These alternatives will get them active, using their pencil and eating dinner with you.
If you haven’t heard of them yet, fidget spinners are these tiny toys that are “all the rage”. You hold them between your fingers and let them spin. Not much more.
Of course, any young, diehard fan will undoubtedly tell you there’s a whole lot more to it than that. If one practices enough, it’s possible to build your skills and complete fun tricks that will wow your friends and possibly give you neighborhood fame.
So what’s the problem? Kids are bringing fidget spinners into classrooms- apparently, they’ve been doing so for a while- and while some educators like them, others are banning them from the building.
The toys have been marketed as something that can help kids who find it hard to concentrate, actually get down to business.
Kids being kids though, have taken spinning to a whole new level and are said to be tossing their fidgets across the room and around the hallways between classes. And so, at schools across many states, the small toy is being banned.
In light of that, here are three replacements for fidget spinners, to help keep teachers, parents and students, sane:
1) More Recess
It’s no secret that kids like to squiggle and move around. So, it’s a mystery why some elementary schools in the U.S have decided to take out recess. Isn’t this making the day unbearable for all? Surely this means kids require more fidget spinners, to let them fidget?
Here’s a crazy idea: why not give kids MORE recess. If you’re trying to raise students’ test scores, they’re going to need to move around to process all that information. It’s just like putting your infant to bed earlier, to make them sleep in later. It might feel counterproductive, but try it- it works.
(Babies wake up in the wee hours of the morning and can’t get back to sleep, if they aren’t going to bed early enough. They’re too tired to get themselves back to sleep. So, they wake YOU up. And then everyone is up at 5AM. You might think that they went to bed too early, and that’s why they’re rising before the sun, but it’s the opposite.)
It’s the same with kids and low test scores. They don’t need more time spent learning information for the test. They need less time inside, and more time to figure out how to learn on their own, playing at recess.
This will likely make the book learning stick. Hey, it’s not just me- others think so, too.
2) Pencil Spinning
This one is something everyone has access to, and is harder to master than fidget spinning but basically it’s the same thing, at heart. Pencil spinning. Check it out-it’s sure to be good for you.
Hey, someone I know did it all through high school and grew up to be a successful orthodontist. How’s that for proof?
3) Bonding Time With Parents
Kids who have both parents working might have a tough time, these days. They might not get much bonding time with either mom or dad. Everyone is running around at the end of the day, busy with chores and trying to be ready for tomorrow, before it hits.
But it’s a scientifically proven fact that children who spend quality time with their parents get better grades.
So why don’t schools hold family dinner nights? Or, simply open up a few rooms with games in them, and let families bring their own food and hang out for a few hours each night?
The kids might appreciate the break. And teachers can stop telling everyone to drop their fidget spinners at the door, or there’s no playtime. Win-win.
Photo credit: EvgeniiAnd/Bigstock; soupstock/Bigstock; morganlstudios/Bigstock;Wavebreak Media Ltd/Bigstock
