Fidget Toys positive impact

[BGulliver98]

Hi there,

Has anyone seen the positive impact of fidget toys on their children?

I'm working on a piece for MyLondon about how they can help children to concentrate and can have benefits for mental health conditions.

Let me know if you love/hate them

My DC collects loads but hardly do I see her use them, it’s more a trend now due to tiktok etc. Hopefully someone will come along who’s child gains genuine benefit from them.

Agree with inpain my DD was obsessed with poppies. First she wanted a tiny one and more recently, she wanted a giant one, which we bought and I've barely seen her use it.

We literally have 100s. They don't help boredom or fidgety fingers they just like to buy them.

DD uses hers all the time. But then, I strongly suspect she has ADHD (like me) and they were originally designed for DC with SEN, weren't they?

Mine have too many. They do play with them and fight over them. One of dds has anxiety and will take one to school (she's allowed) to distract her if she's feeling anxious. I don't know how helpful it is personally, the kids seem to be aware these were originally designed to help with calming down and certainly a few of my daughters friends are now proclaiming they have anxiety based on the fact they must have because they like fidgets.

My children with autism use particular fidgets a lot. Both have sensory processing issues and have been recommended them by the OT. In particular my teenage son uses therapy putty (a strong play dough type putty) and a bike chain roller fidget. Occasionally he will have other bits but mainly these. My teenage daughter has poppits in the car, while watching TV or sometimes while telling me about her day after school. She also likes scented dough.

I work with an autistic boy and have a collection of fidgets for in between times when we have to sit at his desk and wait for the next activity. It's very helpful as it engages him at a time where he'd otherwise try to get up and run off, start grabbing things he's not meant to or get distressed while his mind isn't occupied.

Word for word the same as liveforsummer.
If the child I work with is unsettled they really help as a distraction, the popping pea one is a current favourite as it requires a lot of finger strength and concentration.
My own DC do like them, but don't need them in the same way.

I'm a youth worker and find them really useful to help calm young people down who are struggling with extreme emotions as well as gives them a bit of time to work out what they want to say

Not really to be honest, most children I’ve seen use them are just messing about. I know they were banned from my kids’ classrooms because they were just constant messing by children who didn’t need them.

My 8 year old is autistic, he likes to play with a bit of blu-tack. He rolls it round in his fingers if he’s trying to talk about something, like trying to tell you something and it keeps him on track.

I’m not saying they aren’t helpful/relevant to some children or people with disabilities, my example was that my son does a similar thing just not with a toy.

Just that I think they are annoying because the majority of kids I know actually don’t need them, they’re just messing around. And so many kids who know you can’t bring toys to certain activities/class seem to think they can bring these because a few children need them.

Just that I think they are annoying because the majority of kids I know actually don’t need them, they’re just messing around. And so many kids who know you can’t bring toys to certain activities/class seem to think they can bring these because a few children need them.

No different to anything else that the majority of children aren't allowed that those with additional support needs might be. My friends dd is allowed a transitional toy which might be a small figure or teddy. My dd and others need to understand that doesn't mean they are allowed their teddies too. It's a good life lesson IMO.

My asd child benefits hugely from them and my purse strings benefit massively from their sudden popularity. In years gone by I had to order them from specialist expensive online stores, now they're everywhere.

The negative side though is that the popularity has forced schools to ban them- which is fair (they are distributive and cause jealousy / bullying etc)but when my child has been allowed her fidget dice in class as an exception to ease her stimming for the last 8 years and now isn't because everyone has one or a pop board etc it becomes a struggle

My youngest son is autistic, adhd and has touretts, he also has pica, some of the toys work brilliantly others are a waste and not designed for children with sen. He goes to a mainstream school and holds most of his anxieties in till he comes home but he is allowed to to take something in his pockets to school. At primary he had a wobble cushion which worked for him, he choose not to use one at secondary. The stress balls/toys don't work for him as he chews them. I have found the best ones to be the cubes that click and have different buttons to push.

As a teacher, I hate them. I have yet to find a child for whom they improve learning. Many children with SEND issues love them but they are just another distraction.

They might not improve learning but might reduce anxiety and limit the 'coke effect' where the chikd explodes at home. A lot of measures to support chikdren with autism might not be seen as doing anything until bedtime for instance.

I think the key is an OT needs to assess their sensory needs and recommend the correct type of fidget toy if one is needed. With the shortage of OTs and lack of funding people just give generic fidget toys that might be distracting rather than help. My son specifically needs heavy lifting according to the OT and it does seem to help, but before we got there we tried all sorts of fidget toys that werent right.

I work with teenagers in a PRU. I use fidgets in a quiet space to help them to calm down. Some of the young people have spent a lot of time out of school and get very anxious in class, a fidget toy can help them to stay in their seat and be calm enough to learn. The best ones seem to be tangles or the silicone pops. I don't have anything ball shaped as it would get thrown.

Ds is diagnosed with asd and needs a lot of sensory stimulation but gets it by chewing on pencils like a beaver or rubbing erasers into crumbs with his thumb. He’s never taken to fidget toys.

Dd, is neurotypical but has fiddled with her own body parts since she was a baby - creating a callous on her lip, and picking at the skin around her thumb. Fidget toys have helped enormously with this.

They weren't a thing when I was a child, but as an adult (I have combined type adhd and am autistic) I find certain items useful.

They're an annoying distraction in the hands of kids who genuinely don't need them.

Ever since I was very young, I've had various small items on me, which are calming for me to hold. They're not fidget toys, but small soft toys that fit in the hand, things like that. Often on a keyring.

They're great and also a pain

DD has a neurological condition and definitely fidgets/self stimulates but she’s never taken to any fidget toys really. She’s much more likely to hum or talk incessantly or wriggle around on her chair or tap her feet. Maybe as her hands are busy with her school work - so a fidget toy isn’t going to help her concentrate while working as she can’t hold it and work.

My dd has tics and finds a fidget toy helpful as a more socially acceptable way of dealing with the urge to tic.

I think they are brilliant.

Thanks so much for the responses!

Is anyone from London and would like to speak more about this?

Let me know! Or email me at [email protected]

We have tonnes (son has ADHD), but he doesn’t really use them. He prefers blu tack, which he is allowed in class.

I think the toys would be too distracting in class, the blu tack just sits in his hand and is not too noticeable.