What are fidget toys?
Fidget Toys are actually also a kind of gadgets and with a Dutch word, this is also called chip toys. Fidgets are suitable for children and also adults who have difficulty sitting still or have difficulty concentrating. So you know the fidget spinner I think that has been a big craze! This spinner, but also other fidgeting material ensures rest and concentration. It is suitable for the so-called ‘wobblers’ and for ‘fidgeters’. Actually, many fidget toys are the replacement of the well-known simple ‘stress ball’ of the past.
Why do children and adults fidget?
Nice that a lot of friemel toys are all the rage, but is it actually good for you to use? What is the use of fidgeting?
Fidget toys help with
- Better concentration/ focus
- Reducing tension and stress
- As a distraction
- Processing stimuli
- Developing fine or gross motor skills
- help with overstimulation
Fidget toys to concentrate better
Research shows that the majority of people can more easily record and process information when they take notes with pen and paper in a meeting, or think of ‘doodling’ during a meeting or telephone call. That’s actually how it is with frunikken. The aimless fiddling with material, ranging from paper clip, to stress ball, is certainly useful. It helps children and adults to better keep their attention on the lesson.
Fidget toys offer peace and quiet
Repeating movements with materials with a pleasant texture gives you a nice and pleasant feeling. This allows it to offer peace at moments of tension and stress. Also read about ‘stimming’ and stim toys.
For example, there was a study in which demented patients were given wipes to fidget with, after which they were a lot calmer. And this can even be traced back to your baby time in which you sucked on a pacifier to keep your mouth busy with a repetitive movement, which ensures that a baby remains quiet and calm.
Friemel toys a hype?
The attention for fidget toys has increased a lot and some experience this as a hype. But in recent years, there are also many more stimuli coming to people. Just think of the increase in social media, the continuous accessibility with your mobile, apps and videos that continuously come in and demand your attention. There are fewer and fewer ordinary quiet moments of relaxation. It is also not easy for everyone to shield themselves from the crowds of incoming stimuli.
Fidgeting with fidget toys can calm your central nervous system and direct your attention. It is not for nothing that you see students and colleagues during lectures or meetings playing with pen or drawing. This is not a sign of disinterest, but this fruniking increases concentration, allowing you to absorb more information.
Moving and learning
A child is developing and to learn a child needs to use all his senses. Moving learning is a way to internalize information. You don’t just learn with your head, your whole body participates. That is why it is so important to let children play and discover with all their senses.
At school, it can therefore work well for some children to give them something to fidget with during the circle conversation, the reading lesson and subjects where they have to listen and watch. It is good to collect some different ‘friemel’ materials, so that a child can choose the material that he likes to ‘play’ with. Think of a Tangle or a stress ball. Especially children or adults with ADHD, often have good results with increased concentration and wiggle less in their chair, for example, and do not disturb others with it … most fidgets are silent.
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