13 playground crazes which may have been banned by your school over the years - some for bizarre reasons

• Many popular toys and games have been banned by schools over the years
• They have been outlawed for various reasons, from being too disruptive to causing injuries
• One toy was even banned at some schools due to privacy concerns

They are among the most popular toys and games to have swept the nation over the years, from traditional pastimes to the latest must-have gadget.

Yet they have all ended up being banned by some schools after driving teachers to distraction.

In some cases, it was because they were disrupting lessons, in others it was due to concerns over injuries - with one popular game reportedly the cause of many a broken bone.

Below are some of the biggest playground crazes from recent times back to the 1970s and beyond which have been banned, and the reasons which were given.

Clackers

Clackers were the fidget spinners of the 70s - an addictive but ultimately pointless game which a generation of youngsters wasted hours playing.

They consisted of two acrylic balls dangling from a length of string which you had to knock against each other to make the distinctive ‘clacking’ sound.

Sadly, the balls had a worrying tendency to 'explode', which led resulted in them being banned by many schools due to safety concerns.

One person recalled: “I loved clackers. But fair play they were nasty if they broke. “

Furbies

Cute or annoying? Your verdict on Furbies probably depends on how old you were when the fluffy interactive ‘pets’ first hit the shelves in the late 90s.

Teachers were not generally big fans, it’s fair to say, with the popular toy considered an unwelcome distraction at many schools, especially due to the noises they made.

There were also unfounded concerns over privacy, with some people believing they could record and transmit conversations, even though their maker explained they did not have the ability to record.

One person recalled how Furbies were banned at their school as everyone took theirs in with them one day and there were 30 of them all asking to be fed at the same time.

British bulldog

How many of you remember playing British bulldog in the school playground?

The aim of the game was to make it from one side to the other without getting stopped by the catcher, or ‘bulldog’.

If you got stopped then you became one of the catchers, and the game continued until there was just one runner left.

Trouble was there were no real rules beyond that, and the methods used to stop someone or to escape the bulldogs often bordered on physical assault.

Given that, it’s perhaps unsurprising the game was banned by many schools and is rarely played today.

Many veterans of the game recalled a game of British bulldog ending in serious injury at their school, including broken bones.

Slap bracelets

Slap bracelets, or snap bands, were big in the 80s and 90s.

Children back then fell for the simple pleasure of slapping the straight bands against their wrists and watching them satisfying coil around into a bracelet shape.

The trouble is they typically consisted a thin piece of flexible steel inside a fabric or plastic covering, and there were concerns that poorly made versions could cause injuries.

Many people recalled slap bracelets being banned at their school, though this was often due to them being a distraction rather than anyone actually getting hurt.

Battling tops/Beyblades

Children in the 60s and 70s had battling tops, while noughties youngsters had Beyblades.

They both involved launching spinning tops into an arena and hoping yours was the last one standing, but Beyblades were a jazzed-up, highly customisable version which resonated with a new generation of schoolchildren.

Whichever version it is you remember, lots of people recalled the game being banned at their school.

That was usually because it led to fights or due to sought-after Beyblades getting stolen, though some people recalled injuries resulting from playing the game.

Conkers

Playing conkers is a classic autumn pastime which used to be an essential part of growing up in Britain.

From the thrill of finding an unbeatable conker to the huge upsets as a ‘none-er’ beat a trusty giant of the arena, via the inevitable claims that a rival had baked their conker or soaked it in vinegar, the game had it all.

Conkers is certainly not as common as it once was but it’s up for debate whether that’s a case of ‘health and safety gone mad’, as some people love to tell you, or children today having more options when it comes to entertainment.

Lots of people recalled conkers being banned at their school, in one case because a teacher tried to stop a contest and apparently ended up with a broken nose after taking a direct hit.

Yo-yos

The humble yo-yo is a toy which has endured, delighting many generations of youngsters while other fads have come and gone.

From the basic enjoyment of getting your yo-yo to fall and then magically rise, to the excitement of mastering ever more challenging tricks, it has provided hours of harmless fun.

That fun has not always been harmless enough for some teachers, however.

Lots of people told how yo-yos had been banned at their schools, usually after they ended up being wielded as weapons, with reports of the toys causing numerous black eyes and broken teeth.

Sticky slap hands

Surely nothing could be more harmless than these sticky, stretchy hands, which have been around since the 1980s?

Yet apparently they were banned at a number of schools due to concerns they could strangle pupils.

And there was me thinking the only danger was them getting covered in carpet fur and losing their ability to cling to walls and windows.

Pokemon/TMNT cards

Pokemon trading cards have been around for nearly 30 years and lots of people remember them being banned at their school.

This was sometimes because disputes over the cards led to fights, it seems, and sometimes because teachers considered it to be a form of gambling.

The same logic has been applied to similar games, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle trading cards and Pogs.

Loom bands

Loom bands were everywhere in 2014. The tiny, multicoloured elastic bands which could be woven into bracelets swept the globe as the craze took off.

Unsurprisingly, they ended up being banned at various schools.

This was sometimes because they were viewed as a distraction and in other instances because they were blamed for fights, with the loom bands reportedly even being used as weapons in some cases.

They were also a pain to clean up, as any parent who has tired of finding them all over the floor and behind the sofa will attest.

Fidget spinners

Originally designed to help children with autism, ADHD and other conditions deal with stress, these pocket-sized toys really took off in 2017, when they had youngsters around the world in a spin.

The gadget, featuring three rounded blades which spin mesmercially around the central bearings, became a must-have item after YouTube videos of people performing tricks with them racked up millions of views.

Many schools banned fidget spinners because they were considered a distraction, with some teachers reporting children throwing them around the classroom.

Bottle flipping

Bottle flipping was the skill everyone was trying to perfect back in 2016 after a video of someone performing the trick went viral.

It involves throwing a partially filled plastic bottle so that it spins in the air before landing upright on its base or, more impressively, on its cap.

Many schools banned it because it was a noisy distraction, but there are reports online of it causing more serious problems.

One person told how someone accidentally hit a fire alarm with a bottle, setting it off, while another person recalled how a pupil had been hit in the face with a bottle, drawing blood, after it was tossed high into the air by a classmate.

Tamagotchis

These virtual pets in their egg-shaped cases originated in Japan and were first big in the 1990s and early noughties.

It was your job to raise them from egg to adult, taking care of their every need, from feeding them and cleaning up after them to playing with them and looking after them if they became sick.

They were banned in many schools due to the constant beeping noises from the electronic pets seeking their keepers’ attention, and the fact pupils were distracted as they didn’t want their Tamagotchi to die.

One person, writing on a popular Reddit thread, described how Tamagotchis were ‘basically animal cruelty once the teachers caught on’.

Because pupils were banned from getting them out in class, they explained, many Tamagotchis just fouled themselves ‘until they starved to death in your pocket’.

How many of these toys and games do you remember, and were any banned at your school?

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