Why We Send So Many Sensory Toys
If you look at a Maxwell's Toy Box Joy Package, you'll notice a pattern. Almost every bag has sensory tools. Pop-its. Sensory balls. Slinkies. Fidget cubes. Play-Doh. Bubble wands.
There's a reason for that. And the reason is not about play, exactly. The reason is that the chemotherapy protocols children are going through in 2026 are just as brutal on a small nervous system as they were on children being treated in 1975.
What sensory toys are doing on a clinic day
Sensory toys are one of the front-line tools child life specialists use to help a child cope with the physical experience of pediatric cancer treatment.
A pop-it in a child's non-access hand during a port draw. A bubble wand for breath-focused distraction during a dressing change. A sensory ball squeezed rhythmically during a long infusion. A Slinky passed hand to hand while a child waits for a lumbar puncture to start.
Every one of those small tools is doing real work on a child's nervous system. Not by making the moment magical. By giving the body something else to do while a very hard thing is happening.
Why the tools have to work so hard
What most people don't see is that the sensory toys in our Joy Packages are doing more than providing entertainment.
The reason nearly every bag includes a pop-it, sensory ball, Slinky, Play-Doh, or another regulation tool is because pediatric cancer treatment is still incredibly hard on a child's body and nervous system. The medications that save children's lives are remarkable. They are also tough. Many of the chemotherapy drugs used today were developed decades ago and can cause side effects that families know all too well: mouth sores, nausea, neuropathy, fatigue, constipation, bone pain, sensory sensitivities, and the emotional ups and downs that come with certain treatment phases.
When a child squeezes a sensory ball during a port access, blows bubbles during a dressing change, or quietly works a pop-it through a long infusion, they are doing important coping work. These small tools help children regulate their bodies during experiences that can be uncomfortable, overwhelming, or scary. Every item in a Joy Package is chosen with a clinic day in mind. What can fit on a tray table? What can be wiped down? What can help a child through a long wait, a difficult procedure, or an afternoon infusion?
We believe children deserve moments of play, creativity, comfort, and control, even in the middle of treatment. And we also believe they deserve better.
We are deeply grateful for the treatments that save lives. Our own son is here because of them. At the same time, we hope for a future where pediatric cancer therapies are more targeted, less toxic, and easier on growing bodies.
What the Joy Package looks like this September
Every September, we do a small themed refresh on our Joy Packages for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This month's bag includes:
A sensory ball, gel-filled, sized for a small hand
A pop-it in a fall color
A small Slinky
A pack of washable Crayola markers
A CCAM-themed coloring book
A sheet of stickers
A sealed container of Play-Doh (single-use, clinic-approved)
A finger puppet
A paperback picture book
A card that says, "This is for you. From Maxwell's Toy Box."
A card for the parent that says, "Thinking of your whole family today."
The bag costs about $25 to build and deliver. Every one goes to a child in active cancer treatment at Advocate Children's Park Ridge, Advocate Children's Oak Lawn, Lurie, or Comer.
The connection to advocacy
We keep sending toys because children need them today. We also keep advocating for better research funding because someday, we'd love for these tools to be optional. For them to be about play, not about coping with drugs that were designed before humans landed on the moon.
The two go together. Meet the children who are in treatment now with the tools they need now. Push for the research that means the next generation of children need less of those tools.
How to help both sides
If you'd like to sponsor a Joy Package this September, you can do that at maxwellstoybox.com/donate. $25 per bag.
If you'd like to help push the research side, we're going to be writing about specific pediatric cancer research foundations all month. Consider a donation to St. Baldrick's, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, or CureSearch. Or split your giving. Support a child in treatment today and a researcher working on tomorrow's treatments.
Both are the work. Both need funding. Both are part of what CCAM is asking of us.
Dina
Mom of Max | Founder, Maxwell’s Toy Shoppe
Childhood Cancer Advocate 💛
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Join our movement to support children battling cancer and their families, year-round:
🎁 Donate to deliver toys to children during long cancer treatment days
🧸 Buy a toy from Maxwell’s Toy Shoppe, and 100% of proceeds support children in treatment
🎗️ Join Maxwell’s Circle of Heroes as a monthly donor to ensure families receive ongoing care
