Happy my kids are hooked on looming
Hopefully they’ll climb trees next
MY children are looming.
Not as in “lurking or standing over me in a threatening fashion” (two more years before they’re taller than I am).
“Looming” is the latest global craze. It involves the weaving of tiny, coloured rubber bands into friendship bracelets and rings — and that’s just for starters.
Children (and some adults) have taken to it in such mind-blowing numbers that looming is spoken about in the same tones as the Rubik’s cube.
Initially, I didn’t take this looming business seriously. Why would my technology-addicted children want to do anything craft-like that involves working with a crochet needle? Not a chance! They’re totally hooked up to Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation, Xbox and anything Apple (it just has to start with an “i” and they go all goo-goo eyes).
Yet, more than a week into the winter school holidays and I have not seen them near any techno gadget. They loom all day long.
I have bracelets to match just about every outfit. My friends have all also been gifted. Even Zöe, our Maltese, has been accessorised.
Apart from the rubber bands showing up all over the house and inside the washing machine, I’m not complaining. Looming is such a welcome departure from the norm and has made me sentimental about the many crazes that marked my growing years.
During the ’80s, simple outdoor games trended. Pastimes such as the House House Game, Four Corners, Three Tins, Hide and Seek (played to the melody of “buy me a box of matches, shop is closed”), rounders, Five Stones, Statues in the Garden, “I wrote a letter to my friend” and hopscotch all had their time in the sun.
Fads involving toys were unpretentious in the beginning — yo-yos (I vividly remember Coke, Fanta and Sprite yo-yos and learning to “walk the dog”) and marbles were other favourites, with knockout competitions during break time at school.
Pick-Up Sticks and Carrom Board (stashed under the bed and liberally dusted with baby powder to generate speed) were other manias that hung around the corners of our lives.
As time moved on, the crazes became more pricey. BMX and Raleigh chopper bicycles were the choice modes of transportation.
My Little Ponies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Strawberry Shortcake and Barbie (who was a white chick who didn’t come in ethnic variations) were the dolls to have. If you owned just one, you were pretty lucky.
But, in my mind, the Rubik’s cube craze defined the 1980s — if you could “do” all sides, everybody thought you were a genius with a promising future.
The technological age was heralded by playing PacMan at the local tearoom, Nintendo Donkey Kong and Commodore 64 computers. Aah, thinking of it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.
But back to the looms. I am green-eyed that I didn’t dream up the concept. If I had, I wouldn’t have to chase another crook for the rest of my life.
Envy aside, I am grateful to Cheong Choon Ng, who apparently packaged the ancient art as a way to teach his young daughters the skill of looming.
I owe him a huge debt of gratitude because it’s a beautiful sight watching my children loom.
With the world’s landfill sites a distant thought, I can almost see halos around my children’s heads as they create the most beautiful pieces of what I call art.
The bigger picture is that this new craze gives me some hope that they could possibly have a real childhood minus the gadgets.
Now, if only I could get them to loom outside in the sun. Who knows, from there they could be climbing trees.
I’m taking it one step at a time . . .