Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
You twirl it, swing it, flip it and balance it ... the age-old juggling game of diabolo is back in vogue and the playground pastime has taken the kingdom's younger generation by storm, writes Asma Salman.
A simple contraption made with plastic or wood with a single piece of string attached to two hand-held wooden or metal sticks is the hottest toy amongst children on the island.
Shops cannot keep up with the demand for the toys and desperate parents have had to beg friends and family members living in Europe to buy them and post them to Bahrain or wait for weeks for them to arrive from foreign sellers on the internet.
Although not a hi-tech toy of the future, parents and school authorities have welcomed the spinning sensation as a refreshing change from the rapid button-pressing gizmos that have replaced the more traditional games of yesteryears. Apart from simply being a delightful game, diabolo is great for developing motor skills.
