³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Do you Pop It? Or should we drop it?

Loads of us are popping it at the moment, with more 2.5 billion people watching Pop It videos on video sharing platform, TikTok.

The Pop It has replaced the fidget spinner as the must-have item on playgrounds all over the UK.

But are you allowed them in school? And if you do play with them, what do you like about them? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

A Pop It is a fidget toy where users repeatedly pop dimples in and out - similar to bubble wrap.

It's an endless cycle because, after you've popped out all of one side, you just flip it over and start popping again.

The Pop It has become really popular on TikTok, with the hashtag #PopIt getting more than 2.5 billion views.

Toy stores in the UK have taken note of the growing trend by buying millions of Pop Its for their shops.

Hayley Dolman, senior buyer at The Works, told Newsround: "We've seen phenomenal sales, selling thousands every week."

"We knew this would be a real trend even though our stores were closed at the start or the year. In early February we air freighted stock in."

Fidget toys like Pop Its have been used by health care professionals as a way of helping children who have anxiety or sensory difficulties. This is where a child finds it difficult to respond to information from their senses. So, they may react badly to anything that triggers their senses including light, sound, touch, taste or smell.

Dr Will Shield is a child psychologist from the University of Exeter and he told Newsround that sensory toys like this have been around for generations: "Sensory toys have been used for years, as far back as the 1970s.

"Psychologists in the Netherlands created sensory rooms to help children with disabilities, where they were interested in lights, sounds and objects to play with and touch. This helped to calm and relax people during therapy sessions.

"Sensory toys activate one or more of our senses, for example our sight, hearing or our sense of touch.

"So when we are feeling a big emotion - like being scared or worried - then playing with something that looks, feels or sounds different can help take our attention away from that big emotion.

"Sensory toys can also help us with concentration and attention, just like how adults play with a pen when they're trying to listen to something."

The Pop It isn't the first fidget toy to become a must have accessory on the playground.

There has also been twerking llamas, loom bands and of course, fidget spinners.

Millions of fidget spinners were sold after the spinning disk toy went viral in 2017.

They became pretty controversial and lots of schools decided to ban them on the grounds that they were too distracting.

But is your school letting you take in your Pop It? And if you use them, why do you like them? Let us know!