By now, you have no doubt heard all about the latest toy craze – fidget spinners. Indeed, if you haven’t been following the furore about the toy in the news, then it’s likely that your children have been pestering you to buy one!
Well, it seems the lifetime of the fidget spinner craze may be short, as they are already being banned in schools across the country.
A school in Wicklow was one of the first to introduce a ban on the toy – a handheld gadget with ball-bearings – this week.
According to reports, teachers believe that the toys are proving distracting to their students and disrupting the learning process.
A spokesperson from the Irish National Teachers Association told the Irish Examiner: “We are aware that fidget spinners are currently very popular. It’s a matter for individual schools to decide if, how and when fidget spinners are to be used in school.
“Each school has its own code of behaviour and makes decisions at a local level within the parameters of that code.”
Bans have also been rolled out in the UK and Australia, where a mother has taken a different stance on the toys – warning parents about their potential to cause harm.
The mother, from Victoria, got in touch with parenting website Kidspot to recount her son’s near-miss with the toy. Isaac, aged 11, received an injury to his eye when he threw the toy up into the air.
“He threw the spinner up a little higher, and he didn’t manage to catch the spinner but it came down and clipped the corner of his eye and crunch,” she explained.
“He was very lucky not to lose his eyesight, let alone his eyeball.”
While there are safety precautions to be taken with each and every toy we bring into the house, the fact that fidget spinners are everywhere right now – currently the number one selling toy online – means we need to be extra-vigilant.
Fidget spinners were initially designed to help children living with ADHD and anxiety. The idea is the brainchild of Catherine Hettinger, who created the fidget spinner after witnessing children throwing stones at a police officer back in the ‘80s.
The toys have since propelled to the top of the best-selling toy lists, with a Hatchimals-style frenzy to secure a fidget spinner descending in recent weeks!
Has your child’s school introduced a ban on fidget spinners? What are your thoughts? Be sure to let us know in the comment section!
