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.

A girl at a toddler group had hers snap and all the amber beads came off like any other necklace where beads are strung on to a string or necklace.

Thanks Hollie. I think we have established that now. I am sure I could go off and read an article about them. I would probably Change my mind again; but I don't have the time, nor the inclination :)

Maddening- that is very worrying to hear. The one I got assured me this could not happen.

I was in a shop today and saw that Sophie toy. I nearly bought one because of this thread. :o Twelve quid! Bugger that.

I'm sorry but I don't think Sophie compares. she's 100% safe and kids everywhere love her. She does look like a dog toys but she's also a good shape for teeny weeny teethers to grab hold of and have a good chomp on. She is expensive but for DD2 worth every penny!

I think this is just another fashion. When I was a child there were still old ladies in our village who tut tutted if babies didn't have their ears pierced "because it improved their eyesight". Perhaps amber necklaces are a young wives" tale ?

conference - I really want to hear more about this pierced ears/eyesight thing! Do you pierce their ears with carrots?

Lols panzee. I must admit that I don't actually have any strong feelings about Sophie. Although I think it is faddish and wouldn't spend money on it, at least it doesn't claim to be earthmagic from the dawn of time. Difference between choosing to spend money on something which will let your DC chomp away to relieve itching etc if it likes, and spending money on something which emphatically scientifically fails to serve any purpose it lays claim to.

Who cares? Somebody else's parenting choice is nobody else's business, it doesn't affect you if another persons child wears one.

I don't use amber but my sister and her husband do. They have an anklet for their daughter, so it is in a place where she doesn't even notice most of the time, and it is usually covered by clothing. Each bead is individually knotted on so if it snapped it would remain a string of beads and none would fall off. It is a very tough material and difficult to snap by an adult never mind a baby.

Some babies teethe worse than others, and some will do anything to ease the pain for their baby. Some people find comfort knowing they are doing whatever is available to them, and if there is a chance a baby even gets some mild relief, then what is the problem seriously?

if there is a chance a baby even gets some mild relief, then what is the problem seriously? The problem is just that last bit. The chance bit. There isn't.

even if there's a knot between every bead, if it breaks there will be at least 1 loose bead. 1 loose bead is too many.

I can't help but think that an unfastened necklace could itself pose a choking risk.

The magnetic fixings could also be risk, although I'm not sure if it's only particularly strong magnets that are dangerous

Even if you believe the 'woo' then I wonder how many of the necklaces are real amber and how many have been treated with oils or dyes to make them look pretty. INFO HERE

YANBU, I have reached the point of actual semi-irrational rage at the things. I keep reading parenting discussions (admittedly featuring some of the more yoghurt-knitting homeopathic nappy cream end of the population) where any mention of teething is leapt upon with how AMAZING amber is and its soothing powers and recommendations of amber shops and how to recharge them and anecdotes about how their baby not only stopped drooling etc. but learned to play the trumpet, etc. etc. "I don't know about all this science stuff, I just know it worked!" It's exploitation of genuine parental concern, and I know it's nice to be able to do something when you feel powerless, but the sheer bollocksology of it annoys me. Not as irksome as recommendations for homeopathy/cranial vibrating/[insert woo here] instead of proper medicine for DC, mind.

Also still laughing at moxon's "crisping temperature". Mmm. Crispy baby.

(though we did have a Sophie, because at least you can chew the thing and DC seemed to like it)

I come from the Baltic seaside, it is a popular item in jewelry and souvenirs. You can actually pick amber on the seaside in certain times of a year. But nobody ever puts necklaces on babies and toddlers, especially not boys

Yes, I've no problem with amber being used for decorative/bejewelling purposes, it's the MYSTIC PAIN RELIEVING POWERS crapology that annoys me. Apparently they can also treat wind. eyeroll emoticon

I bought one for my DD 9 years ago. Thought better about using it once it was delivered though. I also got her a birthstone rattle and a teething ring with a cute cloth bug attached. All came to around £80 quid iirc.

It was my first baby and I was completely a victim of the "I saw you coming" brigade.

I also bought her lots of headbands because she was a baldy baby and I thought she didn't look "finished" without hair.

Each to their own I think.

Yanbu woo is irritating. Being told you're being closed minded for not believing in it is even more annoying.

Both of mine had them. I am very unwoo, but really felt they made a difference. Also, looked cute as the dickens. I bought one for DNephew but exSiL thought it was ridiculous and he never wore it. totes fine by me, they're not expensive and I don't expect everyone to do as I do.

DC3 was so bad with teething at first we were desperate not to mention sleep deprived so honestly would have tried just about anything at that point. All conventional methods- teething gels, toys and calpol had failed. So we bought a necklace after hearing nothing but amazing reviews about them. Review after review from various sources said how they were a miracle, child calmed down over night, stopped drooling etc.

It didn't work . Waste of money.

Haven't they been banned for under threes in this country now anyway? Could have sworn I heard about a trading standards ruling they they're a choking hazard.

It's regression toward the mean, innit. You get to a point where you're desperate, you'll try anything, you'd rub their little bodies with raw bacon under a new moon if you thought it would help. So you do this thing (bacon, amber) and then it gets better. It's not because the bacon worked, but because pain is not a constant, it gets worse and then it gets better.

My anecdata: one bad teething DC, one pain-free DC. No beads (and no bacon).

starts writing business plan for new BACON-O-TEETHE teething remedy, based on traditional Irish folk wisdom and the natural healing vibrations of smoked pork products

poolo, various trading standards and safety organisations have issued warnings. Someone upthread linked to a couple.

Whilst I doubt there's been an epidemic of amber necklace related injuries, considering they're a minority thing and fairly new as a fad, my understanding is that the specifics of choking incidents aren't recorded so there won't be any reliable statistics.

Aparently they aren't a new thing. Someone up-thread said they had a Sears catalogue from eighteen-canteen advertising them.

I have on some of mine today (they are pretty) but still have a headache and the persistant pains along my arm.

Are they as hocum as the copper bangles they sell all over the place?

I see kids adorned with far more offensive items - including, and I kid ye not, a little girl of about 12 wearing a t-shirt with the slogan 'future porn star' printed on it. They were foreign tourists so I hope to god it was something that was lost in translation. DH was a witness - I didn't dream this!

This thread is a positive treasure trove of logical fallacies!

leedy can I buy stocks in bacon-o-teethe? (Or maybe I'll just go buy some bacon. Crispy baby bacon.)