Fun Family Toy: Fidget Spinners
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Fidget spinners were all the rage for quite some time. The mania for them has since died down, but plenty of people still have them, and most everyone knows what they are.
Our kids were too little (or not born) when the fidget spinner craze was starting and in the middle of it. Only at the end of the craze did my son know what a fidget spinner was. I had only seen them online or a few kids around that had used them.
A bit of research indicates that fidget spinners were marketed for distracting or calming those that have short attention spans (ADHD and otherwise). However, there is no real medical basis on this marketing, it is just how they are marketed.
Having only seen fidget spinners before, I never really understood the point of them. It is this little round thing that looks kind of like a star or peace sign without the outer circle. It has a center piece, about the size of a nickel, that you can hold on to and the outer part will spin around. On each end, there is also a wheel type contraption that will spin, although generally not as easily. That description probably makes no sense - check out the pictures if you still don’t know.
A few months back my son expressed interest in getting a fidget spinner. While we were at the store, he wanted me to buy one for him that he saw. It cost around $6 for one, and I immediately said no. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want him to have it, I just knew it was severely overpriced.
When we got home later that night, I hopped on the computer and found a pack of 12 for just under $18. This was perfect because I knew he would lose them, and I also knew that his younger brother would invariably want one to play with as well.
Once the little toys arrived, we opened them up and began playing and experimenting with them. As none of us had ever used them before, we didn’t know exactly what to expect or what you could do with them.
I can now say that fidget spinners can actually be a lot of fun. While I guess I can see the argument for them being used for distraction, I think that it’s more fun to play with them. I was also really glad that we got 12 of them, rather than just one. Several of the games that we played, and ideas that we tried wouldn’t have been possible with just one or two.
Spin them in your fingers as long as you can
This is probably the most obvious thing to do with a fidget spinner. Hold the center part with your fingers (thumb and forefinger) and then spin the outside as fast as you can. Let it spin for as long as it can. Depending on the spinner you have, it can go for quite some time.
Once we had this figured out, we would then have a little contest to see who could spin their spinner the longest. Mom and Dad usually won.
Get them all spinning at the same time on the table or floor
This was one of the places we were glad that we had multiple spinners. The goal here was to get all of the spinners spinning at the same time on the floor or on a table. Set the spinner down on the ground, press down on the middle section, and then spin the outer section. Repeat this process for all of the spinners.
Once you’ve got them all spinning, you’ll then restart any that are slowing down. For a little more fun, try to spread the spinners out a little bit and throw a bouncy ball, or other ball at them to see if you can make them hit one of the other spinners and fly off the table or around on the floor.
Spin them on top of each other
This is by far my favorite thing to do with the spinners. Place two spinners on a table (or floor), one on top of the other. Only the center pieces should be touching. Start both of the spinners spinning. Once you’ve got two down, do the same thing, except this time with three spinners. Continue with as many as you can.
I am able to get 8 fidget spinners stacked and spinning on top of each other. I tried to add a ninth after the first 8 were already spinning, but it’s just too hard to keep the 8 balanced on top of each other. It’s a lot of fun seeing the spinners spin at different speeds from the top.
Conclusion
What we thought would be a fun toy for the kids actually turned into a fun event for the whole family. Fidget spinners can be more than just toys you hold in your hands - there are many ways to play with them.
