TheraPutty Regular

Theraputty is not a toy for unsupervised play. It is a therapeutic exercise material, best used by adults or children with adult supervision.. I have read several reviews from folks complaining that they aren't getting a big enough glob of putty in these tubs....Or that this stuff ruins fabric..It is hard to play with because it's so soft and won't hold it's shape....WELL... I'm not exactly sure what people are expecting when they order a 2 oz. package of physical therapy putty. This stuff is NOT play dough or modeling clay. It is a very smooth, pliable, elasticized physical therapy putty that comes in varying strength levels and is absolutely invaluable as a physical therapy tool for anybody who has had any kind of surgery on their hands or wrists. Theraputty retains its elasticity and soft texture forever, and will not dry out. It is important to store it in it's container to keep it from "oozing" into crevices and fabrics. Upon opening a tub of putty, the consumer will see that the putty is smooth, shiny and self leveling. It has a "Silly Putty" feel, and although there are no warnings printed on the container, common sense should tell you that any self leveling product can and will seep into any pours surface that it comes in contact with for any length of time. The 2 oz. lump of putty in each tub is color coded for its pressure level, and is just the right size to fit into the palm of almost any hand. It is the perfect amount of putty to use to manipulate weak stiff, swollen fingers and wrist muscles that need strengthening, and a 2 oz. ball of putty is huge in the hands of a three year old! Like Silly Putty, it will soak into clothing, furniture and carpet if you leave it laying around. Unlike Silly Putty, this stuff will not pick up dirt and will maintain its wonderfully smooth texture as long as you use it for it's intended purpose, and put it back into its container in between uses. Theraputty is non toxic and is treated with an antibacterial agent, and will last forever if you take care of it. . After a rather severe hand injury, my physical therapist started having me work with the softest available putty, and my hand was so week that I could barely squeeze the stuff. I just ordered this set so that I can continue to use it at home, and work on advancing my strength and endurance in my spare time, like while I am watching TV in the evenings. Although I doubt that I will ever regain enough strength to manipulate the black (firmest) putty, my husband uses it to exercise his hands and keep his joints from stiffening up. I have to admit, my six year old niece does love playing with this stuff, but we keep it on a table and she knows to be very careful about getting any of it on anything other than the table. Unlike most children's play putty, this product does not crumble or leave any hard to clean up residue anywhere. So, feel free to allow the kids to play with it...under adult supervision. I highly recommend this product to anybody who has any issues with their hands or fingers, including occasional joint stiffness or swelling, even arthritis. It's wonderful to use simply to loosen up your fingers before starting any crafting project that involves excess use of your fingers, or even before playing a finger intense musical instrument. I would not recommend this product as a modeling clay or as a toy for small children unless they are being supervised, as it can ruin clothing and carpets. Although there are no printed warnings or instructions for this product included in the packaging, you can always ask your physical therapist to print out diagrams and instructions for recommended exercises for therapy putty. There are also lots of YouTube videos and many different articles available on the internet to assist you as well. If you are planning to use Theraputty with children, plan to play with them. This stuff is fun to squeeze and squish, and is therapeutic for all ages.

This product is great and serves well to fulfill my son's sensory diet and needs, as well as improve my grip, which is important as a bodywork practitioner. It also can be a great stress reliever since it does offer resistance and does nor break or dry compared to the slime/clay/dough being sold everywhere else. My son has spent significant time with these putties to find objects such as beads and dice in them. He enjoys this activity so much and I'm quite happy that it does keep him calm and in one place, yet fulfills his sensory needs. As for me, I enjoy these putties to improve my grip strength and even use these as negative space if I need to apply pressure on a particular area and use a fabric bandage to keep it in place. One thing, though, since these putties have polymers, although it may not stick to most solid surfaces, it does stick to silicone. I found this out the hard way as I handled these putties while wearing my silicone wedding ring and I had a hard time prying the putty off of my ring. As for other issues, I have not found these to stain, but I make sure that my son handles this in a controlled environment just in case. It also doesn't have any smell. It is not oily and doesn't seem to stick on the surfaces that my son and I have worked these putties on (except for silicone, like I've indicated on prior paragraph). I recommend this product and consider this a great investment to my son's development, as well as my own!

I recently bought this product so I could begin increasing grip and finger strength a bit more for our son, who has a wide array of developmental delays. I noticed as we've returned from some of our walks in the past few weeks that he doesn't have the finger or grip strength to work the opening on the outside of our front door (it has a thumb lever that has to be pressed down before you push in on the handle). It's kind of ironic that a kiddo who has the overall strength to run around with a 12lb ball can struggle with finger and hand tasks, but that is the boat kiddos with developmental disabilities can find themselves in. What makes this a stand out product and why I would recommend this if you have a kiddo with muscle tone issues you are working with is the 6 different levels of firmness. Four seem to be what many offer, which correspond to the four middle resistance levels on this product. But for many kiddos with developmental challenges of a similar nature to my son's, the tan extra extra soft is the right place to start. The extra firm black I'm not picturing him being able to use that for a good long while, he's going to master that front door opening long before he can get this stuff to budge, but I still think it's pretty useful to have that in there too. So if you have a kiddo with sensory issues, this feels different then play do. My kiddo, it took months of work before I could even get him to touch play do, and I mean months. And then, once he was willing to touch it, he decided he pretty much only wanted to eat it, because he doesn't really see the purpose in shaping anything. The day this first came, he touched it expecting it to feel like play do and then pulled his hand back and looked at it like it was some sort of nasty viper to be avoided because it felt differently then he expected and he wasn't sure what to make of it. But by day two he was willing to touch it, try squeezing it, and pull it (probably because it is smoother and softer but not goopy, he does not like goopy things that stick to him), so I was pleased at how well he took to it, but just be prepared you could end up having to work a longer time with this if your child has a stronger sensory reaction to it. If that is the case, I recommend putting it in a Ziploc bag and seeing if they will manipulate it through that. That might get you in the door quicker there, so to speak. For sizing, my kiddo is fairly big for his age because one of his syndromes causes excessive growth, he's 4, going to be 5 in a few weeks, and I feel like the 2oz that we bought is a good size for him. I actually felt like it was fine in my hands as a grown woman, but if I had larger hands or a palm size (like say I was a grown man or had a teenage boy with bigger hands), I'd want one of the bigger sizes, and that's another thing about this product that is cool...they have all 6 resistance levels in different ounce amounts. So this is one I recommend because of the additional resistance levels, especially the extra extra soft, and the flexibility on sizing.