Local kids get a kick out of collecting, trading Silly Bandz

HOUMA — They come in pink, purple, yellow, blue. Shapes of horses, dolphins, cars, musical instruments. Themes, like “Toy Story” or Disney characters.

It's Silly Bandz — a fashion statement making its way through local children. They're those small, little silicon bracelets routinely seen at area drug stores and large retailers.

The bracelets, which could only be found online as recently as 2008, have grown into a full-fledged industry, complete with an official website and tons of shapes and colors to choose from.

The average price for a pack of 24 Silly Bandz is $5, making it an inexpensive substitute to other things like video games and iPods.

Schwanda George of Thibodaux, said her 5-year-old daughter, Kassidy, loves them.

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“They're everywhere you look,” George said. “I'm actually a little bit amazed that she (daughter) and so many other kids are in to them because they're really simplistic. With all those technologies out there, it's good to see them getting into something like this.”

The fun of collecting and trading them is shared among local boys and girls.

Just ask Kailey Comardelle.

Comardelle, an 11-year-old student at Raceland Upper Elementary, said almost everyone she knows, both boys and girls, has at least a few Silly Bandz.

“I'm in band, so the ones I like most are the instrument ones,” she said.

Her older sister, Bethany, 13, prefers the bands that feature text words.

Their 31-year-old mother, Jennica, of Raceland, said it's not just her daughters that are interested in them.

“My two boys love them, too,” she said. “All of them like to fill their arms with them.”

De'Quincey Gibson, 9, of Thibodaux, first found out about Silly Bandz on TV.

“I saw some commercials that showed them,” he said. “It didn't take long before I saw my friends with them and I wanted some too.”

De'Quincey admits he has tons of Silly Bandz, including a few personal favorites.

“I have some Saints ones and even some that glow in the dark,” he said.

Houma resident Nicole Scott's three stepsons, ages 12 to 14, all have Silly Bandz.

Scott said she remembers how popular friendship and plastic hand-weaved braclets were as a young girl, but said this trend is different because of its popularity with boys.

“They love them, surprisingly,” the 30-year-old said. “I would not think that boys of that age would be into Silly Bandz.”

Her youngest stepson, Tim Hammond, 12, treats his Silly Bandz seriously, Scott said.

“He keeps track of which ones he has duplicates of so that he can trade with his friends,” she said.

“My favorite ones are the Mr. Potato Head and ‘Toy Story 3' kind,” Tim said. “I'm not so much into the flowers and feather ones.”

Silly Bandz aren't without controversy.

As the academic year got under way, school administrators across the country started banning the popular bands, according to a story from the Denver Post in September. The newspaper reported that the problem was that students would talk about them during school hours and trade them during class time, which prompted several school districts in Colorado to ban them in mid-September.

However, rules governing Silly Bandz at schools throughout Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes vary.

According to Lafourche Parish public schools spokesperson Floyd Benoit, Silly Bandz are still allowed “as long as the bracelet does not block the ID the student is wearing.

“Also, students are not allowed to play with it or use it for anything other than its intent, which is jewelry,” Benoit added.

Bethany Comardelle, a student at Raceland Middle School, said Silly Bandz were permitted at the start of the school year, but banned shortly thereafter.

“I don't really know what happened (to cause the ban),” she said. “I heard it had something to do with people slapping each other with them.”

First-year Raceland Middle School principal Chris Kimball confirmed that his school has taken a proactive approach in dealing with Silly Bandz.

“We don't allow them,” he said. “We didn't have any major problems with them, but they definitely were causing a distraction in the classroom.”

On the flip side, Bethany's younger sister, Kailey, a student at Raceland Upper Elementary, said students at her school wear Silly Bandz.

Benoit said to his knowledge none of the schools have officially banned Silly Bandz, but he said they could if a problem like “slapping” started occurring on a regular basis.

“Depending on the situation, they (schools) possibly could” ban them if it became life threatening or a safety hazard, “but under normal circumstances, they would report it to the district and we would determine a course of action,” he said.

The Lafourche Parish Public School's 2010-11 parent and student handbook says, “Any conditions of grooming or dress, as judged by the principal to be inappropriate, will not be allowed. A teacher will be allowed to restrict manner of dress when it pertains to the health and/or safety of a student in that teacher's area.”

The handbook continues to say, “Ornate or cumbersome jewelry is not permitted.”

The Terrebonne Parish School Board's policy regarding Silly Bandz is similar.

When asked whether or not she heard about problems related to Silly Bandz, one the parish's public-school system's child welfare and attendance supervisors, Linda Joseph, said she was unfamiliar with the bracelets.

“I guess it's not a big deal because I haven't been told anything about them,” said Joseph, who The Courier was directed to when the newspaper called to ask about the school system's policy.

The revised Terrebonne Parish School District 2010 uniform policy states, “Students will not be allowed to wear ornate or cumbersome jewelry.”

The policy further states, “The policy of the School Board shall be that no mode of attire will be considered proper for school wear that distracts from or disrupts classroom and school decorum. ... The principals of each school will make the final decision as to what is considered proper or improper dress according to the guidelines provided. Any substantial complaint concerning the dress code shall be dealt with by the school administration.”

Joseph suggested that potential problems with Silly Bandz would be on a school-by-school basis, not across an entire system. She said individual schools would have to determine if it were a problem and address the issue on its own.

The New York Times reported in April that schools from New York to Texas had banned the bracelets for causing a distraction.

Distraction or not, local fans said they can't get enough of them.

“It's always exciting to go to the store to see what new ones they have,” Tim Hammond's older brother, Scott, 14, said. “Whatever you can imagine, they have it. I've seen anything from fruits and vegetables to cartoon characters.”

Staff Writer Thad Angelloz can be reached at 857-2207 or at thad.angelloz@houmatoday.com.