Giving In to the Silly Bandz
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 8:08AM Silly Bandz. Seriously….they’re killing me.
I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago when she mentioned these damn things. I was all, “what? Silly What? You’re stupid…you just live in a high-class hoitie toitie area where stupid trendy crap like that rules all.”
Two weeks later my kids come home from school, each wearing little rubber band looking things around their wrists.
My immediate reaction was, “Honey!!!! Did you have the kids listening to Madonna again!!”
But then they took them off and I saw they weren’t the beloved jelly bracelets of my childhood, instead they were in the shapes of cars, robots, and dinosaurs.
I’ll admit it, I fought the kids wearing those them initially. I was all, “I don’t understand why you kids wear those things!! They don’t do anything but just look silly on your arm!!”
Then the boy chimed in, “daddy…they are called ‘silly bandz.’”
Then, like the reflection of one’s life a mere seconds before it’s taken from them, I remembered the Madonna jellies, the Converse Chucks, Jams, Ocean Pacific shirts, Garfield lunch boxes, Inspector Gadget yogurts, and listening to the Beastie Boys full notch through a boom box resting cool-like on my shoulder as I walked down the street.
I can drop a cool $5 on worthless pieces of crap “Bandz” that help create memories for my kids as they blunder their way through childhood. And I look forward to the day when I happen to overhear them at the age of 30 talking with friends having the same conversations we’re having now….
“Yeah…and what about the socks with the different colors stripes at the top, and the Izod shirts, Bon Jovi, and when Guns-N-Roses re-did Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
Just simple mile markers along the journey to adulthood….
Garfield, Madonna, Oean Pacific, bracelets, jams, silly bandz
Reader Comments (13)
We take one away every time one of the kids uses a word from the 'banned' list. Silly Banned as it were...
The Elementary School already banned them because kids were trading them for iPods...seriously.
My 4 year old begged us for Silly Bandz when we saw them at a As Seen on TV store at the mall. We were perplexed- why would a kid need rubber bands? We hardly ever used rubber bands. Of course we said no. Then a month ago her teacher mentioned them, that they had been banned from many of the other classes but that she allowed them as long as they stayed on the kids' wrists. OHHHH so that's what they're for! We asked her, should we get some for Anya? She responded that she didn't see why not, that they were inexpensive and might help her feel like she fit in when the kids were talking about them. So we bought her a pack (and then two more) and they were the best three bucks we ever spent. She loves to play with them, acting out little stories with them, trading them with friends, etc. Best of all, she feels like she fits in with the other kids - something I so desperately wanted to be able to do when I was a kid but couldn't because we didn't have money for charm necklaces, jelly bracelets, Keds, Champion sweatshirts, etc.
And to be honest, I think the Silly Bandz are pretty cool.
Oh yeah and as Jeff mentioned above, they're handy for small punishments. When my daughter does something she knows she's not supposed to do, like pulling her baby brother's arm, I say, "Give me a Silly Band" and she hands one over. She wins them back when she behaves.
I also told her that if I find them anywhere but in her room, I'm keeping them. They're like Polly Pocket shoes and crayons. I'm sick of finding them EVERYWHERE.
Two Words: Dollar Store
LMFAO! Love your attitude daddy who cries! I remember the Punky Brewster socks and the Madonna gloves!! Oh and what about those Garbage Pail kids cards??? LOL! Besides, something is always going to be "the trend" or "the fad" of the time, right. My 14 year old is walking around with one around his wrist for crying out loud, and I haven't bought any! But as far as buying my kids crap so that they "fit in"...sorry Danielle, can't agree with you there. I grew up "disadvantaged" as well and went to a college prep where everyone was wearing the best of the best, but I know that even if my parents could have afforded it, at the end of the day, it's your personality that fits in with others not the brand on your clothes. You keep going down that route, today it's $3 silly bandz, 10 years from now its thousand dollar electronics..simply because everyone has one!!
Visit me some day and follow my stories so you can see what is coming your way in a few years from now at http://stumblesthroughparenthood.com! :)
Dude,
Is that a picture of your Jams?? If it is I want them!
They are actually from my hometown! My oldest and middle girl LOVE Them and occationally look a little madonna-ish. Its okay though, like you said its part of the do you remember whens and I love the 2010's will definitely have them on the list!
Believe it or not, I have not been able to get the information on my website yet but have already had multiple orders for custom Silly Bandz just by word of mouth!!!! Why? I will never understand the craze, but OK, I'm happy to make them for you. My 10 yr old son has a ton of them. I don't get it. (Oh and I'm a wholesaler, so unless you want a THOUSAND of them, no need to call. LOL)
Thank GOD my oldest is only 2 and I don't have to worry about this stupid crap yet. But all I have to say is:POGS and I still have tubes full of them and a POG maker at my mom's house HAHAHA
My nephew has a few of those. I met my sister and her kids at the playground the other day. Some other kid comes up and says
Kid: I'll trade my dump truck for a lion and a zebra"
Nephew: You have a dump truck band?'
Kid: Yeah I got it at a BP
Nephew: Whats a BP
Kid: You dont know what a BP is?
Nephew: Never heard of it"
Me in my mind: Kid you aint got a F'n clue what BP is or stands for. Nephew, you rock for not having a clue about BP. Stay away from BP, far far away...
and did you know.... that they also come in MLB shapes? Such as shapes of your fav team logo? My PERSONAL favorite is the outline of the NY for the Yankees.... LOVE IT
I am still looking for the diamond one for myself to wear with my madona corset.. Also trying to figure out their worth in trade, since it looks like silly bandz may be my only household asset seems like I could get a can of pork and beans for them or something huh?
Too bad you weren't garage saleing with me today...silly bands...99 cents for a shit load of them. Oh well, ya snooze, ya lose ;)