Spinner craze puts teachers in a whirl
IT’S meant to relieve stress. But a gadget which has become the latest playground craze is doing no such thing for teachers and parents.
Fidget spinners have become the musthave toy for youngsters, with retailers quickly selling out.
The pocket-sized gadget is a modern version of an old spinning top, with a three-pronged piece of plastic or metal, which moves around a central weighted disc. However, schools across Britain and the US are banning the devices because of the distraction and noise they cause in lessons. They are marketed as tools for children with autism and ADHD – but are now being brought into class by pupils who do not have learning difficulties.
This is because they cost as little as 99p on eBay – which is easily bought with pocket money.
YouTube videos demonstrating tricks to do with them are currently receiving millions of hits.
Someone is clearly making money on the back of the devices, but its inventor certainly isn’t. It emerged yesterday that the woman who came up with the spinner design couldn’t afford the £310 fee to renew the patent.
Catherine Hettinger, 62, from Florida, created the spinner two decades ago as a way of keeping her seven-year-old daughter, Sara, entertained. She held the patent for eight years but had to surrender it in 2005 because she could not pay the renewal charge.
Chris Hildrew, head of Churchill Academy in Somerset this week he shared a letter from a pupil complaining about disruption from spinners.
The unnamed girl wrote: ‘If someone around you has one, you kind of get attracted to it because they are trying to do tricks and everyone else is looking at it. This means I am not doing my hardest on my work so I get less done.’
Mr Hildrew posted the letter on Twitter with a message saying: ‘We have banned fidget spinners from lessons – here’s why. So proud of our students!’
All Hallows RC High School in Salford was among the first to ban the toy. Parents were texted with a message saying: ‘They are a distraction to learning and can be dangerous.’ However, some parents of children with special needs complained about the hardline stance.
Nikki Ashcroft, from Wigan, bought a spinner for her ten-year-old son who has ASD (autism spectrum disorder). She said: ‘It’s unfair if a child with special needs already has them and is not allowed because others have them purely for enjoyment.’
The National Autistic Society has previously said there is anecdotal evidence from parents that fidget spinners are beneficial.
But Dr Mark Rapport, of the Children’s Learning Clinic at the University of Central Florida, told Dailymail.com: ‘Using a spinner-like gadget is more likely to serve as a distraction than a benefit for individuals with ADHD.’