Fidget Toys and Their Benefits
Fidget toys are not only endlessly fun. They also have numerous learning and developmental benefits. Fidgets come in different sizes, colors, shapes, and textures, providing a valuable sensory experience. They can also promote movement and motor development, enhance focus and attention, and improve self-regulation.
What are the Fidgets’ Main Advantages?
Fidget toys improve learning as they allow the brain to filter out extra sensory information, helping the child actively listen, pay attention and focus on the task.
Fidgets help improve attention through toy manipulation, allowing the child to concentrate on tasks in the classroom or online.
Some studies show that using a stress ball has improved the students’ focus in a learning setting.
Fidget toys help kids control their movements, and this activity can enhance learning. Research shows that movement promotes learning because it requires the learner to use both hemispheres of the brain. Fidgets are helpful as these small muscle movements and sensory stimulation allows the child to use both the left and the right hemisphere (learning is most effective when it involves the whole brain).
Along with improved learning benefits, fidgets can also enhance hand-eye coordination and development of the small muscles in hands in fingers, improving the child’s readiness for writing and boosting their school success.
Fidget toys promote creativity, encourage recognition and discrimination of colors, shapes, and textures, and improve visual discrimination.
Also, fidget toys can be a great self-regulating tool as they can have a calming effect. Namely, studies have shown that fidgets can reduce stress and anxiety.
Who Can Benefit from Fidgets?
After so many Zoon hours during the previous year, fidget toys can help young children stay focused as these toys improve concentration and attention.
Fidgets are particularly beneficial for restless children who cannot sit in front of the screen or at their desks for a long time.
Kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder typically struggle with the ability to focus and stay still, pay attention, and control their impulses. ADHD affects the child’s life at home and school, impeding their ability to learn, follow the rules, and get along with others.
Children with ADHD are often too fidgety in the classroom, disrupting learning for themselves and others.
Fidget toys reduce anxiety, so they can provide a calming effect to children, helping relieve the symptoms of ADHD while improving focus.
One study in the United States showed the positive effects fidget toys to have on school achievement. Students who were given stress balls showed improved writing scores. At the same time, kids with ADHD showed the most significant progress in writing.
Fidgets can be an excellent multisensory learning activity. Research has shown that multisensory learning activates two or more senses simultaneously, helping children get the most from education.
In addition to improved learning, these toys promote relaxation, boost self-control, and help relieve anxiety, helping kids with behavioral problems reach their learning milestones.