Spinning out of focus
CHILDREN on South African school playgrounds used to gather around to click marbles or spin tops, but the new generation has focused on a new craze: The fidget spinner.
The triangular-shaped gadget has been marketed as an aid for ADHD, ADD and anxiety that can provide comfort in situations of stress and stop habits such as fingernail biting. It can either be made of hard plastic or metal and is centred around a bearing allowing the prongs to spin in either direction.
But some believe it is a distraction, rather than an aid, and a local teacher says many schools have banned them.
Michelle de Fleuriot, a former Manor Gardens Primary School teacher, explains why children find them so fascinating: “Many of them like the flashing lights. I found them to be of no benefit because fiddling doesn’t help if you are meant to be writing or doing your own work. If you are listening to TV or a friend, then fiddle away, but I can’t find any neurological support that fiddling with a toy can stimulate concentration or focus.”
The sudden retail explosion of these toys doesn’t come without some scepticism: Many schools in the country have banned them.
De Fleuriot said: “Most schools have banned them but parents are gullible and believe it’s an educational tool because that’s how it’s marketed but it’s just a toy. I don’t believe it has educational value and there seems to be little evidence to support this notion. I think it’s a marketing ploy to get vulnerable parents to spend money.”
Livingstone Primary School, which specialises in remedial teaching, including for those who have ADHD, has banned the devices.
One 11-year-old pupil at the school, whose name is known to The Independent on Saturday, explained how fidget spinners affected her and her peers at school.
“Everyone had one as soon as they were released, but they were banned in my school a few days after.
“Sometimes they help with concentration, but it gets distracting and you just end up always spinning it. Teachers don’t like them,” the pupil said.
Livingstone Primary School principal Mandy Williams said the fidget spinner was not as useful as the aids provided at their school.
“We have many concentration aids for pupils. We noticed straight away that the toy had become a distraction because the pupils tended to focus on the actual toy and its spinning movements.”