Is Chewelry Safe?
Chewelry has become popular in recent years: wearable silicone jewelry meant to be chewed or sucked on. Chewelry is intended to help release stress and anxiety in children and adults who use it. Moreover, advocates say that chewelry normalizes the use of sensory aids by repackaging chewing supports as fun, colorful jewelry pieces that anyone can wear.
However, parents and caretakers who are new to chewables may wonder whether it’s okay to give their children items that encourage them to chew. Is this safe? Do these toys help or hurt?
The overall consensus by experts is that chewelry is not only safe but is highly beneficial for children with hyperactivity or sensory processing disorders. Below are some reasons why chewelry is generally considered safe and why it might be time to consider it an option for your child.
Food Safe Material
Some caretakers may be concerned that their children will get sick from putting chewelry in their mouths. However, the primary reason why chewelry is considered safe is that it is usually made out of food grade silicone.
Food grade silicone is durable, nonreactive with other chemicals, resistant to extreme temperatures and approved by the FDA for direct contact with food. Silicone rubber is also antifungal, and its nonstick waterproof properties mean that it has a low chance of retaining contamination. Because of these properties, silicone chewelry is rated nontoxic and safe for direct mouth contact.
Munchables, the brand of chewelry that Diversity In Toys offers, uses child-safe silicone that contains no BPA, BPS, or phthalates. (You can tell that a Munchable is made of pure high-grade silicone by bending or twisting it gently. Note that it doesn’t show white streaks, which would indicate the manufacturers added filler materials to their silicone.)
Durability
Another concern of caretakers might be whether their child will bite off and swallow bits of their chewable. However, chewelry is built to last and resist wear and tear. As discussed above, silicone is a durable material and maintains structural integrity even when exposed to high and low temperatures, immersion in water, and physical stresses like bending and biting. So, a piece of chewelry can last a long time without becoming a choking or eating hazard.
That being said, the lifespan of any specific chewy depends on the biting habits and jaw strength of the chewer. Inspect your child’s chewelry regularly for cracks or weaknesses. If you see pockmarks or pieces missing, it’s time to retire that chewy and invest in a new one.
Caretakers may also wonder if chewables will harm their children’s teeth. Munchables offers chewies in varying degrees of toughness for different ages and jaw strengths. Buying the right grade of chewable for your child will ensure that their chew habits don’t affect their tooth development.
Chewelry Efficacy
The biggest reason to consider buying chewelry for your child is that it is safer than the alternative: that your child chews whatever they get their hands on.
Most children seek oral stimulation at some stage or another. For babies, sucking on objects such as fingers or pacifiers is calming. For toddlers, chewing different textures helps relieve tension while also preparing their jaws for different sensations such as harder foods. Most children eventually outgrow these behaviors.
However, some children feel the urge to chew more than others do. Children with ADHD or ASD are particularly prone to chewing behaviors. While the “whys” are not completely known, most experts connect chewing to self regulation and relieving anxiety and stress. Children who crave chewing stimulation won’t be able to resist simply because they’ve been told not to.
Without proper tools like chewables, these children may instead chew on clothing, toys, pens and pencils, and even their own hands. Providing them with durable, food-safe sensory aids not only helps them relieve anxiety and stress, but may also end up preventing worse injury by their chewing things not intended for oral contact.
How to Care For Your Chewelry
While chewelry is considered safe because of its high-quality materials and durability, proper cleaning and care can maintain its lifespan.
Regularly clean your child’s chewelry to prevent the accumulation of grime or germs. The best way to clean most silicone chewelry is with grease-removing dish soap and very hot water. Avoid scrubbing it with an abrasive sponge as this can degrade the surface and create pockets for germs to hide in. Pat dry with a clean towel or let air dry. You can also wash any Munchables on the top rack of your dishwasher.