Silly Bands

Have your kids gotten silly band fever yet? I thought mine were immune until we ran across them in San Francisco. Jiro bought a pack, wore them for a few days, then got over it. However, once school started up, it became THE thing.

Last week, they discovered that their cousin had over 200 silly bands. They spent about 45 minutes doing trade negotiations.


Clearly, Sutton did a lot of sharing. The silly bands are actually kind of cute. Each one is a different shape, but you have to take it off to see the shape. Some glow in the dark, some are multi-colored, some can even be necklaces. I like that they spark conversation among the kids and it does seem to get everyone excited.


Because the monkeys had been exceptionally good, I agreed to buy them each a pack of silly bands, which run about $2 for a 12 pack. Walgreens has them conveniently located next to the register. It only took the monkeys about twenty minutes to decide which pack they wanted. The next day at school, Satchel managed to trade the one he liked best and was devastated. He begged to go back and buy another pack.


At school, silly band wearing is allowed and their teacher even lets them trade during lunch and at recess. Mr. Jason argues that they will do it regardless so it is better to give them a time and space to do it "legally." Also there is quite a bit of bartering and figuring that goes on. Some bands are worth more than others, sometimes you make a good trade, sometimes you don't, etc. So you could argue that there is some educational benefit from the silly band trade. The school has been wary of getting the primary kids too wrapped up the craze, but as you can see from the photo I took at pick up, they are definitely curious. There could be trouble ahead.


My only concern--beyond possibly spending large amounts of money on these things--is the kids wearing too many too tightly. I've been talking to Jiro about coordinating them with his outfit or just picking certain colors/themes to wear each day. So far, it's working. He and Satchel both have their own "jewelry boxes" where they keep their bands. Every so often they take them out, examine them, compare, trade, etc. Jiro very happily showed me each of his and which ones he liked best.

I asked Satchel why he liked silly bands so much and he replied, "They're popular, cool, and fun."

What do you think? Love them or hate them?