German merchants can’t keep up with kids’ demand for fidget spinners

A man balances a fidget spinner on his finger. Photo: DPA

“Some teachers even recommend it so then we at least don’t speak to each other so much,” explained 15-year-old Kjell from Hambergen, near Bremen while buying a store’s last camouflage-coloured spinner in Hanover.

Another schoolkid, 11-year-old Alexandra, noted that if “teachers confiscate the fidget spinners, they end up playing with them themselves”.

Her mother Kerstin Winkel had tried in vain to avoid the purchase of one, since so many must-haves were already gathering dust on the shelves of her daughter’s bedroom.

“First it was the Filly Pferde (small pony figurines), then the Loom Bands, because of which we bought extra sorting boxes,” she says. 

Barron Trump exits Air Force One holding his fidget spinner. Photo: DPA/AP

Even the son of the President of the United States, Barron Trump, has a fidget spinner. The 11-year-old was photographed on Sunday as he stepped out of Air Force One, holding a red model of the toy.

On the internet, there aren’t just videos with tricks, such as how to balance a fidget spinner on your nose, but also about care and repair tips as well as instructions for building them yourself. 

A scout group from Wedemark, near Hanover in Lower Saxony, has even chosen fidget spinner-building as a project.

“We have already ordered the ball bearings,” explained 15-year-old Helen.

The scout group wants to make hand-held spinners out of cardboard and bottle caps in groups of eight during the next group session, before selling them and donating the money.

According to the German Association of Toy Retail, fidget spinners are to be joined by fidget sticks in June and fidget cubes in August. 

Article source: https://www.thelocal.de/20170612/german-merchants-cant-keep-up-with-kids-demands-for-fidget-spinners