Fidget spinners
@GardenGerty (169406)
United States
December 6, 2022 6:53am CST
Fidget spinners were all the rage for a while. Not sure if they really helped anyone.
Now some kids have all kinds of "fidgets" at their seats almost all the time.
Thinking of fidgeting got me to remembering some of the things that served the same purpose when I was growing up. Things like "cootie catchers" made from folded paper, and "cat's cradle" made from a piece of string, and lastly, the original "fidget spinner" would be a button and string toy.
Did you ever play with any of these?
9 people like this
9 responses
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Dec 22
We did the folded paper and string games.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
There were a lot of fun do it yourself games we could amuse ourself with.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
11 Dec 22
@wolfgirl569 I can imagine. It possibly came with a book to learn how to play it.
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@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Dec 22
@GardenGerty A few years back I actually seen the string on sale. I forget the price but I was laughing.
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@shaggin (74988)
• United States
7 Dec 22
The things kids have now to fidget with though are usually allowed to be used to help them concentrate but the things like cats and the cradle were used just for fun in spare time. However I wonder if most of the fidget things actually help the kids. My son has bands on his chairs he could fidget his feet with if I remember right. He preferred to stand all day instead of sit in his seat. As long as it wasn’t disturbing the other kids he was allowed to. I always wondered how his stereotypy wasn’t distracting them constantly really. It was hard not to laugh at it was so odd to watch.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
Just observing how kids use fidgets in our resource room, they are more of a distraction a lot of the time.I am not certain they are allowed in the regular ed classrooms. We also have wobble cushions, balance boards, etc.One kiddo stood on a balance board while he did his lexile reading.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
11 Dec 22
@shaggin I do not know how common they are. My first husband made one for fun for our kids out of scrap wood, because he could. At school of course the wood is more finished and matches. It is about 18 inches by 24 inched, I am guessing. It has rockers on bottom. You can stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and rock back and forth. Have you ever seen a one legged stool?
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@shaggin (74988)
• United States
8 Dec 22
@GardenGerty interesting I when never heard of a balance board.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
We always treasure those stuffies. The things I describe were things that we could do ourself for ourself and that was neat. And cheap.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
11 Dec 22
@rebelann When I was young "French Poodles" with real fur on the fuzzy parts (think rabbit, or sheep) were all the rage. My baby brother took mine and would pull the fluffy fur off to hold next to his face as he went to sleep. He hid behind the sofa to do it.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
A Yo yo? or something else. It is fun to give little things to kids or make them with them
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
11 Dec 22
@LadyDuck There are special things we have to save.
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@LadyDuck (502179)
• Italy
7 Dec 22
@GardenGerty Not a yo-yo, a fidget spinner, I will never give away his yo-yo with the CD to learn special tricks with it, I let my kid-husband play with it.
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@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
6 Dec 22
I've never heard of those, so I guess they weren't popular at my school. Or I had the wrong friends for that kind of thing.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
I am a lot older than you. @RasmaSandra shared a picture of the "cootie catcher" or fortune teller that we used to make.
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@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
7 Dec 22
@GardenGerty I remember in lower grades some of the girls making those but I'd never heard of a name for them.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
11 Dec 22
@DaddyEvil Sometimes they would put names under some of th e flaps. You would use them and when a name came up that would be your "husband" and then when you went through to choose a number that was how many kids you would have.
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@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
7 Dec 22
The only one I remember was the cat's cradle unless the cootie catcher is that thing that had various things written on it.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
11 Dec 22
Also sometimes called a "fortune teller" You are right.
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@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
6 Dec 22
No I used to sling yo yos though.
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@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Dec 22
I forgot what is was called but we folded up paper so that it was like a top and you took your fingers and could open and close it and it had like fortunes in it. Anyway, everyone like to make these. Found this online by Googling, Here is what I am talking about,
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
Yes, some people called them "cootie catchers" and others called them "fortune tellers" and there were lots of things you could do with them. I think moving them in and out was very soothing. Sometimes we put numbers on them, sometimes we put names in them, etc.
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
7 Dec 22
You likely saw cootie catchers, but maybe they called them "fortune tellers". Button on string you use a string that goes through two of the holes in a LARGE button then gets tied into a loop. Centering the button, holding the sides of the string you wind it up by flipping it. Then you pull on it and it spins and unspins as you pull it. Not a great explanation.
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I know what you're talking about now. 
