When I was in Junior high, those bracelents meant I wanted to be like Madonna, and I was a sucker for paying 25 cents each for a cheap colored piece of plastic.

It's a little shocking that they now mean sexual favors, but I also dispise the idea of rampant "banning." I have an alternative solution:

Blue=Community Pride
Black=I love Jesus!
Red=I have a fire burning for knowledge and schoolwork!
Purple=School Pride
Yellow=Excellence

All teacher need to start doing is calling attention to them in class. Ahh Susie! I see you have pride in your community, and thirst for knowledge! Way to go Susie! Those that know the secret code are a little embarassed at having them called to attention in front of the class, and their secret meaning becomes overwshadowed by nutty school spirit talk. Make it so acceptable to wear the bracelets that teachers want you to wear them. Have "Red Bracelet Day!" and award spirit prizes for the student most decked out in red.

Those kids won't be able to get those bracelets off fast enough.

Banning them just makes it all "cooler."

Originally posted by Simulacra
I think you're overreacting. When I was in junior highschool, we had things similar to jelly bracelets. Should we take them out of schools? Of course not. Kids have sex in junior high school. Face it.

And we should not condone it, therefore measures should be taken. You face it, things go further awry the more one allow it. Without adult guidance and control, children push every boundary they can. They are children, get it? They don't have wisdom, they don't have experience. That's the whole idea behind adult supervision; to set the boundaries, to give the guidance, and to clean up crap like that when some try and rebel past the boundaries.

ive been out of school now for about 6 years and we had have them things back then but it used to be if the girl gave u that certain color thats what she had to do to you.



sounded good to me at the time but now that i have kids does not seem so cool

All this still sounds like a lot of wishful thinking and empty bragging on the kids part to me. Yeah, sex happens in junior high, but not nearly to the extent some people make it out to be. Just because a kid is talking to a friend about sex does not mean they are doing it. Come on folks, I talked about sex all the time in jr high. Never even came close till well into high school.

If a kid is in jr high, and they and their parents haven't already become familiar with the subject and come to an agreement on proper sexual behavior, it's WAY too late. You missed the boat, and it ain't comin' back. Now all the poor kid can do is stumble along blindly.

Parents, take the time to discuss sex THOROUGHLY with your children early and often. They will still make the decision by themselves, but they will be dealing with facts and not gosip.

This is assuming the parent has been factual and truthful with the child and didn't attempt to frighten them into abstinance with half-truths and made-up garbage. Kids can see through that kinda stuff in a second.

Originally posted by Montana
All this still sounds like a lot of wishful thinking and empty bragging on the kids part to me. Yeah, sex happens in junior high, but not nearly to the extent some people make it out to be. Just because a kid is talking to a friend about sex does not mean they are doing it. Come on folks, I talked about sex all the time in jr high. Never even came close till well into high school.

OOOOh!! Montana, I like it! I think I agree with you completely. Banning bracelets isn't going to suddenly make the kids minds absent of sex thoughts and sex talk. All these things these bracelets stand for us something that happens in a somewhat private situation. Just wearing the bracelents does not mean that someone would do those things. Sex is a big topic among teens and isn't going to change.

What's unfortunate, though, is that sex is being talked about and these girls have PRIDE about wearing signs that they give oral sex or lap dances. Hmm.. Kind of what my grandmother thought blue eyeshadow stood for.

I wonder how many kids hear these hidden meanings, and roll their eyes because that's not *really* how it is and it's some fad thats way over and it's stupid now.

Well I never saw these bracelets in my middle school, but I can tell you this stuff happens. Its alot more common of course in inner city school like the one I went to. To be honest I did things in 7th grade with a couple of girls but I didnt actually have sexual intercourse. Oral sex is what is more common in middle school I suppose only because its what I had experienced. I am sure there are plenty of kids doing their thing though. I would just suggest to keep encouraging safe sex and whatnot because the more you tell them not to do what they do the more often they will do it.

I must be out of the loop cause I wear black ones. But I have been out of school for over 6 years anyway I wear them mixed with celtic wrist strap etc and a metal wrist thingy. It must have diffrent meanings in diffrent places the word that comes to mind is kids will come up with anything these days or people will just to make money from it.

Damn, I went to the wrong school !

WIth a lot of rap and other provocative pop music videos being extemly sexually suggestive as well as a lot of the movies, sitcoms, other entertainment being that way it is not a suprise that middle school children are becoming over the top about their sexuality. The bracelets are real thing that is happening in school, it was discussed in my pshychology class and I dont know what to think. To me the ideals of monogomy or at least having a small number of partners is becoming the minority.

These bracelets should be banned and students should be given a realistic version of sex-ed, I know in Florida our programs are geared to the unrealistic save it tell marriage approach. I do believe that all this activity will result in more STD cases and will leave many sexually confused. I mean when they are doing it all at 14, whats left to the experience when they're 30?

Boys have always been dogs and always will, I think the biggest change in that generation is there are more willing girls and they do not know of anything better to do.

This is old news though. This was in the news like 2 years ago.....

Originally posted by deeprivergal

Blue=oral sex
Black=intercourse
Red=lap dance
Purple=kissing
Yellow=hugging

do ALL the students that wear these use them to express themselves that way or are the teachers just assuming that's what they're trying to say? my point is, they do not have to mean that to EVERY student that wears them and as I said before, banning the bracelets will not affect the amount sex, for example the bracelts could also mean this:

Originally posted by RedBalloon

Blue=Community Pride
Black=I love Jesus!
Red=I have a fire burning for knowledge and schoolwork!
Purple=School Pride
Yellow=Excellence

I can understand the people wanting to lower the amount of sex in the middle schools, it's just the ways they're trying to do it that don't make sense
and if the students are discussing sex a lot in the schools, it's just because they see it in movies, hear about it in the music they listen to, see it on the news, etc. not necessarilly because of these bracelets or anything similar

that's just my two cents

Of course not every student is wearing them. I remember when i was in school slap bracelets got banned for being a distraction.

I just think the students need to be taught treat school like a job and not like a place to meet singles.

Originally posted by LadyV
This is old news though. This was in the news like 2 years ago.....

Yep, LadyV, it was old news when we first heard about it. By the time anything like this hits the radar screen of any adult, it's out of practice. We are SOOOOOO out of the loop!!

Originally posted by Montana
Yep, LadyV, it was old news when we first heard about it. By the time anything like this hits the radar screen of any adult, it's out of practice. We are SOOOOOO out of the loop!!

Well..usually...but the kids had come home telling me about it way before....there has to be open communication between parent and child. Or, as in my case, at least between a family member adult and child

Oh, no doubt about it, the only way to even keep your foot in the door is to keep comunications open and free. Kids will tell you a lot of the things that happen at school and ask questions when they feel secure.

Never assume they are telling you EVERYTHING, though. If a kid knows that a fad or 'game' or whatever is not going to be acceptable at home, and they want to participate, you won't hear about it until it's over. They know what subjects to tiptoe around.

It's not a matter of being untruthful or dishonest, just a natural desire to fit in and have fun. That's why I think it is so important to have talks with my kids and come to agreements about things first. And i'm talking about agreements where both sides actually AGREE, not rules handed down from the high and mighty adult.

It took this long for the parents to realize this?

At my school mostly the punks and goths were these bracelets, but most of them do it since they like the look not because it has to do with sex. Here they just do it, bracelets or no bracelts.

Its up to the parent to try and keep their kid from having sex. Banning bracelets will do jack crap. They'll still do it. Hell, rumors of sexual experiance have gone back as far as 5th and 6th grade, with mainly oral and carressment if you know what I mean, for both guys and ladies. As the grades go by sex gets more and more common.

Mostly its not full intercourse its just oral and other sexual escapades. Most people there myself included have all had a sexual encounter whetether someone asked us or vice versa. I can say that mine was involuntary and that I was asked and so forth, but that was on a vacation.

Anywho, parents find out what the helll your kid is doing. There are no angels in high school. We're all devils one way or the other.

Who cares let them have sex. As long as the use of contraception is taught in the schools there shouldnt be any negative repurcussions...

In fact just teaching abstinance doesnt work, because sooner or later instinct will override religious brainwashing (in some people) and when they decide they want to have sex, they wont know about condoms... and bang! its another unwanted child, another STD, or another trip to the abortion clinic.

And banning something never helps... when i was 15 they banned piercings at school... a week later most kids had piercings (except the do-gooder nerds) of some sort... they started making the uniform code stricter... those who had previously worn partial uniform backlashed against the strcit measures and stopped wearing uniform altogether... the list goes on and on... and i went a selective academic high school where kids had to sit an entry test and only the top 1% were allowed in... imagine what it would be like to go to a non-selective school...

If something is banned, kids will go on doing it behind the adults backs (if not blatantly in their face)... the only people who listen to a ban are the ones who werent engaged in the banned activity in the first place...

Let them bem kids will be kids, and they'll learn thing their way... If some teacher had told me at 14 i couldnt have sex with anyone... i would've gone out and #ed whoever i could that night and shown her the video footage to rub it in... My point? Reverse pshycology people? You say run they'll walk, you say dont they will! Its simple

[edit on 25-10-2004 by specialasianX]

OK, as a kid who was into things I shouldn't have been in Jr. high such as drinking, drugs and everything save sexual intercourse it's self, I can tell you that this stuff definatly happens.

The thing is, you can't stop it. The most you can do as a parent is to try and educate them, guide them, and point them in the right direction. Remember, at that age you have to understand that the more you try and directly control them, the more they will rebell against your wishes.

If your a parent, you should be able to identify your child as someone who is likely to engag in this type of stuff at that young of an age. Also, know the parents and siblings of your childs friends. If their parents aren't home a lot, most likely they will be going to that house to do stuff they couldn't if they were supervised. If they have older brothers or sisters, they may contribute to things you don'tt want your child involved in.

As for the bracelets, who cares?

Honestly, if it's not a bracelet, it's going to bbe something else - so why worry about that? Instead worry about educating your kid.

Originally posted by specialasianX
Who cares let them have sex.

You're kidding right? I should allow my 8 year old to have sex? I shouldn't care.

This is not old news. This was old news until these bracelets came back, and they are back, everywhere. You have to understand that the only safe sex is abstinence. Period. You can still get STD's when you wear a condom and you can still get pregnant.

I don't really feel like sending my kid to the doctor because he's got herpes or VD at the age of 8, or dealing with a pregnant child at the age of 12! It's bad enough that I got pregnant at 16 and my parents talked to me about sex, I was just too stupid to listen.

No matter how much you talk to your kids about safe sex of abstinence they are going to do it anyway. They need to ban these bracelets at school and parents need to take more of an interest in what their kids are doing after school. Once they get out of school it isn't the school's problem anymore, that's when parent's need to take the initiative and butt into their kid's lives.

Kids should'nt ne having sex, in my book here if you want to have sex wait till your 18 when you are on your own and you do not have to suffer in school or at home.

Its crazy to think that all of them will use condoms. If we just said "Hey, just go screw", teen pregnacy would sore through the freakin'roof. Half of them won't use condoms, and the other half probally won't.

Here at my school 70% do not use safe sex methods,so whats encouraging them to do it going to lower it, its going to raise it.

Teen sex is a paradox, there is no logical way to stop it. Hell, you can't stop it the only thing you can do is encourage safe sex and abstiance until they are 18.

[edit on 10-26-2004 by JediMaster]