Silly Bandz? Where did this new craze emerge from? Well, if you have a child between the ages of 4 and 17 you are more than well aware of what a Silly Bandz is. For those of you who don’t have a child or choose not to keep up with the latest fad, Silly Bandz are shaped rubber bands made out of silicone distributed from a company called Brainchild Products. They can be worn as bracelets, anklets, and they are traded by children based on the color and shape of the bandz.

Avoiding the Craze

Avoiding the craze may be difficult. The relatively inexpensive item is often given away as party gifts, prizes, or fun gifts from friends, so your child may end up with one even though you try to keep them away. So far, they are pretty harmless, unless you look at the problems the trading has caused in schools. Many schools have banned the wear and trade of Silly Bandz on school property because of the distraction, fighting and other issues the Bandz have created during school hours. Not really an uncommon occurrence for children in these age groups.

Other concerns include causing a restriction of blood flow in the hands and arms. If children are collecting so many that they keep them on their arms, it may potentially cause a problem. Use caution and let your children know how many they are allowed to wear at one time (no more than 10 would be a good suggestion). I would also recommend making rules for taking them off when they sleep, swim, or are doing any activity where the bandz could get caught (as with any jewelry) and pose a risk.

Getting Started

If you have caved in to your child’s desire or have been forced to join in on the collecting craze, you can pretty much look everywhere and you will see Silly Bandz for sale. I have seen them in the mall at a center kiosk, at Walgreens, Meijer, Blockbuster, and other local retailers. Online you can search for “Silly Bandz” on Shindigz, Buy, Paper Source, or BeWild. The cost is about $5 for 24 Bandz. Imitation bands are available, but may not be as high a quality as the original product. The cost is about the same.

Types of Silly Bandz

The hottest new fashion craze comes in all sorts of shapes and colors and even in UV color-changing, glow-in-the-dark, glitter, and tie-die. The shapes include (but are not limited to) pet animals, zoo animals, sea creatures, basic shapes such as stars, money signs, and bones, dinosaurs, western such as boots, hats and cowboys, letters, princess packs, fantasy shapes, and rockbandz. Oh, and did I mention, the company is also bringing out specific groups such as “Spring” and then retiring the product to make them more “valuable” to collectors? Disney has a line of bandz to include Toy Story and professional sports marketing have gotten in on the craze with NFL lines and MLB products. There have also been rumors floating around concerning licensing agreements for favorite characters such as SpongeBob —we will just have to wait to see where this craze takes society!!!

Trading Silly Bandz

Now that your children are into this new hobby, they can trade with friends. Explain the rules about trading to help avoid problems. Explain the rules such as: no take backs, mutual agreements, all conditions must be expressed prior to trading, and following school rules concerning the wear and trade of Silly Bandz. This may help your child to avoid issues when trading. You may also want to help your child establish a “keep pile” and a “trade pile” so they don’t trade away a favorite Silly Bandz. Some of our favorites are in the Sea Creatures Silly Bandz Pack.

Good luck avoiding the craze if that is your goal, but if you get sucked in, have fun and enjoy the ride while it last!

Do you have any stories about Silly Bandz? How did you get involved? We would love to hear from you.