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Insulated from Sillybandz


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Do your kids have Sillybandz? They are fad rubberbands to be worn around the wrist by the dozen. Mine have seen them at Scouts, the park, and the odd birthday party. I can tell they feel they ought to demand some but just can't work up the enthusiasm. I got curious and looked up their website and the letters/testimonials. The words "school" and "class" come up alot. I felt like someone had just slipped $ in my pocket! (They are $6 for what looks to be a small pack of maybe 15 ultraskinny, ultrabreakable rubberbands)

 

I read that some kids have special request shapes. I wonder what shape SBz would have to have to make them catch fire w/in the hs community?? (At $6/pack, they would have to be shaped like tomorrow's winning Lotto #s for me to buy.)

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My son has two packs - one is reptile-themed, and the other musical instruments. They cost $3/pack; he bought one and I bought one. They'll end up in his drawer with all the other little stuff he grows tired of in a week or two. I consider them harmless, silly junk du jour.

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My kids love them! It's been fun to watch them trade with each other and their friends. I even have a collection--I take the ones they fight over. I have a set to give to my violin students. They're perfectly harmless and fun!

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One of my kids has close to two hundred. She keeps them on a rapeling clip which she clips to her back pack. She picks all of a certain color family to wear to match her outfit each day. The one good thing about them is when they get tired of them, they can be used as regular but somewhat interesting rubber bands.

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My kids were introduced to them at ds's YMCA class - the instructor gave one to each kid at the end of class - and by their big sister. Yes, they are still a big thing in high school.

 

I have a couple of packages I bought for $1.99 for a package of 25 that I'm using as behaviour incentives for the younger kids. I think they are animal and princess themes. With the way they've been behaving lately, those two packs are going to last a LOOOONG time. :glare:

 

They're no better or worse than a lot of other fads I've seen in the past 16 years. They do break easily which upsets my son. They are certainly cheaper than some fads (furby's?). When I was in school it was Cabbage Patch dolls, Smurfs and Trolls.

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I have a couple of packages I bought for $1.99 for a package of 25 that I'm using as behaviour incentives for the younger kids.

 

Some mom I talked to paid $5.99 + tax for hers. This is a huge price difference ... are there special expensive "collectors edition" packs that could cost 3x the regular kind?

Edited by mirth
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I think so. I think certain shapes come out in only certain brands and as a limited quantity. I purchased mine at the grocery store and I'm pretty sure they are an "off" brand. I've seen about 5-6 different brands around at this point. Once you open the package there is nothing to indicate what brand Silly Bands you have unless its a unique shape. At this point my kids have no clue about any of that stuff, they just like them so I buy the cheapest ones I can find.

 

Edited: I jsut looked at mine. They are just called Shaped Rubber Bands and I have Dinos and Farm Animals. (I think Princess, Sports and Wild Animals were the others available).

Edited by dottieanna29
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I think there are off brands.. But its hard to tell the difference (other than packaging) . they did have them at the dollar tree but were sold out when we went. The craze took offff!! lol My mom found them at the drug store. $3 for a pack of 12? I think it was. you want to see something funny type in Sillybandz on ebay!! ;)

 

its funny how certain things become so popular so quickly!

My daughter gave me one to wear.. "mom you have to have this" lol well I get more comments from all the kids in the neighborhood.

 

I think its cute, very harmless and there are much worse things that could be the trend!!

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We bought one package of them at our grocery store ($3.00) after my 6 yo saw them at a birthday party.

 

We have the music ones with shapes like eighth notes, guitars, flutes, trumpets, etc.

 

I think they're fun. I love how they return to the original shape when you take them off.

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My girls have tons of these now. My BIL brought some over last winter, and for months afterwards, the girls would search stores for them. They were hard to find at first, so we'd buy a pack on the rare occasion we actually found them. Then I had to put a stop to that policy once they became available everywhere.

 

Public schools are now beginning to ban these things in their buildings. It was just one more little perk to homeschooling that I remind the kids of: "hey girls! aren't you glad you homeschool and can wear your sillybands to the table? Your friends in public school sure can't do that." :)

 

Here's an article on the ban: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/nyregion/17toy.html. I think I saw something else on the ban in Time magazine too.

 

The guy who invented them was pleasantly surprised at their success. But I can see already that soon he'll need to put warning labels on the packages. If the kids wear too many at once, it cuts off circulation in the wrist. That could lead to all sorts of problems. So, I make sure the girls take them off after a while.

 

Still... it's funny what comes into fashion, isn't it?

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Both of my boys love them, and even my 3yo will trade with neighborhood kids. He somehow manages to get the older kids to give up the monkey and glow-in-the-dark ones that are harder to find! Our church uses the Christian themed and animal ones as incentives for a variety of things. The kids love them. Me, I just hate finding them throughout the house in the strangest of places! :)

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My kids have seen them and have friends that have them, but have no desire for them. Thank goodness. I have enough problems with regular hairbands and Legos floating around the house. I don't need those rubberbands added.

 

That said, I think they're cute. If the kids want some, I'll get them a package. I'm just glad they don't!

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My son has two packs - one is reptile-themed, and the other musical instruments. They cost $3/pack; he bought one and I bought one. They'll end up in his drawer with all the other little stuff he grows tired of in a week or two. I consider them harmless, silly junk du jour.

 

Well not completely harmless. These were big in TN at Christmas, my sister got my DD a couple packs as well as her own DD (we were visiting for the holidays). Well a few days after Christmas we were doing a couple of loads of laundry at my parents home on the trip and not in my normal routine, I forgot to check the pockets of her pants. Apparently there was a crack in the tub of the washer and the silly bandz left in her pocket manage to completely get tangled in the part of the washer in the drainage like a paddle wheel. Had to call a plumber and would have cost big money to repair. My mom decided to just get a new washer and we gave her $200 towards it. My daughter knows not to even ask for more now that the fad has hit down here in FL.

Edited by piraterose
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I don't allow them in the house though because my cats will eat them and it causes a mess of problems.

 

Ewwww! I had a cat that ate rubberbands, too, so I KNOW what you mean about a mess of problems. Thankfully our current cat doesn't care for the flavor of rubberbands :D because there are a couple of those bands floating around here somewhere.

 

 

Cinder

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Ummm....I'm the one who got my kids interested LOL. They are so cute. But $6 a pack is crazy! We picked up a few packs at Wal Mart the other day for $1 each. I did let my kids have a pack of Disney ones (Toy Story 3 and Princesses) for $4 each (but those had 20 in them). And we've gotten a few packs for $3 each. But never $6! I wear them too LOL.

 

My kids don't really socialize with a lot of other kids....they trade with each other, with their 16 year old aunt, and their cousins have some too.

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I read that some kids have special request shapes. I wonder what shape SBz would have to have to make them catch fire w/in the hs community?? (At $6/pack, they would have to be shaped like tomorrow's winning Lotto #s for me to buy.)

 

 

Apparently the color blue and the music note shape. :001_smile: Now all my children including the tiny 4 year old have to sport them. (Ad yes they spend their own money on them)

 

What area of the store would these be in?

I found the off brands at Wal mart for 1:00 on the side at the end of one of the toy aisles. Cvs had them at the side at the end of the summer aisle for 5.97. BAMM had them at the register and Dollar store had off brand on an aisle and the register. I've seen 4 or 5 types with the trade mark costing the most. Trading seems to be big. We have collections of princess, beach, music, easter jesus, dinos,farm animals, some kind of food collection, and zoo animals that I can remember. Some glow in the dark too.

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My DD's gotten some at birthday parties and has bought some of the cheap versions with her own money (Walgreens has them here near the cash register). She gives most of them away, which seems to be the case with most of her dance friends-they'll get a pack of 12 and enjoy giving one to everyone in the group, and then the next week another child will do the same. I think she has about 20 of the things.

 

 

I figure there have been worse fads.

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I was going to be anti-buying them. I have been seeing ridiculous sums of them on all the kids we come into contact with. But then a neighbor girl gave my dd a couple and they are cute on her.

 

So.... I caved today and bought her a Disney princess pack at Walmart. It was $4 for 20.

 

I hadn't heard they were banned in some states?

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I was going to be anti-buying them. I have been seeing ridiculous sums of them on all the kids we come into contact with. But then a neighbor girl gave my dd a couple and they are cute on her.

 

So.... I caved today and bought her a Disney princess pack at Walmart. It was $4 for 20.

 

I hadn't heard they were banned in some states?

 

Sorry, I meant by some state school systems.

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I have to admit that I get annoyed by an fad like this. I hate to see my kids go batty about something that is trendy. BUT, my boys have them.

 

When I was growing up I wasn't allowed to have anything trendy. It wasn't a money issue it was an anti- trend issue. If something was popular, by that virtue alone, I couldn't have it.

 

Some of that must have stuck because I am annoyed by it and wish my kids were anti-trend enough on their own to not want them. But they are kind of cute and I can't find anything to be morally opposed to so they can have them. I really hated that my parents were against everything just to be against it.

 

So, I caved on the silly bandz.

 

My ds did have some mini ones that were too tight and restricted blood flow! My boys keep them on a lanyard now.

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One of the girls in the co-op we ran out of my home came with a bunch of them on her wrist like bracelets. My son just HAD to have some. He bought a pack with his own money, they all snapped or disappeared, and he forgot about them. That was that.

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My dc have a pack each. They are not that into them at all but wanted to try them. I'm kind of happy that there is a harmless and cheap fad they can actually participate in and have fun with (they are about $3 here for a pack.) Most of the usual fads are not so great.

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I am 21 years old and had no idea these things existed until I started working at a summer camp with dh. Several of the other summer staffers were wearing them during our orientation. The first week of preteen camp was last week, and lots of kids are wearing them, and/or buying them from an adult seller at the camp, and losing them all over the place.

 

I don't really understand the point, though I guess it's cool that the rubber bands have shapes and pretty colors. My younger sister, who's also working at the camp, has some now -- but only because kids left them behind and she took them.

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my ds (12) thinks they are stupid and wants no part of them. My dd (10) loves them and has a decent collection that she has mostly purchased herself. I can usually find a small package at Shoprite for $1.99. She and her friends trade them and wear them and admire them. It seems to be no different from the sticker and/or stationary craze of my youth.

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All of my kids have these and love them, including my 16 yo ds. My youngest trades them with several of her friends at co-op or whenever they get together. The couple that designed these is actually from our town, so we like to support them and the kids enjoy the perks of supporting them.

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I think they are good, clean fun. I haven't bought any just because I haven't run across them in my shopping. My kids were given some when we went to FL for our older ds service. They were trading them with their friends there. They remind me of pogs from back when my ds was little. We still have his pogs in the storage tube. Useless, but gave him lots of enjoyment. For dh and I that is what it is all about.

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My kids love them. We bought several different packs on clearance at Walmart for 1.00 a pack! So....I'm happy. I think they are just cute fun. At least it's not something 'distasteful'.

It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid and we made friendship pins and friendship bracelets. Just cute.

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I think they are good, clean fun. I haven't bought any just because I haven't run across them in my shopping. My kids were given some when we went to FL for our older ds service. They were trading them with their friends there. They remind me of pogs from back when my ds was little. We still have his pogs in the storage tube. Useless, but gave him lots of enjoyment. For dh and I that is what it is all about.

 

They sell them at Learning Express.

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They remind me of pogs from back when my ds was little. We still have his pogs in the storage tube. Useless, but gave him lots of enjoyment.

 

I had Pogs! :D

 

and aha - I didn't know what you guys were talking about until I googled and discovered that these are the things I saw at the mall the other day. Cute!

 

I don't think they're all that popular here yet....or at least not with the kids in our neighbourhood...

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