Schools Are Saying No to Silly Bandz

by Lesley Kennedy (Subscribe to Lesley Kennedy's posts)
Sep 17th 2010 1:30PM

Filed under: In The News, Fashion, Tween Culture

Denver area schools are banning little rubber bracelets known as "Silly Bandz." Credit: Alan Diaz, AP

Silly Bandz may make kids giddy, but schools are frowning on the trendy plastic bracelets.

And, increasingly, administrators nationwide are telling students to keep their Silly Bandz at home.

The Denver Post reports that at least three middle schools and several elementary schools in the Denver area have banned the bands. And, according to Time magazine, schools in New York, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Alabama and North Carolina are also saying no to the rubber bracelets.

The problem with the bands that bend into different shapes -- from dinosaurs to letters to princess themes to Justin Beiber forms? They're a big distraction.

ParentDish received a letter sent home to parents of one kindergarten class at another school in the Denver Public School district, that reads in part: "I'd like your child to keep the Silly Bandz at home. Every day they seem to be a problem. ... Children are chewing on them, putting them around their necks, shoes, legs and fingers. They are using them as sling shots. Child #1 'gives' a band to child #2 and then child #1 wants it back later on in the day but child #2 refuses to give it back and then child #1 cries and cries."

Jonathan Wolfer, principal of Douglass Elementary School in Boulder, tells the Post kids were more preoccupied with trading Silly Bandz than with what the teacher was teaching.

"We decided at a faculty meeting at the end of August, " he tells the newspaper. "We had a consistent message that we have an electronics policy, where we ask kids to leave their iPods and cellphones at home, and we rolled the Silly Bandz into the same policy."

While school administrators may be fed up, one sector that's definitely grinning over the Silly Bandz craze is retail.

Diana Nelson, owner of Kazoo and Company toy store in Denver, tells the Post she's selling between 20 and 25 sacks of Silly Bandz a day, at about $5 for 24 bands.

"I knew we had to order them," she tells the Post. "If you wait, you can't get the product. They are hard to keep in stock. ... It's an affordable, quick gift, in this economy."

Related: British School Bans Valentine's Day Cards

ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)

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9-17-2010 @ 8:12PM

Kris said...

The middle school here banned them due to their use as slingshots. They make some paper thing called a "hornet" and shot those with the silly bandz. Several kids have been hit in the face with 2 being hit in the eye. Enough is enough.

9-18-2010 @ 12:39PM

Rene said...

Kris,
guess you're not old enough to remember when good old fashioned rubber bands and paper clips (standard school supplies) served the same purpose. Let's not forget straws and paper wads (spit balls) and any other thing one kid's goig to hurl at another (including words).
Where do you draw the line??
Best place is at home yelling "You'll put someones eye out"!
land the helicopter

9-17-2010 @ 8:49PM

Sandy said...

This is sooooo crazy about the silly bands. What about when you where in school and just shot regular rubber bands. What happened when you go caught. To the office and mom or dad was called. When you got home your ass was whipped from here to china. Excuse the pun. Why does the school alway have to worry about the distractions and not there acedemics anymore. You bring it to school leave it in the back pack. Any way these are bracelets. So a child is not to wear a braclet either!!!!!!! Take care of your our kid stop making the schools be responsable for you kids actions.

9-17-2010 @ 8:55PM

marri said...

here here sandy!! damn right!!! haaaaaaaaaa!! haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

9-17-2010 @ 9:07PM

sue said...

WHAT ABOUT THE PANTS YOUR KIDS WEAR TODAY , HANGING OFF YOUR A # # . THAT IS A DISTRACTION . WEAR A BELT PULL UP YOUR BAGGY PANTS IN THE OLD DAYS YOU WERE DRESSED NICELY CLEAN CUT... THE KIDS ARE RULEING US... WE CAN NOT WHIP THEM ANY MORE IF WE DO THE COPS ARE CALLED.. I GOT ALOT OF WHPPINGS IT TAUGHT ME HOW TO TREAT PEOPLE NICE.. NO KILLING LIKE IT WAS IN THE 70"S ..THANKS FOR READING.. MAY GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. AGAIN....

9-17-2010 @ 9:15PM

Leslie Hoots said...

Now a days, if you "whipped your childs bottom all the way to China" you would be arrested for child abuse. Most small children are easily distracted. Why not give the teachers an edge, and keep the toys at home.

9-17-2010 @ 10:00PM

seasidebumette said...

I taught school for 25 years - if a child brought something that disrupted the class, it was just taken away untill the end of the day. What's with all this "baning things"? If a teacher has control of her classroom and is actually teaching - - then there should not be any of these problems. Unbelievable that schools are getting so controlling over such silly things.

9-17-2010 @ 11:17PM

ump2 said...

Are you as stupid as your letter sounds? Kids also used to get in trouble for rubber bands. Doesn't that by itself mess up your entire point? Rubber bands are properly used for holding things together. Sillybands's are a toy.. Dealing with education? That's exactly what the story said, that kids were paying more attention to toys than education. Get a brain!

9-18-2010 @ 12:38AM

Geegee Davis said...

Speaking of distractions in school, you didn't learn much when you went to school, did you ? Your comment is filled with misspellings and common errors that kids make when they write. If you would like me to correct it, I will. I can't tell whether you are an adult or a child, but your writing skills are pathetic. You didn't learn much in school. Some poor teachers had to put up with little Sandy NOT paying attention. I hope you are not a parent. Poor work, girl !!!

9-17-2010 @ 9:11PM

barbara said...

i see both sides of the silly bands. bullies using them to hurt kids and good kids using them as a distraction.
kids don't take their toys or animals to school, leave the junk at home and use schgool to study . thats what our american kids need education.

9-17-2010 @ 10:37PM

Faire101 said...

kids dont 'use' them as a distraction. They just are. All trends are a distraction. Well kids get bored as bored can get so a little toy on the wrist if fine with me. My teacher took this kids silly bans and threw them all away. Do you know how hard it is to get them?!? My sister loves them and its the only thing she'll except as a gift.

You know this is true. My bus driver banned Silly Bandz because kids were trading them along the seats. My school took this opportunity to sell them in school stores. Silly Bandz are trendy bracelets that are fun to match with your outfit, but everyone has there own sides and experiences.

9-17-2010 @ 9:22PM

OOPS, SCHOOL
AND A EDUCATION

9-17-2010 @ 10:01PM

hihaterz4eva said...

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. What about back in the day when they were wearing the big dumb clumsy shoes, now that's a distraction. My motto is if you didn't buy it for me don't tell me to take it off. I don't listen to my dress code they didn't buy my clothes so they can't tell me what to wear. And I'm a straight A student going to a early college in the 9th grade. Its a fashion trend remember when you had yours, let us have ours.

9-18-2010 @ 1:07AM

Chuck Strausbaugh said...

highhaterz4eva - it's great that you are a straight A student and attending college early. But once you get into the real world, straight A in school won't mean a thing. Schools actually have two missions: teach the student academically AND prepare them for life after they are no longer in school. When you get a job in the real world, you will be required to conform to company standards. Companies have a corporate image to project and employee dress is part of that image. Even as a factory employee, where one would expect that one could wear pretty much anything, we had a dress standard.....you never know when potential clients may visit to see the manufacturing floor. Continue your studies and do well in school at each level, but please re-evaluate your motto.

9-18-2010 @ 6:08PM

jricey321 said...

I agree with you. You only get to be a kid once. let live live

9-21-2010 @ 11:58AM

Kasey said...

Hihaterz4eva,

You said you are a straight-A student in the ninth grade, and that you are going to college early??? You've got to be kidding me. Your post was FULL of errors in grammar and punctuation -- errors that a fifth grader should have been able to avoid!!! Perhaps you should pay a little less attention to rebelling against your school's policies and pay a little MORE attention in English class. Trust me, you will need those skills in that college you say you're going to.

Your "if they didn't buy it for me, they can't tell me not to wear it" attitude is not going to fly in the real world, sweetheart. Someday, you are going to have a job and you are going to have a boss. You may have to wear a uniform for work or adhere to a dress code as a condition of your employment. If you disagree and refuse to wear what your future employer tells you to, there won't be anyone patting you on the head and chalking your attitude up to teenage rebelliousness. You'll be looking for a new job faster than you can spell your name.

But what do I know? I've only worked my way through college and have been out in the real world for longer than you've been alive. You're a straight-A student in ninth grade going off to college early!

Joe Papierz Jr said...

The silly bands are not the problem. Unruly kids are the problem. Identify and punish them or does that make too much sense for today's teachers to understand? I attended a public school. What happened to the stern teacher image I knew who could take control of a classroom and make everyone toe the line? From elementary school up my folks told me that if I ever got a paddling in school I could expect another one when I got home for embarrassing the family. I was sent to the Principals office once when I was in the fourth grade and had to wait there until my mother could come to get me. I was a nervous wreck waiting for my Dad to come home from work and as it turned out I had reason to be nervous. Believe me, I was a model of correct behavior from that day on.

9-17-2010 @ 11:05PM

Belinda said...

You are so right , I work at a high school , and believe me some of the things that I see , I can't believe my eyes, none of that stuff was allowed when I went to school , and yes if you got punished in school , u can better believe , when you got home , u was going to get it again , and probably worse . Things have gotten so out of hand these days . Who is running the schools the kids or the school staffs .

9-17-2010 @ 10:52PM

Stacy said...

If it's not silly bands it will be something else. They are all just phases and fad's. There has been a number of things of the over years that has caught kids attention. The best thing the schools can do is learn to use them to their advantage not band them. I remember a Math teacher who used pogs to teach. Now some teachers are using silly band as rewards and some are using them to teach social skills. Besides fair trading is a huge part of our history. Try using them for good and teaching instead of banding every single thing the kids are into.

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