Rainbow Loom Ban Hits Park Slope School

Image via rainbowloom.com

If you are a parent of a tween, and you're not living under a rock, you are well aware of the Rainbow Loom craze that refuses to die. It started with a whisper at the end of the school year, became a dull roar at overnight camps over the summer, and hit full blast at the start of the new school year. If you search "rainbow loom" on YouTube, there are 524,000 results with instructional videos of how to make deisgns like the starbust, fishtail, hexafish, raindrop, and zippy chain, just to name a few. 

It all sounds pretty innocent, right? Well, at two NYC public elementary schools, including PS 107 in Park Slope, Rainbow Looms have caused too many problems, requiring the principals to enact bans. According to PS 107 principal, Eve Litwack:

"It's an addiction...It was like the kids couldn't live without it. It was just getting to the point where it was really crazy."

DNA Info reports that the bracelets themselves are not the issue -- kids can still stack their arms with them, if they so choose -- but the looms themselves that must stay home. Kids were not only looming at recess, but some were also (allegedly?) looming under their desks during class. Plus, some kids were going all mean girl on their classmates who did not have the Rainbow Loom. NOT NICE!

Could a ban be in store for other Park Slope schools? I contacted my 9 year old source at PS 321, who says that she has seen kids looming on the playground, but not in the classroom. She went on to say she wouldn't bring her loom to school because she wouldn't want to lose it, then asked if I could stop whatever I'm doing and watch a video to help her make a starburst.