Is it just another trend, or does it really help kids focus in class? Just walk into a classroom, and you’ll notice squishy objects on top of students’ desks. All that anyone can talk about when it comes to the latest trendy item is the stress toy brand called Needohs. Needohs are a popular line of stretchy, stress-relieving, and anxiety-calming toys that are traditionally used to relieve anxiety. However, these little stress balls have caused many kids and parents to go crazy searching for them in stores since they have become sold out everywhere. Even some adults are waiting outside stores to grab themselves the stress-relieving squishy toy. Now that there’s a shortage of these trendy cubes, consumers are wondering if we actually need them for stress-relief or if they are just the latest craze in a long line of trends.

If you have been on social media this past month, you will know about the Needoh craze. Even though the Needoh brand was launched in 2017, they have recently gained attraction by teenagers and adults alike. The brand first released a regular stress ball, and then in 2023, they released their most popular stress toy, the “Nice Cube” which really made people go crazy over the latest squishy toy to hit shelves. Needohs were originally supposed to relieve stress, but now, they are starting to cause the very same response they are supposed to eliminate. 

Kids and adults have been storming the top stores like Five Below or Target to get their own Needohs. Now stores are putting a limit on how many Needohs one person can buy if you can find them at all. 

The Atlantic revealed that a retail source said, “In the first three months of this year, we went through about three times the inventory that we sold in 2025.” 

The article claims that now some stores have a limit of three people per person as they don’t want to sell out as quickly because it will be a while until they can get another shipment of Needohs. 

There are other squishies that have gained love as well. According to The Atlantic, “Toy stores, in the bargaining phase of grief, have taken to social media to remind customers that they carry many products that are a lot like NeeDohs. One store posted a reel of other squishy toys—memory-foam butter! mini fruits!—that you can buy instead.” Still, people have opted for the real thing and still demand more Needohs on the store shelves.

We have interviewed many people around Lakeland Regional High School to get their opinions on the popular stress-relieving toy. 

Toni Politano who owns her own Needoh said, “I have had a Needoh before they became a trend. They really do help me, but I think it’s starting to get excessive [in terms of] how many people are going crazy for them. ” 

She went on to say that she finds this trend to be excessive and just another fad that will be forgotten. 

“I really do need one I really like. I think the Needoh Gumdrop is the best one to get,”  Politano said in terms of the debate about which Needoh is the best. 

Some people say the Nice Cube is the best one, and others say the shaggy Needoh is the best.  

“They are good stress relievers when I’m in class and I can’t focus,” Politano said.  

Zara Perez, a sophomore, went on to say that “I think it’s gotten a bit crazy; everywhere I go I see someone with a whole backpack full of them and I think it’s excessive. Like one or two is fine, but not like twenty of them.” 

Perez thinks this trend will go away like any other and soon you will be able to find them in stores again. 

You can usually find Nee-dohs at Walmart, Target, and any local toy store. Some people reported finding one at their local gas station.  It looks like all businesses are trying to get their hands on these Needohs. 

According to The Strategist, “Right now, everything NeeDoh makes is so difficult to find and sells out so quickly when it restocks that fans have declared a national shortage.” The source claims that the brand said “the reason for the shortage is simple: Schylling can’t keep up with NeeDoh’s sudden stratospheric popularity despite having tried to plan for it.” 

Demand has increased so much that Schylling has sold through 8-month supplies of Nee-dohs. There have also been people online microwaving them to make them softer or freezing them to make them harder and a few have cut them open, although this is not recommended. Many stores are shocked at the demand and how far people are willing to go for these little squishies.

Clearly the Needoh craze has hit its all-time high from store shortages to the quantity of people going to extreme lengths to get one. Perhaps a trending toy is not a bad thing, but it’s excessive how far some people are willing to go for them. Some individuals also have a whole big collection of them and probably don’t need ten of the same one while others can’t even find one. We are left with the question- is this just another trend, and if so, is it really worth the squeeze when you look at the price tag?