As principal at Sun Prairie's Westside Elementary, Rick Mueller walks the halls with a few Silly Bandz in his pocket, ready to hand out in recognition of a good deed.
The rubber band-like bracelets made of silicone and die molded into shapes — everything from cars and animals to Barbie and SpongeBob SquarePants — are akin to gold stars, which Mueller uses as a healthier alternative to candy rewards.
Silly Bandz, made by BCP Imports, based in Toledo, Ohio, and their knock-offs, surfaced in toy stores around the county in 2008, but have only become wildly popular in the Madison area this fall, according to teachers, shop owners and parents.
"Every day after school gets out we have kids come in here looking for the new Silly Bandz," said Pat Stein, co-owner of Whoops and Co. toy store on Midvale Boulevard, just down the block from Midvale Elementary School. The store started carrying them late last year and this fall "it's been gangbusters."
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They're so popular — some children wear them from wrist to elbow — that some schools or individual classrooms in the Madison area have banned them, joining schools around the country that have enacted bans in recent months.
"They become a toy within the classroom. They also are being lost, broken and sometimes taken by other students," Linda Kailin, interim principal of Glenn Stephens Elementary School, said in a letter to school families last month in announcing a Silly Bandz ban.
At Glacial Drumlin Middle School in Cottage Grove, where sixth graders aren't allowed to wear Silly Bandz, students snap the bracelets at each other and use them to "be physically aggressive toward others," said Renee Tennant, principal.
But other school officials, like Mueller, said they're finding positives in the bracelets.
Beth Cantwell, an art teacher at Van Hise Elementary who even sports a few Silly Bandz herself, said because the toys are so cheap — around $5 for a pack of 24 — students have been quick to give some away to others who don't have any.
"It's finally one of those trends that are really affordable," Cantwell said. "It's been really cool because so many kids share theirs with other kids."
Popular for many reasons
Chris Byrne, a toy expert and content director of TimeToPlayMag.com, a consumer-based website that offers information and reviews on toys and activities, said Silly Bandz have become popular because they're cheap, easy to wear and easy to get.
"They're a way for kids to brand themselves like wearing a T-shirt for the Green Bay Packers," he said.
Byrne said the bracelets appeal to a wide age group, including high school and college students, which "makes it a bit unique in the fad area."
Even parents, teachers and other adults wear them.
Marianne Szymanski, founder and president of Milwaukee-based Toy Tips, a company that evaluates and reviews toys, said Silly Bandz have also become must-haves with kids because they can be easily traded.
"You want to collect one of absolutely every one that exists," she said. "The whole idea is to have the shapes and whatever is related to their life," such as those with sports, princess, Halloween or Christmas themes.
For example, Tristan Bauer, a Van Hise fifth-grader, knows he has exactly 53 Silly Bandz, including his first ever - one in the shape of a yellow turtle he got at a dive meet this summer.
"They're like a way that people can express themselves and they get together and trade," Tristan said of why the bracelets are so popular.
Two-tone and glow-in-the-dark Silly Bandz are especially valuable, he said.
Sylvia Bazsali, a second-grader at Wingra School, had a fist full of money and knew what pack of Silly Bandz she wanted when she entered Whoops recently. Within minutes she had the "Sea Creature" Silly Bandz pack and was especially excited to have Silly Bandz shaped like fish.
Sarah Underwood, who has second- and fifth-grade daughters and is co-president of Stephens' parent teacher organization, described Silly Bandz as being "very hot in our house."
"I was kind of surprised about Ms. Kailin's letter coming out," Underwood said of the ban at her daughters' school. "I get it, I think (banning them) is an easy fix, but I'd be lying if I said my kids weren't disappointed."