Those ridiculous amber necklaces...

[moxon]

...that all babies seem to be wearing these days. No, people, it does not help with teething pain/inflammation/positioning. It's just pieces of amber. You would need to heat it to extract the oil which you can use to make your baby smell like the inside of a potpourri bowl after using as a massage liquid base if you want, but it still won't do jack to give your baby a carefree pearly whites experience. I am getting so tired of everyone buying into this new-age old-age rubbish, and seeing otherwise perfectly reasonable parents stringing up their babies necks in gimicky stuff.

[Miren]

Arrr

[DoYouThinkSheSawUs]

Well, I suppose they do help the parents with teething, as they feel they have done something, so are more likely to look for other reasons for grumpy behaviour ?

[picnicbasketcase]

They're bullplop, but someone will be along to say their baby was a demonic force until they wore one, therefore they are proven to work and aren't at all woo.

[hoobypickypicky]

I always wondered whether those amber necklaces were the preserve of the middle class mummy or of the hippy mother. Now I know!

YANBU but if I were you I'd put my tin hat on.

[Whiskwarrior]

Eh? These have obviously yet to catch on near me - haven't seen any.

Curious about Miren's pirate impression too

[Iflyaway]

And you are the expert because...?

Crystals have been used for healing for many more years than you have walked this planet.

[HermioneWeasley]

Crystals were used.....and then we discovered medicine and anti biotics, and curiously crystals went out of fashion.

[moxon]

hooby - I am wearing miren's pirate hat!

[OrangeTart]

No they don't work, obviously, but parents want to feel like they are helping. They teething thing that I think looks daft is the over priced dog toy that is Sophie they giraffe. I am well aware I am on my own with that opinion though

[moxon]

Amber is a fossilised resin, for what it is worth, ifly, and um, definitely not a crystal. Also, what Hermione said.

[Username12345]

Oh, yay. Someone else trying to make parents feel shit about themselves.

[wanderingcloud]

Arrrr YADNBU! They are EXTREMELY popular around here and otherwise seemingly intelligent parents seem to be willing to buy into the utter nonsense and woo. That or, possibly even more annoying, they actually just buy them because everyone else has them and they don't even know how they are supposed to work! And yes, legions of fans will soon be along to wax lyrical about how amazing they are and how they aren't doing anything negative so what's the problem? If you mention choke hazard you get umpteen ways that it just isn't possible. Even though it clearly is. I feel for the poor parents who find out the hard way what a ridiculously stupid idea it was putting jewellery on a baby.

[dangly131]

Not on your own orangetart! Overpriced tat!

[Isabeller]

Do you think biting and chewing things generally doesn't help with teething or are you just annoyed at amber necklaces generally? I saw a little girl with one and thought 'how pretty' (I have always liked amber) and when I was told it was for teething I thought maybe it would be nice for DS but I didn't hear about any woo.

I have no idea where to get them or if they are really expensive but as we are having teething at the moment it would be interesting to know.

[MrsWinnibago]

SIL has one for her DS to be frank I think some parents just like the way they look. They DO look a bit cute.

[Hakluyt]

All sorts of things were used to try and heal people- and to quote Tim Minchin, we separated out the ones that work and called them "medicine".

[MuttonCadet]

Not a crystal and I don't understand the science behind it (so if anyone's does could they please explain).

But if it helps parents who are struggling then that's fine.

[moxon]

orange I've been waiting for many years for Sophie's all over the world to come alive one drool-filled night, and become the next horror movie classic...

[Andcake]

They always look a bit dirty to me - and a choking hazard!

[bellarations]

Actually, I think they look really nice, irrespective of if they do any thing.

[miffybun73]

YANBU. Ridiculous indeed.

I wondered for ages why someone at toddler group had put a necklace on her 12 month old boy. He's the only one that I've ever seen wearing one.

Are they popular then in some circles?

Most people I know just think they're weird.

[IsItMeOr]

YANBU. But, in a way, it's quite useful to know which parents are likely to be offended if you express your unfiltered opinions on homeopathy.

[CorporateRockWhore]

Oh, who cares?

They look nice, if they make parents feel they're helping who are you to judge?

[KirstyJC]

We had one for DS3. It looked really cute with his vest and leg warmers. Don't know or care if it made any difference to teething.

If you think parents deciding to put any decoration onto their babies are silly, presumably you think all babies should wear plain white baby-grows all the time?

[Frontier]

I've no idea if they work, I'm prepared to believe they might as it seems to me a lot of the old ways, that have been dismissed by modern medicine, do have some benefits when properly tested.

I'd rather people tried a necklace than poured Calpol down their baby's throat for every little whimper, which seems to have become normal among lots of parents I know.

Caring so much about a necklace someone else has chosen to put on their baby seems rather like being offended by the colour of their socks. Why does it matter how people dress their kids?

But, what do I know, I've never noticed one either.