By Courtney Elisech
Have you ever been anxious, agitated, or restless and found yourself fidgeting to feel better? Biting your nails, picking at your cuticles, playing with a ring on your finger, rocking back and forth, or bouncing your leg up and down to help you focus or calm down? Is it hard to focus when your hands are idle? Fidget toys are designed to help with these issues and work.
For a while, fidget toys were all the craze, and you would see them everywhere. Fidget spinners hit the market, and suddenly everyone had one. Like many other extremely popular products, fidget toys quickly got a bad rap as being distracting and disruptive. Many classrooms banned them, and workplaces frowned upon them.
But here is the thing, fidget toys weren’t meant just for fun. Yes, they can be exciting, and being called toys is deceiving as they were designed to help those with ADHD, anxiety, autism, stress, focus problems, and more.
Let’s be real; everyone has fidgeted at one point or another during a lecture, interview, doctor appointment, or awkward encounter.
In a series of virtual interviews with people from all over, the answer was that fidget toys are beneficial.
“Fidget toys should be normalized in all environments.” Onnie Stone, 19, from Delta College, said. “Overall, they promote more efficient work in just about any instance that requires focus. They can help people with neurological divergencies perform a task to the best of their ability.”
Stone noted that they don’t always think of fidget toys but that they often find themselves fidgeting with a pen, ring, or whatever small object is close by. If nothing is around, then their nails and cuticles suffer.
Agreement among those interviewed that fidget toys are not unprofessional or childish and that people of all ages can benefit from them. They also agreed they should be used in the right setting, without being a distraction and mindful of others.
When asked why fidget toys would be commonly found in a therapist setting, all participants had the same answer, almost word for word. That it is easier to talk about serious things, overwhelming things, when you have something else to focus on or something to occupy your hands
Alex Hoffman is a 20-year-old student at Michigan State University who found fidget toys helpful, specifically the clicky and spinny variety. They help to quiet his brain and maintain focus from car rides to classes when he must sit for long periods.
Kenzie Eischer is a 19-year-old student at Mott Community College who prefers clicky and spinny types of fidget toys to help with her OCD and anxiety. They help to calm her nerves and focus, especially on schoolwork.
Nathalie Jimenez, 20, from California, shared that fidget toys could help her when waiting at doctors or therapy appointments. She bobs her leg and picks her nails nonstop, which she finds embarrassing, and thinks a fidget toy may help in the future.
In a 24-hour poll on Instagram and Facebook asking whether fidget toys were beneficial, the vote was in the fidget toys’ favor. Only one person stated they believed fidget toys were not beneficial but did not leave a comment as to why they thought that. On Instagram, one person voted they are beneficial but commented that it depends on what type it is because they can often fixate more on the toy than what they should be paying attention to.
Fidget toys didn’t just come about recently. During the Ming Dynasty, 3,500 years ago in China, Baoding balls were used as a part of traditional Chinese medicine to occupy fidgeting hands and keep them from trouble. These were the original fidget toys. What are they? Two ball-shaped items that could be rotated in your palm. Baoding balls are still used to this day in Chinese medicine for meditation and to help with fidgeting.
Today you can find a wide variety of fidget toys to fit everyone’s needs. Clinically studied, fidget toys have helped relieve stress and anxiety and help those with ADHD and autism cope with everyday stressors.
“They can be used to pave the way for success for students of all ages,” TJ Valentine, 21, said about fidget toys.
