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Fidget Spinners Are Just Toys

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16 May 2017

By Bronwen

There are very few things in life that give me an urge to delete every single one of my social media accounts but all of these fidget spinner videos have brought me close.

These fidget toys have completely taken over the internet and they’ve reached that stage in the children’s product life cycle where they’re starting to be banned from schools and that’s where people are beginning to have a problem.

Fidget spinners are supposed to be used as a learning resource for people who need sensory stimulation to increase their focus and attention span and also people with anxiety. However, the growing popularity of these resources amongst children and students that don’t neurologically benefit from fidgeting means that they’re becoming a distraction in classrooms. There are endless YouTube tutorial videos that teach you how to do all sorts of tricks and modifications on these spinners which of course, ends up being demonstrated in the classroom.

Despite many children and parents insisting that these toys are vital and effective, many experts say otherwise. Fidget spinners require visual attention unlike other sensory learning aids such as putty or stress balls. This would naturally distract learners from what is going on in class as it means that users are focusing more on balancing the spinner than the lesson.

Furthermore, the point of sensory toys is that they require actual movement in order to be effective. They improve classroom performance because limb movement stimulates the part of the brain responsible for attention; fidget spinners require little to no body movement unlike other fidget tools that can be moulded, stretched or passed from hand to hand so therefore they are not as effective.

It’s time we stop pretending these spinners are anything other than a fun and trendy toy. They’re not only distracting, their spinning sound can actually cause distress for learners with auditory issues who are sensitive to high pitch sounds. Plus there are so many fidget tools that are way more effective and discreet that can give children with sensory difficulties the stimulation they need to be able to learn.

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