It’s the noise and the repetition that I enjoy most
Why is a punch ball balloon so fascinating? I don’t have the answer to that question, but I absolutely love them.
If you live and breathe I would venture to guess that you’ve experienced the joy of a punch ball at least once in your life. If not, I actually weep for you. They. Are. Awesome! They are, trust me on this one.
This is one item that I can actually say enthralls me and my children for long stretches of time. Long stretches, jack.
If you have small to medium sized children you know why that’s a huge selling feature. I can’t say there’s a lot of stuff around this house that keeps my kids interested for large stretches of time. But the punch ball delivers a huge bang for your buck. I know, I just had to say it.
These bad boys are cheap; a four-pack retails for $1.99. And if you’ve read at least one of my posts you’ll know I’m as tight-fisted thrifty as Mr. Eugene Harold Krabs of Bikini Bottom. It’s also important to note that the four-pack is just the right amount for my family. It means each of my kids get one and I get one, too.
I hate fighting over the punch ball. And as you know, Mr. C refuses to play games so I don’t have to worry about wrestling him for the fourth one.
Anyway, they are loads of fun. I truly love the sound it makes and the fact that the neck of the balloon is long enough to allow you to untie the knot and refill the balloon as it loses air. It also multitasks as a standard balloon that allows for some intense games of volleyball in the house. I have a killer spike in air volleyball. In real volley ball, not so much.
And the repetition of banging it is just extremely fun.
I’m sure there must be some psychological element to it in an obsessive-compulsive sort of way. I guess it’s like tapping your foot or twisting your hair but I can (and do) out punch my kids. They do get tired of me playing with mine.
But they’re in school now so I can punch all day if I want to. Well, I can punch with abandon between 8am and 3pm. And even better, I can punch it over and over while I listen to Ms. Bette Davis sing “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” on repeat.
Solomon I am still rocking out to Bette and surprisingly I have not been able to get her to become an earworm yet. My kids have given that job to Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.
(Walks away humming, “Oh, oh, oh it’s magic…” swears and tries to replace it with “Whatever happened to baby Jane, she could dance… it’s magic, you know.” Swears again and picks up the punch ball.)
I’m having difficulty imagining one. Are we talking about something the size/shape of a basketball on a flexible bar?
This is a video of a silly girl using a punch ball. I don’t dance like she does when I use mine. I sit on the couch or stand still.
But you still get the idea. It’s just a balloon attached to an elastic (ooh — I’m speaking British!) That’s a rubber band for the Americans in the house.
That looks like such an exercise in futility, lol. You punch it away and it just keeps coming back.
Sounds like one of my exes… :D
“Sounds like one of my exes.” Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. ROFL.
(smiles) It is futile, but still fun to me for some reason.
Oh these balls are better than a highly-paid shrink. I personally think the attraction is the bashing…like you are bashing someone’s face. Now please don’t get scared, I am a lover not a fighter. But I get pent-up aggressions like the rest of you, and there is something very satisfying about getting hold of one of these balls and envisioning the face of the betch that pissed me off the other day. Similar to those chopping machines where you pound the top. Bam bam bam!
They absolutely are! It’s a wonderful tool for anger management.
But in all honesty it’s a mindless activity to me. It sort of makes me go Zen if you can believe that. However, I have been working on letting go of anger, so maybe I’m ahead of myself in that area.
Guess what you’re getting for Christmas? Wrapped in bubble wrap. Reams and reams of bubble wrap.
YES! (punches fist in the air then grabs the punch ball and punches it crazily)
Only three and a half months!!
The noise annoys me. They only held my attention for a minute or two as a child. I mean, they’re really loud and big and I was really small. No one was allowed to yell in my house anway, so that might have something to do with it. I am ALL about the quiet. My mother would have allowed Hannah Bonetana in my house about as soon as you wear 8-inch heels.
Liz you just made a very interesting point. Most of the time consistent noise like that –white noise, I guess — drives me up the wall. I cannot take it and it makes me agitated, actually.
So I’m surprised that this particular noise doesn’t bug me. Huh.
Maybe your body registers it as cardio exercise so your brain isn’t annoyed.
It’s not consistent noise that irritates me normally, it’s repetitive noises that really bother me. Like this ONE cricket under my bedroom cricket is driving my batty.
(chuckles) I will admit, Liz, that the muscle on my right forearm gets a workout, since I’m right-handed.
I’m a tad embarrassed to admit that my right arm is a tiny bit sore from using the punch ball.
I need to start using my left hand. But it’s not as strong as the right.
They are great but I can’t say that I would be able to do it for long stretches of time. :)
It does take dedication Buf :)
Talk about low maintenance. All we have to do is hand you a punch ball and you are happy. Does Mr. C. realize extent of his good fortune? My husband doesn’t seem to realize how much we save on cleaning supplies! Then again, I make up for that in dark chocolate purchases (and late fees for the library – curses!).
My tastes are pretty pedestrian, not sure why, but Mr. C is happy about that. I think.
Don’t your kids eat all the chocolate? I don’t buy chocolate for two reasons. First I cannot be trusted and second my kids will devour it if I don’t put it under lock and key.
Funny you should mention that. Normally, they don’t bother it because it is dark chocolate. However, Sean has been potty training and I ran out of M&Ms. I offered him one of my Bliss chocolate squares. He loves them. The little buggar figured out how to pull the chair over to the cabinet and reach all the way up into the bag to get them.
Of course, I have purchased M&Ms now … and hidden my dark chocolate up higher still .. and emphasized that nobody, and I mean NOBODY, is to touch my dark chocoalte. Hopefully, it is all resolved.
Hubby was none too happy, when I informed him today that I must pay a $7.50 late fee for 15-20 snake books which I failed to renew (despite it being ridiculously easy, on-line). This, in addition to the check I wrote out only last week for another year’s patronage of the library ($85). I’m thinking all I can afford for amusement for a while will be a few of those punch balls!
Man, that’s a drag, Wendy. But I hear you on the rewards for potty training. We used Starbursts with my kids and when I would run out I was really stressed.
Oy, I hate those overdue fees. I’ve been renewing a Little Einstein’s video for the last three weeks since I couldn’t find it.
Yesterday I told the librarian I need to pay for it since I can’t find it. She renewed it for one more week and Katie actually found it in a basket of toys last night.
I was so relieved.
Yes! (pumping air with fist on your behalf)
“I’m as tight-fisted thrifty as Mr. Eugene Harold Krabs of Bikini Bottom.” Nice analogy :)
Just remember that a punch ball is always better than a ball punch.
Thanks, sw! You make me laugh at the most unexpected times and I enjoy that immensely.
That’s what I’m here for :)
I feel your pain on the Selena/Miley thing. I always get “The Climb” stuck in my head. Thanks Miley.
Gah! That particular song was okay for a while. For the first 100 times or so.
Hi CG! I know this is off topic, but I just had to tell you this. My DH and I recently joined a gym. Today I decided for the first time to try the elliptical. I was all pumped up, “CG does this all the time, this is a great machine!” I thought. ummmm, yeah, FORTY FIVE seconds later, I got off the elliptical with my tail b/t my legs and got on a treadmill. ROFL!! I kept thinking about your challenge with the older woman on the ellipticals and couldn’t stop laughing that I couldn’t go more than even 45 seconds!
Kari that’s so funny! I love the idea of you hopping on the machine thinking about me and Muriel going at it til the death.
I will admit it’s hard to get used to at first. I was the same way when I first tried it. The rhythm is different, the feel is different and the balance is different compared to the treadmill.
Not sure if you want to try again, but you might find it a bit easier if you start by keeping the incline very low at three or four so the action is more like walking rather than climbing stairs. But it’s not for everyone.
I still love that you thought about me and my obsession at the gym!
Do you get the same satisfaction from paddle ball? I was always a little fond of paddle ball.
Aggh, no. One I never had the coordination to do it for very long and two my mother occasionally used it as an assault weapon.
Wait, that sounded bad. But she did use it to swat our behinds from time to time.
@Lin Sadly I don’t have the coordination to use the paddle ball for any length of time so I find highly annoying. Maybe I need to practice. Katie has been asking for one.
Maybe we’ll buy four today.
@Liz Boy your mom ran a tight ship.
I really didn’t know it was a tight ship until I went to college. It also explains why I’m typically appalled at childrens’ behavior these days, which makes me feel about 78 years old.
Back in my day, kids never….
Yeah, I know about that time back in the day. However my kids, uh, still have behavior that elicits the phrase, “Back in my day…”
didn’t some of the punch balls come with beans or beads inside them? kerbangers kept me occupied in the 80’s. miss a beat and it would tear your wrist up.
I never did use one with beans inside. However, when I was looking for a YouTube video for Solomon I did find a video of a guy who fished a peanut out of a punch ball.
I think he said that ball came from China. What’s the appeal? It just makes a different noise?