Fidget Spinner Thoughts?

[mamaturtle]

I am tired of those fidget spinners and I want the trend to go away. DS wants one so bad because he has been asking for one almost everyday. I am sure there are kids at school who have them and take them to school and daycare. He was mad at me today because I don't want to get him one and I explained to him why every time he asks.

I told my mom to tell my brother not to get DS one. They asked me so they can get it for DS a couple of weeks ago. My mom was saying how it would help DS with his ASD. I have not found any scientific research on it that would show anything positive.

MIL was asking about the toy when we were at Target. Thank goodness they didn't have any there.

I think they are a distraction and they are prone to break easily. What ever happen to pogs?

[akafred]

Meh. I think they are pretty harmless and very faddish and will not last much longer. Probably most kids will have moved past them by fall. DD got one with her money and the interest lasted maybe a day. She was much more obsessed before she got one.

[freezorburn]

There was a story circulating a few weeks ago about an ASD girl choking on the pieces of a fidget spinner when it came apart. So I've been wary.

Of course I did not share this with my brother, who bought one for my (ASD) son. The interest lasted about a day. Oh, well, it's his money.

I have been wondering, though, if and when would be an appropriate time to introduce some kind of allowance for DS. And I don't know whether or not to link it to chores, I could see arguments for and against. But at some point I do want him to learn that money doesn't grow on trees, etc.

[mightymaude]

We let the kids use their allowances to buy some. They were not allowed to take them to school or put them near their faces or in their hair. If I see them doing either, I take it for the day. So far so good, and it has been more than a month. DS has mostly stopped playing with his, but DD still regularly uses hers.

[auntie]

Meh.

Figits are a time-tested accommodation for many kids with ADHD, but I could see where these trend more toward a toy/fad than something like therapy putty, sugar-free gum or a sit'n'fit.

For kids with ASD, I would be cautious about the tendency to stim on the spinning action. This was never my kid's thing, but I know my niece's little brother stims with spinning objects when anxious or bored which can be stigmatizing for an otherwise high functioning school aged kid.