In 2018, we started a series here on Hope 4 Hurting Kids called Fidgets 101. As we continue to spend time in our house, and my now 12-year-old son and I were sorting through our collection of fidgets the other day, I began to think about fidgets and coronavirus. Given the change in structure, extra time that many of us find ourselves trying to fill, anxiety and everything else going on, it seems like fidgets could be a valuable tool in helping children, and adults, deal with the emotional impacts (and boredom) of the current pandemic. To that end, we a reviving the Fidgets 101 series. Starting this Thursday, and every Thursday thereafter, we will be featuring a detailed look at, and review of, one specific type of fidgets. We will continue to tag Covid-19 in our posts so these posts will show up in the emotions section of our Covid-19 page as we believe that fidgets are a good investment for helping your kids to deal with the impacts of the current pandemic.

For an introduction to our Fidgets 101 series and a complete listing of fidgets reviewed, please click here.

For more information and resources related to Covid-19, please visit our Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Resource Page.

Welcome to Fidgets 101. In this series, we will review a variety of fidget toys over the coming months. Before we do that though, an introduction to Fidgets 101 is in order. Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last couple of years, chances are that you’ve played with, seen or heard about Fidget Spinner. They burst onto the scene in the Summer of 2017, seemingly out of nowhere, and became the focus (pun intended) of young people everywhere. Fidgets, though, have been around forever. From the Chinese baoding balls (sometimes called Chinese Stress Balls) created in the 14th century to greek worry beads known as kompoloi which were used by monks 800 years ago to todays fidgets spinners and cubes, there have always been outlets for human’s insatiable need to fidget.

What is A Fidget?

A fidget is any sort of object that people fiddle with to help them to maintain their focus on something else. As described in more detail in the video below, a fidget is a kind of coping mechanism.

The science is still out on why fidgets work. One theory is that fidgets occupy our “floating attention.” We all have what is called “floating attention” which is that little bit of attention that is placed away from our principal activity no matter what we are doing. For some people, their floating attention isn’t well regulated and gets spread across tons of activities. Using a fidget gives that “floating attention” something to focus on which allows you to focus better on the primary items of focus.

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Pool Noodle Fidget Toys are an easy DIY project you can make for, or with, your kids. They are cheaper than fidget spinners, squishies and other fidget toys, and you can mass produce them with relative ease. I’ve worked with kids for years, and for many of those years I was in charge of games with a large group of students. Ever since that time, I’ve kept a box of pool noodles in my basement, because you never know when you’re going to need them! (FYI, you can get a box fairly cheap after summer is over). A standard pool noodle can be used to create 42 fidget toys. Here’s all you need to know:

63 inches – 42 stress relievers

Items Need For Project

• Pool Noodles
• Scissors or a Knife
• Ruler
• Pencil

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