The History of Fidget Spinners

While you may have only heard of fidget spinners this year in 2017, they have been around since the 1990’s. Recently fidget spinners have found their way into the hands of many children across the world, you can even search tricks on YouTube to find new ways to enjoy these little toys. The thing is though, fidget spinners were originally created with another purpose besides entertainment and today I am sharing the history of fidget spinners to get you up to basics on where the history of these now popular products.

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Back in the 1990’s fidget spinners were created using little bearings and various materials such as copper, brass, stainless steel and even plastic. These little bearings helped the fidget spinner spin in directions pretty fast and were deemed a health benefit to children who suffer from anxiety or ADHD like symptoms. Catherine Hettinger, a chemical engineer by training, is the first person who came up with this spinning toy in 1993.

Catherine came up with the idea for this spinning toy to help children cope with their emotions and in turn the “spinning toy” was created. While this may have been Catherine’s guiding vision, some say the real vision came from her own health issues that made her unable to play with her daughter in traditional ways. Originally sold at art fairs in Florida and manufactured in her home, Catherine was indeed the first person to create fidget spinners.

While there is some argument that the History of Fidget Spinners isn’t a direct relation to the spinning toy that Catherine Hettinger patented in 1993 to today’s fidget spinner, some could argue that she truly was the original mind behind this currently popular toy. Since the patent on these type of toys are much argued, as the wording on the patent is unclear, there is no doubt that the fidget spinner type toy has been around much longer than the average consumer realized.

This toy is said to help children and adults who suffer from fidgeting symptoms which usually stems from anxiety, autism or ADHD. While some argue that fidget spinners have not been proven to have health benefit, there are parents all over the world who stand firmly that these fidget spinners have truly changed the life of their fidgety children.

One Psychologist Shares His Thoughts on Fidget Spinners.

What do you think about fidget spinners? Do they help your child or do they seem more like a distraction. Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts.