Liz Atwood writes about the Silly Bandz craze this Tween Tuesday:

Boy, would I like to be the one who anticipates the next tween fad. The latest hot items are Silly Bandz, rubber bands that come in various shapes and colors that the kids wear on their wrist. Apparently, a few entrepreneurs from Toledo, Ohio, came upon these at a product show in China and decided to bring them to the United States a couple years ago. They started catching on last year and the fad has spread across the United States. Now every tween I know is wearing these rubber bands, trading them and begging their parents to plunk down $5 a pack. Silly Bandz even has its own Facebook page.

Who comes up with these ideas and what makes something catch on? When my tween first asked me to buy him rubber bands, I thought, sure, what school project do you need them for? When he told me kids wear them on their wrists, I thought it was strange, but it seemed innocent enough. It wasn’t until we dropped by the store to pick some up that I had any idea they were so expensive. My son became a budding Silly Bandz entrepreneur keeping a stash in his school desk that he exhibited to his classmates during recess. I happened to be in the class one day and watched the kids bartering over bands, arguing whether a shark was worth more than a penguin.

Some schools have decided to ban them from the classroom, but so far, my son’s school is still allowing them. Perhaps the teachers have decided they are a good way to teach economics. Of course, it’s the parents whose wallets are being depleted. I think there’s another lesson I’ll be teaching -- money doesn’t grow on trees.

Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel/Philadelphia Inquirer/McClatchy-Tribune