make a stress ball.

Step 2

The next day, pour out any excess water from the beads.

Step 3

Place the beads inside a plastic bottle (a plastic water or soda bottle will work great).

plastic bottle filled with orbeez with deflated balloon attached to top

Step 4

Place the mouth of the first balloon over the bottle and squeeze the beads into the balloon until it is about fist-sized.

Step 5

Tie a knot in the rubber balloon and trim off the extra.

white balloon being filled with water beads

Step 6

Place the second balloon around the first to strengthen the stress ball and make it less likely to explode. Tie a knot and trim the extra off of the balloon.

orbeez in DIY stress ball

DIY Stress Ball Notes And Tips

  • The trick to this activity is the bottle. Unless you use a plastic bottle, it will be almost impossible to fill the balloon with enough water beads to make a stress ball. You could try inserting a funnel into the neck of the balloon, but the bottle works much better. 
  • Over time, the water will escape from the beads. Although that means your DIY stress ball won’t last forever, you should be able to play with it for several weeks before having to toss it out.
  • I don’t recommend giving this version of a stress ball as a gift. The first thing we noticed was the beads developing a weird smell before they started drying out and hardening. Because of this possibility, we advise using this stress ball for at-home play only. Once it starts to stink…toss it and make a new one!
kid playing with homemade stress ball

DIY Stress Ball FAQs

Here are a few questions that I see readers frequently ask about making stress balls. If you have a question that hasn’t been answered below, please leave it in the comments!

What do you fill a stress ball with?

We used water beads for the fun texture, which I highly recommend. But other filler options could include flour, rice, lentils, sand, dried beans, and birdseed.

How do you use a stress ball?

There are several different ways you can use stress balls. One of the most common (and the best for relieving stress) is to hold the ball in one of your hands and squeeze it as hard as you can.

Another way you can use it is to place the ball on a table. With your hand gently resting on top, roll the ball and forth as you curl and uncurl your fingers.

stress ball for kids made with a balloon and water beads

I hope you and your family love this stress ball as much as we do! We have so much fun with it!

More Sensory Activities You’ll Love

  • Rainbow Sensory Bottle
  • Jello Fossil Dig Sensory Activity
  • Make A Mess-Free Finger Paint For Toddlers
  • How To Make Fluffy Slime
DIY stress ball for kids pin

Dear mom, I have so much more I’d love to share with you…

Fill out this form to join the Living Well Mom email community and receive the best of the best for your family’s journey to living well!
    *Note: ↑ this form does not give you a freebie. If you are looking for a free printable or other freebie, scroll back up to the rest of the post and use the other form.

    Filed Under: Activities for Kids, Sensory Activities Tagged With: sensory activityPublished on September 6, 2022

    You May Also Love

    Love simple kid-directed DIY projects? You'll love this fun rainbow mason jar piggy bank for girls! Kids will love making their very own bank!
    Rainbow Mason Jar Piggy Bank
    Reusable DIY Sponge Water Bombs For Endless Fun
    27 Fun Toddler Activities (Mess-Free!)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Erika Bragdon sitting on a bench drinking a drink out of her mug

    Welcome! I’m Erika and I’m the creator behind Living Well Mom.

    More About Erika

    The Latest

    • Rainbow Mason Jar Piggy Bank
    • Easy Natural Skin Care Routine (At-Home Facial)
    • Van Organization: Must-Have Minivan Organization Tips
    • Homemade Almond Butter Cups {5-Minute Dessert!}
    • Reusable DIY Sponge Water Bombs For Endless Fun

    Trending now…

    • playdough in a container How to Make the Easiest Homemade Playdough Recipe {Lasts for Months!}
    • Taco Pizza is a great as an easy family dinner (you can even make it the night before) or a tasty appetizer. Kids love this recipe and the cream cheese/sour cream “sauce” and spicy taco flavor are a hit with adults too.The Best Easy Taco Pizza Recipe
    • Salt Crystal Snowflakes - this simple STEM activity transforms pipe cleaners into beautiful crystal snowflakes. Kids will love this easy science project!Salt Crystal Snowflakes Winter Fun for Kids
    • homemade macaroni and cheese on plateKid-Friendly Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese Recipe
    • Chicken and rice casserole in a casserole dish on a tableTasty Chicken and Rice Casserole (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
    • broccoli with ground beef and rice on a white plateEasy Gluten Free Beef and Broccoli {Dairy-Free}
    • Home
    • Seasonal
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Solutions
    • Autism

    Living well is a journey not a destination

    copyright ©2023, Living Well Mom. / Site by Pixel Me Designs
    Privacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsDisclaimer
    902 shares
    • 96