Wippersnappers Provides Enjoyment For All With ‘Sensory Avoidant Night’

Within the Sandy community, Wippersnappers is a safe place for kids to find enjoyment and connect with the community. Popular activities including play structures, bounce houses, and wiggle carts are offered; multitudes of kids run around Wippersnappers partaking in these activities. The loud, packed environment is enjoyed by many kids and provides for fun. However, for others, this environment is quite the opposite. To allow kids who need quieter space to find fun at Wippersnappers, they created Sensory Avoidant Night.

Wippersnappers began Sensory Avoidant Night in 2024 after customers expressed their desire for a separate environment for kids requiring less stimulus.  

“For years, our customers have asked us if we could do a special session for sensory avoidant kids,” owner Hans Wipper said. 

Originally, the event was called Sensory Night Out, before Hans discovered the layers of sensory needs these kids have. The focus of their event is to limit sensory input, avoiding overloading the children. The name-change goal was to encourage attendance of kids who thrive best in less stimulating environments. 

During the event, all televisions and music are turned off, creating a calm environment. The event has limited spaces available for registration in order to support that environment. 

“We try to have as little stimulation as possible, and we don’t allow regular guests to come in during that session,” Hans said. The event is once a month from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The next Sensory Avoidant Night is on March 11. 

“Whatever challenges [these kids] have, they don’t do well in busy, chaotic situations.  They get overwhelmed and overloaded,” Hans said. 

“They’ve been asking for it for years. We just didn’t know how to go about it,” owner Tiffany Wipper said. 

For Tiffany and Hans, Sensory Avoidant Night was a must to support the community and meet these needs of this group of guests. The goal is to create a safe space for both the kids and their families. 

“We’re doing it as a service to the community,” Hans said. “It’s a safe place for them. Their goal was to create a safe space for both the kids and families.  “It’s just more about making it comfortable for the whole family,” Tiffany said. 

Hans and Tiffany have received positive feedback from the community, allowing them to continue the event. They have seen a new community be formed through this event as well from bonding of kids and parents who share similar experiences. 

“They [the parents] understand the situation. They all work together,” Hans said. “I think they’ve made a good community among themselves from coming here,” 

“Parents are meeting other parents and kids are meeting other kids,” Tiffany said. 

However, a challenge has been spreading awareness and getting high numbers at the event. Recently, they have experienced low attendance rates but they don’t plan on ending the event. For Tiffany and Hans, it’s an important resource for the community. 

“We’ve been doing it no matter what because it’s been a demand and the people that do come really appreciate it and are thankful to us for doing it because it’s one of the few times and things they can take their kids to,” Hans said. Even with the low numbers, the kids who do attend enjoy the event and provide fortitude to the Wipper’s to continue the event. 

“They [the kids] love it. I don’t think I have seen any unhappy kids yet,” Hans said. 

The event is at Wippersnappers and their resources are available to the public. They can expand if ideas come to their awareness. 

“We’re open to any ideas from the community on anything that we can add that we have here on site already that would make them more comfortable or have a better experience,” Tiffany said. 

Sensory Avoidant Night has benefited the community but it has contributed to Tiffany and Hans as a learning experience. 

“I’ve learned more about it,” Hans said. “Learning more about the challenges that the kids have and how to deal with it. They just want to have fun too. They just experience it in a different way,” 

Even with low attendance, Sensory Avoidant Night will continue to support the community needs. Tiffany and Hans want to build it up and reach more community members to further enjoyment and needs for kids who experience extra challenges. 

“We’ve been doing it anyway because it’s a need in the community but we’d like to build it up,” Hans said. 

Their website (https://wippersnappers.com/hours-pricing/) and facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Wippersnappers/)  provides information and registration for Sensory Avoidant Night. Wippersnappers is a source of community for all, no matter what challenges they face. Tiffany and Hans are open and diligently working to provide the community with a comfortable, safe space. Sensory Avoidant Night is an additional resource of safety for those who thrive with little stimulation.