How safe are teething necklaces for your child?
The safety of your child is the most important thing to consider. While I believe the chance of harm coming to you or your baby from wearing the Amber is slim, it is important as a parent that you understand the concerns that have been raised by officials and media over the safety of children wearing anything around their neck.
As a socially responsible company we believe it is our duty to alert parents to all of these concerns so that they may make up their own mind. You know your child better than anyone – you know how they play, how they sleep and everything about their surroundings. So please make yourself aware of all concerns and use your amber teething necklace in way you think best for your child.
1) Know the risks
2) Know your child and their environment
3) Make your own mind up as to what is safe for them
Risk of choking/strangulation
The main concern is that necklaces may get caught on something and strangle or choke your child. This is especially the case when running around or if they climb in and out of bed at night. Check the environment where your child plays and sleeps and if possible remove anything that could pose a hazard. If you are still not comfortable with the situation then take the necklace off until they are in a safer place.
While we don’t think this is reason enough not to use teething necklaces we ask that parents keep this in mind at all times and take the necklace off if your child is running around in places where it could get caught. Keep the necklace tucked under clothes to prevent it getting caught on anything.
Similarly at night decide what is safest for your child. We leave our childs necklace on while she sleeps (as do many other people we know) and she is unaware that it is even there. By tucking the necklace under clothes and ensuring there is nothing in the bed it can catch on means you can enjoy the benfits of amber while your baby sleeps. However keep in mind the safety concerns, and remove the necklace if you think it could be dangerous or are not comfortable with leaving it on.
Risk of breaking and swallowing
Care should be taken to ensure the necklace does not break & possibly result in your baby swallowing the beads or that the necklace does not catch and choke your baby. Please use your intuition as a parent and use the necklace in the way you think best for your child.
The teething necklaces that MamaPukeko sells are short in length (approx 34cm) so your baby cannot pull at them, and to minimise the chance of it getting caught. The beads are individually knotted so that if they do break, only one bead will fall off and the rest will remain on the string.
Check the necklace regularly for signs of weakness or wear and tear at the knots.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs suggests the following:
– Babies should always be supervised when wearing amber necklaces – there is a risk for strangulation or a hanging hazard.
– There is also a risk of choking hazards if the necklace breaks and beads become loose. Some amber necklaces have knots between individual beads to help lower this risk.
– Amber necklaces should be removed from a baby when the baby is unattended even if this is likely to be for a very short period of time.
– Babies should not be left wearing necklaces while sleeping – whether that is during the day or overnight.
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