Okay, I’ll admit it. I never heard of these things until one day, I think it was Nikki who said something about them laying all over her house and then JAM and MSSC chimed in that they also have them all over their homes.
Now I’ve heard them mentioned all over the place. Nightline had a whole segment on them one night. They have them all over in stores and some stores are having a hard time keeping up with the demand. Even Justin Bieber has his own Silly Bandz.
I’ve heard that some schools are banning these because of distractions but I don’t know. I kind of believe you can’t take everything away from kids. I kind of think these are neat. We’ve always worn bracelets and such to school. I guess if a child can’t handle it, they should be taken away from just that child. Not everything distracts everyone in the same way. I know my boys would have loved collecting these and I can remember those “gel bracelets” that we used to wear and trade as well as homemade friendship bracelets.
Here’s a photo I got from mssc of what can happen if you never take them off. I remember once when I was a kid and I wore a band-aid on the same finger in the same spot for months and all the skin under it died from not breathing and it looked like this and let me tell you IT HURT! So just keep this in mind.
What do you think of silly bandz? Do you have them in your home? Are you a fan of trends in general? What trend did you hate and what trend did you like and hate to see end?
Us Girls..Our Views 
The preschoolers I work with are TOTALLY into this fad. We have the following policy with them (as well as any other jewelry or accessory): they stay on your arm (or wherever the accessory is) or goes into your cubby. Otherwise they distract the other children with them… don’t listen to teachers… put them into their mouths… and then onto their shoes… and then back in their mouths. This policy works for us.
I can’t believe that picture!! It baffles me that parents would let their children leave those bands on all the time. It would make sense to me to make them take it off at night… and considering the dangers of leaving them on (those wounds look really painful!!), it seems like it would be a battle worth fighting!
That all being said.. I’m not a big fan of trends and if I had kids would not really want to encourage them inside my home.
Wow I didn’t realize those bracelts could do that to your arm!! Yes I have seen these. Hunter recieved one at the fair this year. I think it was a mini van. Well it lasted until we got home and he broke it. I don’t really see what the big deal is about these. But I’m not a young girl either…lol It’s cool that they come in all kinds of colors and shapes. I don’t know how they could be a distraction! It’s just like any other bracelet.
Something away from the subject. open viewzi.com and search for joy ericksons blog and see what u get.
You get these bands becoz of tightening of the skin. You can buy a loose one so that it wont touch the skin.
The silly bandz mania started here with a classmate who gave a couple out to each child as party favors. I had heard of them and the first time I saw them in a store, they wanted $5 for a little pack of them, so I told my girls, if you want that, you have to earn $5 to buy it, and that means pick up 5 buckets of leaves in the yard. Their meddling auntie heard this and went out the next day and bought them each a package of them. Ugh! Later the girls did some yard work and spent their money on still more silly bandz. And once in a while, their teacher gives them out as rewards.
My eldest was really into the bandz for a while. I had to make her take them off overnight and for baths, or they would have never come off. They were also a convenient thing to take away for discipline issues. My youngest isn’t a big fan of them, so she lets big sis borrow hers. So big sis has been known to go everywhere with two dozen silly bandz on her wrist. (They make for good counting practice, by the way.) Nowadays, she uses them more like actual jewelry, picking several that match the colors in her clothes.
The only real problem I have with the bandz is that sometimes the kids put them in their mouths, subconsciously, over and over. Or occasionally there is an argument over them. So I take them away when those things happen. Their teacher seems to have the same policy that Lucy mentioned above. So while my initial reaction to the fad was negative, I’m pretty neutral now.
Ive seen them and didnt realize they were arm bands, i thought they were hair ties. lol
I thought they were hair ties at first too Vicki. LOL!!!
We have them here at my house! All over my house! My youngest daughter’s school has told them, as with any type of bracelet, that they must limit it to one per arm. My oldest daughter, the high school senior, wears about 10 of them at one time. Her school has no rule about them. She has to take them off when she goes to intern at her vet’s office every afternoon so at least she won’t get those sores! Ouch!
I don’t mind these silly little fads the kids have. They are innocent and the kids have fun.
The picture of the arm does look painful. I remember braclets in school I think if they are not distracting the class or teacher or hurting the child why not. Trends usually by the time the trend is over I finially warm up to it if at all. I was glad to see leggings go I never wore them.
I watched our eight year old daughter (in our back yard) this past week with a friend of hers. Her friend gave her a large sillyband and our daughter promptly slipped it over her head and wore it as a “necklace!” I told her that that was not what they were designed for and she should not put anything around her neck unless she got it from me or her mom (like a necklace). She comes home from school just about everyday with more sillybands. So many that they were beginning to leave mark on her wrist. I also told her that if I see ANY sillybands leaving a mark on her wrist that I would take the scissors and cut them off. Our new sillyband rule is that they come off every day when she bathes and they do not go back on until the next day. Also, they can be cut off at any time dad feels the need. 🙂
Like most things, when you have children, it all comes down to actively parenting your child. Sillybands are not for lazy parents.
I’ll bet your a lot smarter this time around the ol’parenting gig.
Thanks for the photo.
Gosh,I must be out of touch with the world because Ive never seen or heard of these,not in that odd shape anyhow.They look cute.Cant see them being a problem in school etc especially with sensible rules in place.
I’d never heard of them either Karen. I do think they’re kind of cute.
Once again, I’m thanking God that He gave me a boy! Josh got one sillyband as a prize at a fest we went to a couple weeks ago, and it made about as big an impression on him as the rest of the junk he got… he played with it for maybe three seconds, and it was done with.
I’m just flabbergasted that parents will actually pay for these stupid things!! Honestly, I saw a pkg of 12 the other day for $4!!! FOUR DOLLARS for 12 little rubber bands! What are people thinking?
Otherwise, I tend to agree with other folks… it’s a fad, treated responsibly (not in the mouth, not over the head, take them off once in a while, don’t shoot peas across the room with them) it’s no big deal. This, too, shall pass.
LOL!!! My boys would have like them. Toby would have used them for shooting pea’s! Jason would have wanted to collect them. They are both so different.
Thanks for the tip on Pea Shootin! I never would have thought about that one! When I do find them on the floor I do shoot them at the offender who left it there!
They’re rubber bands!! Of COURSE you’d shoot peas with them!! not that I’d know about that first hand, of course, being the responsible adult that I am…
Like we’re really going to believe that at this point!
I am the picture of responsibility.
(ok, where’d my nerf dart go? it was right here a minute ago!)
Okay all you guys who have so many of these on hand. Just how long do they keep their shape after all this stretching?
So far ours haven’t lost their shape. Sometimes they break, and my kid will then ask me to fix them, which is an interesting matter. Mostly I just remind them that nothing lasts forever and they shouldn’t stretch them so much if they want to keep them.
My girls have had theirs all summer and so far they have all kept their shape.
My 4 year niece loves these things, thankfully my son does not! I haven’t heard anything about them form the school yet. I can see why kids would want the, collect them and trade them. But for someone like me, I didn’t need an excuse to be distracted in school, I just was. These would have made it worse, I’m sure!
This picture is so disturbing, more because why didn’t the parents notice?!
They are trendy here too. I’ve never seen them lose their shape, and as far as leaving them on your arm too long…um, where was the parent? I think they are an innocent fad that will pass with time like all fads do.
BTW, Joy, I answered your scone question on my blog.
Thanks Kween. I’ll be over to take a look.
The kids have made new friends from trading them in school.
This is a good thing.
Great article. Working on a school project about this:http://funnybandz.biz/ .