To wonder why perfectly intelligent people keep suggesting amber teething aids to me, am I missing something?

[TinySleepThief]

I have a teething 4 month old. It's crap but there isn't much I can do about it other than dose him up with Calpol, use teething powder/gel and continue in my attempts to get him to use any form of teether.

However in general conversations 3 separate people so far this week have suggested buying a teething necklace, bracelet or anklet all of whom I thought to be quite intelligent. 2 of whom also don't have children but have heard from a friend of a friend that they work miracles.

I just don't understand why they think it would help, there's no science behind it at all and honestly they just look dangerous.

So now I'm genuinely wondering am I missing some new research which isn't just anecdotal? Or am I right to wonder why is it that rationale intelligent people seem to think that bloody amber will help when everything else I've tried so far has failed?

YANBU. I had to suffer through all that with my kids. My family only relented as very sadly at the time the news carried a piece about a child who died due to such a necklace.

FDA warning on the subject. Many other sad stories online if you need back up.

Honestly, OP, there are thickos everywhere.

Teething powders don't do anything either.

Best thing I found for soothing gums was anbesol liquid. Wonderful relief for baby and parent!

Oh. I assumed it was just cos they were cold and hard, so good to chew on.

I was always a bit doubtful because of the whole swallowing risk, though.

Wow, I always thought the amber whatever was for the baby to actually chew on and that the amber was just some particular hardness that worked well for that! Didn't realise there was woo and bollocks involved.

As an aside, for teething I used teethers that were a bit like little icepacks, plastic with a liquid inside that hardened when frozen. The coldness numbed the gums a bit. Seemed to work for DS.

all of whom I thought to be quite intelligent

I think your issue might be your ability to assess the intelligence (or at least the general reasoning skills) of others.

@percentageshelp couldnt agree more! I got evil looks in the pharmacy when i said what else could i give as teething granules weren't enough and she said they should be!

Anbesol liquid is by far the greatest teething solution.

We only risked the anklet as due to time of year it was always under a sleepsuit or socks and leggings so even if it somehow snapped it wouldnt go anywhere and DS was always in a sling or in eye line ad he was a full velcro baby

Teething powders are homeopathic though... that’s why you can use them as and when as there’s no real overdosing. I don’t think it’s fair to scoff at someone trying a teething bracelet while saying that you happily use the powder which has no real science to back it either.

I never understood this either.
If they worked, why aren't they used my adults?

Teething powders are homeopathic nonsense as well. Sometimes people don't look too deeply or think very much about what they are doing.

*by not my

I cut a wisdom tooth at the grand age of 32 a few years ago, and the only thing that gave me relief was chewing some touch rubber tube and paracetamol. So I think just stick with what you're doing and ignore the woo!

Ds has had amber beads on his ankle since he was born and is now 2, I think hes had one temperature from teething and has only had to have calpol about 3 times due to teething, the rest was absolutely fine and we actually didn't even know half of the teeth were coming up until they broke through, we've never used teething gel or powder or anything like that either

This is a real problem of our times - well educated people believing in various manifestations of pseudo science and it being completely normalised, even part of a hip identity sometimes. Like homeopathy which is total horseshit. I find this stuff very depressing .

taytotots tsh tsh , you know recharging in moonlight only works if you first place the amber thingy under a mystic pyramid made of copper wire and rowan twigs and blessed by the seventh child of a seventh child.

And , by the wonder that is mumsnet I can reveal for the first time that I am indeed the seventh child of a seventh child, have a rowan tree in my garden and am willing, for a small consideration, to gather some twigs and fashion a little pyramid.............

[Waves hands mystically and emits woooo noises]

I also do a nice line in stones painted to divert the evil eye. All stones are naturally sourced, and the paint is guaranteed Farrow and Ball.

I just thought they were a fashion accessory. Those teething rings you can put in the freezer are brilliant.

People believe in all sorts of woo when it comes to babies. I don't know why.

The best one is that if you share a bed with your baby, its heartbeat will match with yours.

Back in the day My polish great grand parents and their fam would eat a little amber every day for health. Back in the day being back before modern medicine. I’ve no idea if it was any good for anything, but potentially a source of why wills think it’s ok to hear million year old tree juice.

Consequently I have quite a few bits of amber jewellery at home, some of the older bits of amber would definitely flake into dangerous shards of chewed by a baby.

Teething goes on for bloody ages and is painful and disruptive. It is what it is, and I can’t see jewellery changing that. But psychology is a powerful thing. On a related note I have some magic beans that will 100% stop teething pain. If your child still look uncomfortable after using them it’s probably something else. Any takers?

Ds has had amber beads on his ankle since he was born and is now 2... we actually didn't even know half of the teeth were coming up until they broke through

Whilst it's great that your DS didn't seem to suffer much with his teeth, the amber beads played absolutely no part in this.

The best one is that if you share a bed with your baby, its heartbeat will match with yours.

Let’s hope not! I’m sure babies and children are supposed to have faster heartbeats and pulses because their hearts and lungs are smaller. Obviously it’s a load of crap anyway but I’m more worried that people would think that slowing their child’s heartbeat to match theirs is a good thing

Probably the same as the chamomilla granules the pharmacies sell for teething which are just homeopathy too.

People will try anything when baby is in pain

"Let’s hope not! I’m sure babies and children are supposed to have faster heartbeats and pulses because their hearts and lungs are smaller. Obviously it’s a load of crap anyway but I’m more worried that people would think that slowing their child’s heartbeat to match theirs is a good thing"

Right? i think people use it to justify bedsharing to try to say it actually reduces the risk of SIDS because you are so in sync or something.

I find them to be a handy visual marker of a certain kind of parent whose views on lots of things I’m probably not going to agree with.

My sister is like this. Anything going... she will believe it. No critical thinking at all.

Same parents, same upbringing, she's a chemist ffs...

I have stopped discussing anything with her, it's just the way she is. Nod and smile, rinse and repeat.