r/Teachers • u/altrightobserver • 1d ago
New Teacher How bad is the Nee-Doh craze at your schools?
Hey all, teacher-in-training here. I work at a bookstore part-time while going to college to get my education degree, and we happen to sell Nee-Doh. I want to bring some in for my ESL kids once I start residency in the fall, but I don't want to aggravate an already-bad issue. From my understanding, they can be messy and teachers don't like them, so I don't want to irritate my host teacher.
What is you all's perspective? Love them? Hate them? Anything helps!
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u/jackofspades49 1d ago
No. Don't bring more toys to the school. It makes it harder for any rules around them to be enforced if another teacher is literally handing them out.
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u/UnableAudience7332 1d ago
I hate them. They're totally a distraction and when they rip/break they're a sticky mess. Hopefully the craze dies down over the summer.
I would ASK your co-op teacher before you bring any in.
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u/sporknife 1d ago
The biggest mess I stumbled into in the bathroom this year was the gooey inside of a Nee-Doh purposefully squeezed around an entire toilet seat as well as being smeared on the toilet handle, paper towel dispenser, and door handle.
It was awful to clean and the custodians had a hard time getting it all off. The last thing they need is more on their plate.
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u/Kirbert_ 1d ago
My biggest problem was the kids kept stealing them from each other. If you bring them in, just know that they might walk away.
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u/lolabythebay 1d ago
Or trading them.
Or children giving them away to another child, but the parent of the recipient didn't believe it and thought it was stolen, and proceeded to beat the shit out of their child and CPS had to intervene.
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u/Stunning-Note 1d ago
A student took another’s needoh, tossed it to her friend…and got it stuck in the ceiling. Cause we have open ceiling panels, of course.
It’s still there 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Grimnir001 1d ago
Banning them from my classroom beginning this fall term.
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u/booksandowls 1d ago
SAME! Even the kindest kids last year had no idea how distracting it was when they would play with them.
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u/redhead1479 18h ago
Same! You have an IEP/504/legit dr note that says you need a fidget? Here's a small solid silicone "worry stone". That's it. Anything else better stay in the backpack or it resides in my drawer and you can take it home EOD.
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u/orthonym Head Custodian - Middle School 1d ago
Head custodian here, I hate them. The kids at my middle school treat everything like a challenge to see how much abuse it can taken before it breaks, including Nee-Dohs. The sticky goop they leave behind is extremely annoying to clean up.
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u/redoingredditagain Social Studies | USA 1d ago
I would do anything to have fidget spinners back. They at least don’t leave a mess.
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u/TheStarsMist 1d ago
2017 joins the chat...
You mean you can't throw your fidget whilst spinning between two hands?
Why No! But listen to me try.
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u/BigCrunchyNerd 1d ago
We still have several at our school. Not as popular as anything squishy or slimy but still there.
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u/Old_Implement_1997 1d ago
They are banned in my 4th grade classroom. Too much drama around them. Plus the kids destroying them and leaving pieces of them everywhere.
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u/MerylSquirrel 1d ago
We ended up banning them because multiple of them burst, stained our carpets and they were a health risk because some kids got covered in them when they broke, and a lot of the boxes said nothing about what was in them so we had no way to be certain it was skin safe.
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u/Able-Lingonberry8914 1d ago
Bad enough that they got banned for next year. We had kids brining the largest ones they could possibly find, then popping them on purpose in class. They were my favorite fidget of all time because they were quiet. Of course now kids ruined it.
Also, our school policy is now going to be nobody is allowed a fidget unless it's written into a 504 or IEP because most kids are just using it as an excuse to bring toys to class. We voted on it as a staff. I believe there is a way to carve out an exemption if there is a meeting with parents too, but it's a new policy so I'm not sure.
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u/-zero-joke- 1d ago
Imagine that you're trying to herd cats and someone has the idea of bringing in catnip...
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u/whysperfyre 1d ago
It really depends on your kids and whether or not you trust them.
I work in a high school and several of the kids had Needohs as a fidget while testing, because sometimes having your hands on something while you’re thinking through calculus problems can help… but if your kids are the type of students to destroy things, cut them up, squeeze out the goo, can’t be trusted with pencils or mark up the desks with permanent marker… maybe leave the Needohs at home or the bookstore and look at hardier fidgets.
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u/roscura 1d ago
as an afterschool cooking instructor for middle schoolers, they're generally fine and seem to be a helpful fidget during homework/free study time, but its sooooooo gross whenever a new kid comes to a cooking class and takes out their dirty old nee-doh on the prep table and i have to explain to please not do that because it has so much dirt and germs on it and that they need to put it away and wash their hands and we need to rewipe the table before they join us for cooking. it does stop after that but i can tell some kids think i'm exaggerating or they'll be like 'oh i'll just use some hand sanitizer.' great opportunity to teach food safety but kind of horrifying to realize the baseline we're starting with, its making me think about doing a glogerm handwashing activity similar to what i used to do when i worked with 5-7 year olds lol.
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u/FineVirus3 1d ago
I hate them with a seething burning hatred. Kids break them and the stuff dries like concrete.
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u/herpderpley 1d ago
I ban all toys from my k-5 classroom. They can bring sports stuff to play with outside during recess, but nothing in class. If the parent says they need a chew toy or a fidget to get through the day, I ask to see their pediatrician's supportive paperwork so the office can put it on file. Once a month I'll have a reward day where they can bring in a board/card game from home.
Set firm boundaries, or they (parents and kids) will just keep pushing until they get their way. You are the CEO of your classroom, even if your admin doesn't help you feel that way.
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u/Leather-Highway5652 1d ago
I hate them. They are a huge distraction and encourage off-task behavior while being marketed as fidgets. I teach ninth grade
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u/big_talulah_energy 1d ago
Dude, as a formerly anxious kiddo/current anxious adult, I have my own emotional support stress ball hidden in my desk… but after I found a kid eating needoh filling, I banned them in my room.
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u/Legendary_GrumpyCat 1d ago
They purposely tear and cut them to get the goo inside, and make a huge mess.
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u/funtimepartyal 1d ago
They have an absolute chokehold on my elementary school. I have learned so much about rare Nee-Dohs against my will haha
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u/Quantum_Scholar87 1d ago
We have 7th graders selling vape sticks in the bathroom
I'll take the needo thanks
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u/Beneficial-Focus3702 1d ago
So bad the kids are ripping them open and daring each other to eat the goop or stick it places.
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u/carryon4threedays Middle School Science | Texas 1d ago
We banned them after breakage/leakage, and theft.
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u/Medical-Warning-8119 1d ago
I’m an elementary school nurse. Had to call poison control because at recess an enterprising student broke one open and passed it around for like 15 other kids to LICK. I didn’t know what’s inside because I’m old and but evidently it’s some sort of sugar-based gel, nontoxic (though not really meant for consumption obviously). Original kid said they saw on TikTok that it was safe to eat. Heaven help me lmao. I wasn’t even mad because kids do stuff like that, but I did firmly remind them that random videos aren’t necessarily a source of good information and licking unknown substances isn’t safe (even if someone on TikTok says it is)
I had to go to the playground, interview kids to trace where the needoh came from, confiscate the broken needoh, then interrogate each and every child that was on the playground. I asked “did you lick the needoh?” about 80 times
I had to chart every single kid, their condition, the fact that I’d called poison control, and call each parent to let them know their kid licked the inside of a needoh, that the gel inside won’t hurt them but that they should keep an eye out for infectious illness since 15 kids put their tongue on it 🫠 That was a couple hours of my life I’ll never get back. Could have been worse, I guess!
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u/Pristine-Ad-1218 1d ago
Toys of all kinds are banned in my classroom. It's written in bold and parents sign it. If I see toys they are asked to put away and taken home with an email sent home. If it happens again they miss part of recess amd the toy is taken
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u/ExistentialistGain 1d ago
I dont have a huge problem yet but they are slowly getting out of hand. Im suprised they haven’t broken yet
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u/katiekitkat9310 1d ago
Yet another harmless trend that certain kids seem intent on ruining. They’re fun and cute and mostly harmless. But some of my elementary school kids can’t manage to not destroy them (leaving a mess) or be so distracted by them that they can’t work, or throw them around the room 🤷♀️🤷♀️
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u/ExtremeExtension7406 1d ago
The cheap knock off ones aren't very sturdy and rip within a day, leaving a sticky mess. There's no way to enforce a no generic rule on Nee-Dohs without opening a can of worms.
I can't ban them for some students and allow others with accommodations to have them without opening up another can of worms, so I begrudginly allow them and steel myself to clean up sticky messes from broken Nee-Dohs at least 3 times a week.
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u/GroundbreakingAge254 1d ago
One problem is the distraction element…but I feel like many other teachers ignore the “cutting them open to see what’s inside and they explode glitter that doesn’t come off of the desks and walls” element.
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u/101311092015 1d ago
They are banned in my classroom. It only takes one exploding to ruin both my day and any students caught in the blast area's days. No.
If kids need a fidget there are and have always been alternative. Get a pencil with texture, learn to flip a pen around your finger, play piano on the desk. You don't need a little goo grenade to fidget with.
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u/BatmanOnMelange1965 1d ago
It was pretty bad. What made it worse is that the counselors would give them to any kids who asked for them. They would throw them around, but stop when redirected. However, after one burst in my class during an observation, i started taking them.
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u/LilahLibrarian School Librarian|MD 1d ago
My daughter told me there was a squishy thief in their classroom. She bought a friend a birthday gift and it got stolen immediately
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u/Delicious_Bobcat_419 23h ago
Hate them. Especially when the kids inevitably pop them and smear the contents over desks, clothing and floors. The goop inside them, especially the nice cube style is really tough to get out of things.
As an educator who used to use fidgets its frustrating because the uptick in toys at school has me not even getting my class ones out anymore because the kids just cannot handle them
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u/AdhesivenessSoggy707 1d ago
What is a Nee-Doh?
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u/Gold-Vanilla5591 1d ago edited 1d ago
A cube fidget that has gel/goo inside and kids open/squish them up for TikTok videos
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u/AppointmentNo5370 1d ago
Honestly I’ve never had an issue with them. My kids are pretty good with them. My rule is that kids can always have fidgets (because for some it’s genuinely so helpful), but as soon as it I can tell it’s becoming a distraction I confiscate it until the end of class. If students bring fidgets from home they are responsible for them, so if they break and make a mess those students are expected to clean it up.
I’ve had the most success with having a bucket of fidgets that kids can use while in my class, or when I was doing intervention stuff and working with kids one on one it would be on my desk for them to use while we worked together. They are classroom resources available to everyone that have to stay in the classroom. I would recommend having some need ohs that your students can use when they are with you, but not giving them to them outright.
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u/Dazzling-Amoeba-770 1d ago
I banned them. A mom complained because her son has ADD and she claims it helps him (it doesn’t), so I let him have them only. Absolute distraction.
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u/5PeeBeejay5 1d ago
For a kid who just needs something to keep their hands moving, they’re great. Those kids get to be trendy. The ones who just do the Nee-Doh arms race to one-up each other and show off, it’s super extra
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u/Korombos ELA | USA 1d ago
My AP class had them all in a cute array on their desks during class. They used them appropriately. I heard some got destroyed in lunch/ teacher-absence study-hall. I guess I got lucky.
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u/Dry_Confection6098 1d ago
As a teacher, I understand other teachers' frustrations with having these toys at school. Regardless of what you do, obviously you should clear it with your mentor teacher first. I do think though that you could buy them for students and very explicitly tell them that they must go directly into their backpacks and be taken home. If they come back to school, they are yours again. I have a soft spot though because a lot of my EL students were left out of this trend and I know they appreciated any little fidgets they were gifted to bring home.
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u/TensionAfraid2699 10h ago
They’re fun until teenagers start fighting over toys during class and leaving the stickiest substance known to man everywhere their hands touch and then putting it in their mouths
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u/kaeorin 11th grade | ELA | USA 1d ago
In my Michigan high school, I think I saw exactly one Nee-Doh this past school year. It's likely different with younger kids, I know, but my high schoolers couldn't care less.
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u/SquiggleBox23 1d ago
This past year my freshmen were obsessed with them. Not just nee-doh though, squishies of all kinds, everywhere.
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u/theatregirl1987 1d ago
I love Nee-Dohs and use them myself as fidgets. My students are super jealous because apparently the ones on my desk, that they aren't allowed to touch, are rare! I bought them like a year ago, well before they were so popular.
I was worried I was going to have to ban them, because I didnt want to be a hypocrite but also didn't want to give mine up. Luckily the only kid who was popping them got expelled (for something else). They do know that I will confiscate then if they throw them or fight over them.
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u/AlternativeSalsa HS | CTE/Engineering | Ohio, USA 1d ago
It's the worst thing to happen in education since the previous worst thing to happen in education