It is soft, colorful and satisfying to squeeze, and was originally intended as a stress-relief toy. But the Squishy, a flexible foam or rubber toy that returns to its original shape after being squeezed, has become the latest craze sweeping through Israeli schools, with some parents spending hundreds of shekels on them.
Schools are currently on vacation, and some children are already "stocking up" on new Squishies. While students increasingly regard them as essential for relieving boredom or stress, a full-fledged battle is playing out in teachers' lounges: Are they useful tools that help children focus, a complete distraction, or perhaps even a health hazard?
A teacher's confession on social media, posted in a group with tens of thousands of educators, reignited the debate and highlighted the lack of any uniform approach among teachers.
"I'm a teacher, and I'm in favor of Squishies in class," she wrote. "Yes, yes, I'm coming out of the closet. I'd rather they squeeze a Squishy under the desk all day than tap a pencil, click a pen, crumple paper, cut things up or slice pieces of tape. A Squishy is quiet, and if it bursts? They can clean it up. That's it, confession over." She was referring to the many things students tend to do during class other than study.
The post immediately drew a flood of responses from fellow teachers, exposing the complicated reality inside classrooms. "I don't have a problem with it either. As long as they're learning, I don't care," one teacher wrote in support.
Another was skeptical: "Every so often there's some new thing, with the excuse that it helps them concentrate. It doesn't."
Many teachers pointed out that the toy had long since stopped staying hidden beneath the desk, as the original poster had hoped. "That's the thing, it's not under the desk," one commenter wrote. "It's on top of the desk, and they're swapping them with one another."
Another teacher explained why differences in policy among staff members make life harder for colleagues who do object. "Great ... and then when a teacher comes in who is bothered by it, and rightly so, she becomes the bad teacher. The one who says no. The one who's no fun. There needs to be one uniform and consistent policy throughout the school."
"Squishies can be dangerous"
Alongside concerns about discipline and teachers' struggles with students, health fears also entered the discussion, including claims of cases that ended in hospital emergency rooms. "Squishies can be dangerous," one teacher wrote. "One burst during my student's class. She started itching, her skin was burning and turned red. Her parents took her to the emergency room, where they said that almost every day a child comes in with an injury from one of these things. It's especially dangerous when they burst and the substance gets into someone's eye."
Another teacher agreed: "I also don't have a problem with them playing with something, but I understood that the material is really toxic when it bursts, so I don't allow these."
A third suggested a compromise: "I only let them bring foam Squishies, the kind that can't burst."
Squishies are hardly the first classroom craze in recent years. They were preceded by fidget spinners, triangular fidget toys, clickers, counters and others, each of which sparked its own debate in schools.
The discussion ended by turning to the social and financial divide such trends can bring into the classroom. "I'll offer another perspective, maybe a bit square, but that's how it is," one teacher wrote. "Schools try to create some kind of equality among students. Some have money for cards, slime, Squishies, spinners, Tamagotchis, I don't even know what else. Every time it's another trend. And some kids don't have those things. You want them to have something to fiddle with? Ask the school office for modeling clay and give every child a ball of it."
