Fidget Spinner: Psychologists, Teachers Say Toy Is Distracting Instead of Helpful
The fidget spinner — a simple, spinning handheld toy marketed as a coping aid for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and general anxiety — has been the subject of controversy, especially among school teachers.
Sold as gadgets that help people cope with anxiety and hyperactivity, fidget spinners are now a focus of debate by psychologists and teachers across the country. While regarded as the latest craze in handheld toys to date, some experts say that these spinners are being falsely marketed as therapeutic remedies, according to the Independent.
Scott Kollins, a clinical psychologist and professor at Duke University, described the interest in these toys as just another product of marketing. "I know there's lots of similar toys, just like there's lots of other games and products marketed toward individuals who have ADHD, and there's basically no scientific evidence that those things work across the board," Kollins said.
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Teachers have targeted the toys as well, calling them distracting and a classroom nuisance. A teacher mentioned in her blog that the spinner's action doesn't help students pay attention to their work at all. It is distracting them instead.
Parents are also zeroing in on the lack of safety warnings on the toy. After reports that a 10-year old girl in Texas choked on one of the ball bearings that came out of her fidget spinner, parents everywhere has been critical of the lack of choking hazard labels on the product. Child safety advocacy groups are further alarmed as other similar reports of kids swallowing or choking on the parts of their fidget spinners surfaced.
Julie Schweitzer, director at the UC Davis MIND Institute expressed her take on the fidget spinner's place in the classroom. "From what I've seen, (the fidget spinner) is becoming so ubiquitous that it's overtaking the classroom and becoming a huge distraction," Schweitzer told Sacbee.
