The Quiet Solution: Fidget Toys in the Classroom

You sit at your desk, the teacher’s monotone voice dull in the background. An antsy feeling creeps in, and you pick up your pencil, drawing doodles on your math worksheet. You wish you had something to fidget with. This restlessness isn’t just a lack of motivation, but a lack of stimulation. Imagine if every classroom had a basket of Needohs, slime, and Prickly Pals, always within reach.

​     A handful of students were interviewed about how fidget and stim toys affect focus and self-regulation. Gianna Nese, a senior, shares how a stim toy helps her focus in class: "Stim toys have definitely helped me focus better in class because it prevents me from getting distracted by other things. When I am writing in one hand and have a Needoh, for example, in the other, I don’t feel the urge to pick up my phone and deviate from what I am doing." Abbey Jeremias, another senior, explains her preference and how it helps her mental health: "My preferred fidget toy is a bicycle chain, which is two rings that turn within itself. I have Trichotillomania, an anxiety hair-pulling disorder; it preoccupies my hands, so I am not pulling my hair." Lastly, Clara Kelley, a junior, describes how fidgets help regulate her emotions: "When I am stressed or worried, I start biting the skin around my nails to the point where my fingers start bleeding, very bad! My stim toys give me something else to do when I am worried or scared."

These students show just how common this issue is. Our classes would be much more focused if we could have the opportunity to have a fidget nearby. Put stim-toys in classrooms!