The Gold Coast Bulletin

LATEST FIDGETY CRAZE HAS GOLD COAST SCHOOLKIDS IN A SPIN

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children who need help concentrat­ing, but for many kids, it’s just a toy.

Merrimac local Lisa Morrison said she bought the fidget spinner for her nineyear-old daughter Katie Bernard because it was “the coolest thing to have”.

“She has them in her pocket ... she just keeps spinning them,” Ms Morrison said of the palm-sized toy.

“They seem to be all the rage and ... they’re affordable. I understand they were developed for kids with autism but I don’t think she knows that.”

Ms Morrison said the spinners were not very loud and made a sound like the wind.

Young Katie said she just liked to play with the fidget spinner at school even though she was not allowed to bring it into class.

“(The teacher) takes it off you,” she said, adding kids were allowed to play with them during their breaks.

But parents have told the Bulletin fidget spinners were now banned in most Catholic schools on the Coast due to the belief they are distractin­g.While it is unknown how many public schools have banned the toy, they appear to be regularly confiscate­d.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said that it was up to principals, in consultati­on with their school community, to make decisions about whether or not to restrict the spinning toys.

“There has been no directive given from the department to restrict the use of fidget spinners,” he said.

 ??  ?? Nine-year-old Katie Bernard from Merrimac shows off her skills with her fidget spinners – the latest craze to hit the Gold Coast. Picture: GLENN HAMPSON
Nine-year-old Katie Bernard from Merrimac shows off her skills with her fidget spinners – the latest craze to hit the Gold Coast. Picture: GLENN HAMPSON

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