1. You’re invincible when people try to punch you.

2. I can use it to get out of stuff sometimes.

3. It helps my spine.

4. I can make up stories about why I have it (skydiving without a parachute…falling off the Empire State Building…bullet proof vests…be creative!).

5. It helps my back pain.

6. If I casually leave it on the floor, it’s a great chew toy for the new puppy.

7. My friends love to try it on and I get to laugh when they fall on the floor and can’t get up.

8. When my mom tells me to vacuum, I have to tell her how sorry I am, but I can’t do it in the brace.

9. I can fantasize about how I’ll destroy it.

10. It makes me taller.

11. It gives me great posture.

12. It’s an awesome conversation starter.

13. My friends can’t tickle my sides.

14. It makes me a stronger person.

15. It’s my own dry erase board.

16. You can lie down and place cups of tea on your stomach without them falling over.

17. It makes a cool sound when you knock on it.

18. You can decorate it.

19. It’s handy to crack hard boiled eggs on it at lunch.

20. You can learn how to play drums on it.

21. You get better at doing things behind your back from fastening the straps.

22. You have a whole new way to think of places like Boston, Milwaukee, and Providence.

23. When you run into the corner of a countertop, it doesn’t hurt.

24. You don’t have to tie your own shoes.

25. When you fall flat on your face, at least your stomach won’t be hurt!

26. It hurts others more than you when you get jostled in a crowd.

27. You don’t have to change for gym because you’re probably already wearing sweats.

28. You can lay something hard, such as the back of a couch, on your stomach and you won’t feel it.

29. You can tell people you have a hollow stomach and knock on it.

30. It makes things like teeth braces seem like no big deal.

31. You get to brag about your abs of steel.

32. You learn to handle things better than most kids your age.

33. It’s a handy place to stick Post-It notes.

34. You can knock on your brace really quick and people will run to the door.

35. You can tell the kids you baby sit for you’re bionic...

36. …and then they knock on your stomach and think you’re the coolest person alive.

37. You become reacquainted with your belly button every day during brace free time.

38. When people inadvertently touch it for the first time, the look on their face is priceless.

39. It makes a great sound effect in a knock knock joke.

40. It’s impossible to overeat.

41. If your brace has holes in it, you can stick pens and pencils through it so it looks like you’ve been shot.

42. And if you don’t have holes, suction arrows work just as well.

43. No one can hear your stomach rumble.

44. You can wow people with your awesome medical knowledge. (Most kids don’t even know what the lumbar spine is.)

45. You have a great topic for health and science projects.

46. …and you just might get extra credit for bringing in authentic props like x-rays and your brace.

47. When you get on a swing on your stomach, you feel like you’re flying. seriously... you all should try it.

48. You sled down hills on your stomach faster than anyone else.

49. When you fall flat on your back ice skating and just bounce back up, the whole rink thinks you’re super tough.

50. It’s a great pencil holder for whoever sits behind you in class.

51. If someone swings a metal pole at your stomach, their diabolical plot is ruined.

52. If you’re running behind someone trying to hit them with a mop because they hit you with a broom first and you slip on a piece of paper that just happened to be on the floor and you fall flat on the marble floor in your living room, you don’t sustain serious injury.

53. You get two wardrobes: in-brace and out-of-brace

54. If your great aunt gives you a hideous shirt, you can say the brace ripped a hole in it and aw, shucks, you can’t wear it anymore.

55. Your risks of pain when falling off a trampoline are lessened.

56. When you’re bored in school, you have your own instrument to play.

57. …and can annoy the teachers because you can’t ‘put it away’.

58. Unlike everyone else in the locker room, you don’t have to worry about hiding your body.

59. You end up steamrolling your siblings if you happen to roll over them in your brace.

60. You go extra fast rolling down hills!

61. You actually might end up feeling grateful because scoliosis treatment is temperamental and you have it a lot better than some kids.

62. But if you’re in a bad mood and feel like complaining, you have the perfect excuse.

63. When lying in bed studying for a test, you can give your arms a break by resting the two ton textbook on your stomach.

64. If you happen to get shot, they might be somewhat bulletproof…

65. When dogs/cats sit on your stomach, they comically slide off!