Why do mums put those large beaded necklaces...

[TheFancyPants]

..around their babies necks? Surely its not safe? Why are they fashionable?

@murbblurb

No wonder mlm works if this is the intelligence level of some who have kids. Scary.

This.

Bloody hell, there are a lot of eejits about the place these days.

Anecdata isn't real data!

Bloody hell, there are a lot of eejits about the place these days.

I think there always have been a lot of eejits, but there's less excuse for ignorance nowadays.

No I don't give a shit about other people, why should I spend my time worrying about others that are nothing to do with me and mine.

Ben Goldacre's book Bad Science should be required reading.

It explains all of these phenomena. With facts, and maths, and statistics. Rather than nonsense.

I heard that they keep tigers away?

@MrsTerryPratchett

Ben Goldacre's book Bad Science should be required reading.

It explains all of these phenomena. With facts, and maths, and statistics. Rather than nonsense.

YES! I totally agree, I love that book.

In Ankh-Morpork of course, the Patrician would put the wilfully ignorant in the scorpion pit...

@GlmPmum

No I don't give a shit about other people, why should I spend my time worrying about others that are nothing to do with me and mine.

I'm glad most people do care. Pointing out the risks could save a child's life, and pointing out that they do fuck all might mean a child gets some medication to help with the pain.

In Ankh-Morpork of course, the Patrician would put the wilfully ignorant in the scorpion pit...

Along with the mimes!

@underneaththeash - didn't help mine.
@oakleaffy - wish I'd known about the magic pjs when mine were teething!!

If people need a magical placebo, we use Eagle Brand Medicated Oil. It's a magical elixir that Vietnamese people swear by. Green and strongly smelling with Chinese writing on it. It convinces all children of its magical properties.

There was a case of a baby in the US who strangled himself on one of these while napping in daycare so they are strongly advised against by experts.

No, the idea is that the temperature of a child's skin is just right to warm the beads enough to release a natural anaesthetic contained within.

How utterly bonkers

@AnnLouiseB

No, the idea is that the temperature of a child's skin is just right to warm the beads enough to release a natural anaesthetic contained within.

How utterly bonkers

Especially since, afaik, succinic acid isn't an anaesthetic or analgesic. If it was, it would be real medicine not alternative. It's like two molecules of acetic acid stuck together, bet it's cheap as chips to make.

DD was a hideous teether plus had an undiagnosed milk allergy and was in pain for about 12 months. After exhausting paracetamol, ibuprofen, teething gels, gaviscon, ranitidine, omeprazole... we turned to the hocus pocus through shear exhaustion!

DD ended up sporting an amber ankle bracelet for a while... until my dad came to visit and said "why have you tarted the baby up like Katie Price"! I don't think my dad realised the effort KP puts into her beauty regime!

I like them as it tells me which mothers to avoid. They tend to be anti vaxxers too.

The question in the OP was "what are these necklaces used for", and most have been answering the question.

I'm not a sling wearing, anti-Vaxxer, quite happily ply my kids with painkillers/antihistamines when needed. I'd been given one and decided to try it to see if it worked when he was in agony (and paracetamol didn't work). Like I said, worked for one baby, didn't have any noticeable difference for DS2.

The point being is that desperate parents will rely on anything even a placebo effect if it means their baby will stop crying in pain. They don't give a shit about science, they just want something, anything that works.

They are dangerous, they don’t work, and they don’t look cute at all. Even if there we’re no risk or perceived benefit and it was just an aesthetic choice, I would be bemused because they look really inappropriate and stupid to me. Accept others may disagree.

They don't give a shit about science, they just want something, anything that works.

You see how this makes no sense? Science is how we assess hypotheses to see if the anecdata holds up. We did it with willow bark and got aspirin. We did it with mercury and got no mercury! One works, one is harmful. The anecdata said they both worked.

Thanks science.

Smoking was a proven treatment for severe asthma before inhalers and is still used in parts of the world where inhalers aren’t an option. Yes it will kill you but slower than a severe asthma attack would and as most children outgrow it chances are it would have had minimal effect. A child choking to death on an amber bead isn’t quite the same

@TheFancyPants

These ones

They want their children to choke to death, I’m not kidding , they are a dreadful choke hazard, and people are idiots

wow the anger on here is strong, a lot of projection going on.

I can’t see any projection.

More in sorrow than in anger...

We stuck a teething ring in the freezer for a bit.
Or a bit of whisky on a dummy