My favorite things about those rubber bracelet things

Day 5 of my attempt at posting every day in June…….

Sorting her collection. It's quiet and goes anywhere!

A few days ago, Pajamas and Coffee was on the Today show, discussing and trading silly bandz with Matt Lauer.  It got me thinking about this little trend, and here are some things I’ve observed since MaM has jumped on the bandzwagon:

1) They’re fun and inviting. The shapes are cool. The theme packs are interesting. MaM has learned a few words since opening her pirate, princess and fantasy packs ( the words are skull & crossbones and the concept of a genie in a bottle, but still…)

2) They speak to the child’s need for order and classifying. MaM spends hours sorting her bands, sorting by color, shape or theme. It’s fascinating to watch her work. She’s also practicing counting to higher numbers. As she counts her collection, she’s thinking up ways to keep track of them. The other day she started writing down numerals as she moved each band from one wrist to the other.

3) They help children interact with each other, face to face. MaM is an outgoing girl, and immediately refers to anyone under 4ft tall as her friend when she spots them in the pool, at the library or on the playground. Not all children are like that. Silly bandz bridge the gap. They either comment on her collection or she comments on theirs. Then they start showing each other what they have, and them they start trading. MaM’s record of summer is going to be which friend gave her which bracelet. How fun is that?

4) Silly bandz are a great commodity to learn about instant (or not so instant) gratification. At $5 a pack, it’s not something I’ll buy every time we are out. BUT $5 isn’t an amount that’s out of reach for MaM to earn herself, or for me to offer for a behavior changed or a job well done.

And…..well, that’s it. That’s my list. But hey, they are .25 bracelets. I can think of many other more expensive trends with fewer merits…………