They are soft, stretchy, and come in a wide variety of colors: Loom Bands are a great way to make colorful bracelets yourself.
Since some kids complain about itching and reddened areas under the bracelets, we have taken a closer look at this trend for you.
The cool bracelets can be made at home or on the go with the simplest of tools. Forks, pins, or even a knotting board are all you need to connect the rubber rings in different patterns. Maybe you belong to the experts among the Loom fans who can even knot charms, i.e. small pendants. These colorful little animals are a great gift for your best friend.
Another advantage is the price of this varied hobby. The individual looms are now available on every street corner at bargain prices. So it is not easy to distinguish high-quality ribbons from toxic cheap products. The following tips should be followed when buying suitable loom tapes to avoid itching and skin rashes:
- Let your senses guide you. Insist on being allowed to touch some looms on a trial basis. You should stay away from looms that smell strange or even stink. They may contain dangerous solvents.
- Each package of your looms should be marked with the CE mark. All manufacturers are required to put this seal on the toy. It does not guarantee its quality, though. However, if there is not even this mark, the manufacturer will not have thought about the rest.
- Most looms were imported from abroad. In this case, the full address of the importer must be on the packaging. This helps the authorities to carry out checks if there is any indication of harmful substances in the goods. Goods from China are usually contaminated with harmful substances. It’s better to keep your hands off them.
- Are there any warnings printed on the Looms package? This can also indicate a careful manufacturer.
- Usually the looms are made of rubber or silicone. There are no plasticizers in these. If another material is indicated on the packaging, then it is better to leave it alone or ask the retailer directly. The material latex, for example, can cause allergic reactions in children.
- There are certain test seals that can give you information about the quality of the product. GS or TÜV tested goods must not contain any harmful substances. Therefore, also pay attention to this.
- In addition, please make sure that you do not wrap the bracelets too tightly around your fingers when processing them. Also, the finished bracelets should not be too tight on your wrist. Because recently it was reported about an English boy who almost lost two of his fingers. He had wrapped the bands very tightly around his fingers. This is not necessary and can be avoided.
By the way, the following applies to looms (as with all toys): If at some point you are no longer interested in them, it is better to give them away cheaply or give them away. On the Internet, there are numerous portals for selling used things, which you can use for free. This is because the additional plastic waste caused by loom tapes that are no longer used can be limited a little.
Worksheet For The text
1) Explain the meaning of the word charm. This word appears at the beginning of the text.
2) Briefly summarize again what to look for when buying loom bands. You can write down what you remembered from the text in keywords.
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