Fidget spinning

[00:00.13] School playground crazes come and go but the latest collectable toy is proving popular with children and adults alike.

[00:09.70] My kids have gone mad for the plastic spinning disc called a fidget spinner and I have to admit, I've become a little addicted too – but why?

[00:19.79] Fidget spinners have taken the world by storm. They were originally designed to help kids with conditions like autism deal with stress but they have become a popular toy and they're helping reduce my stress levels too

[00:34.93] – when there's something on my mind I just spin!

[00:38.38] So what's the big deal about these three-pronged pieces of rotating plastic?

[00:44.23] Well, there are many different designs and colours to collect and then there's the challenge of spinning them, getting the speed up, balancing it on the end of your finger.

[00:54.32] On video-sharing websites, vloggers have amassed millions of views from performing tricks with their fidget spinners.

[01:01.49] Richard Gottlieb, founder of US-based consultancy Global Toy Experts, says adults are increasingly turning to fidget toys because, he says, with all the bad news in the world, "it is a good time to be selling something that allows an individual to fidget off some stress – particularly at a time when smoking is looked down on."

[01:23.27] For most school children, they've become the latest 'must-have' accessory, although some schools have banned them, saying some are poorly made and can be a distraction for pupils.

[01:35.49] However, one teacher, Ms Timmons, says that they can aid learning among some children.

[01:41.87] She says "these fidget toys are one way of allowing them to fidget without the disruption of the tapping pencils or the tapping of feet.

[01:50.37] It's a much less disruptive way to channel their energies into something else while the teaching is going on."

[01:57.27] Fidget spinners join a long and distinguished list of other childhood favourites now living in the teacher's top drawer.

[02:04.71] It wasn't long ago when our homes and school playgrounds were littered with loom bands as they suddenly became must-have accessories.

[02:12.95] Billions of them were sold and then made into various forms of rubbery jewellery. One teacher, Guy Tarrant, has confiscated numerous items from children over the years.

[02:24.10] He says: "There's so much stuff, so many fads and stages. I worked as a supply teacher in over 150 schools so I've probably seen it all."

[02:35.52] It's probably fair to say fidget spinners won't always be flavour of the month.

[02:40.57] Eventually, they'll be confined to the bin, to be replaced by a new equally addictive and annoying craze.