The problem with banning fidget spinners in schools
Teachers have had enough and some are now banning the use of fidget spinners.
By Livia Gamble
May 05 2017
It’s the craze that has taken over schools, but teachers have had enough.
A fidget spinner is a toy with a bearing in the middle, which allows it to be spun rapidly between your fingers or on the table.
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The device has been used to treat kids with additional needs such as anxiety, ADD, ADHD and Autism. The toys reportedly stimulate the part of the brain that gets bored.
Despite the benefits, some teachers have made the decision to ban them from the classroom.
"Frankly, we've found the fidgets were having the opposite effect of what they advertise," Elementary School, principal Kate Ellison told the Chicago Tribune. "Kids are trading them or spinning them instead of writing."
Similarly, in an essay penned for Working Mother, teacher Cristina Bolusi Zawacki says fidget spinners are the ‘effing worst’.
"It makes it difficult for me to focus and do my job, and I worry about the students in the room who are completely thrown off-track because it's all they see. These are not the helpful devices they were intended to be. Instead, they've become the Millennial/Gen Z/Linkster version of Pokémon cards, POGs or Tamagotchis. Now I understand why MY teachers hated those obnoxious things with the same red-hot rage I feel for fidget spinners."
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While that may be the case, in the comments section on the Practical Parenting Facebook page, one mum said the ban was having a negative effect on kids who actually need them.
“Something that is used for special needs kids and has been for quite some time is suddenly cool and now some schools are banning them even for the special kids that need actually need them," she said.
“They are being told to get a medical letter to allow them to keep using them in class all because of its the latest craze...”
Another mum added: “I've refused to buy one for my 9-year-old for this reason.”
What do you think? Have you bought your child a fidget spinner?
