Little Teether Teething Blog

By the time your kid reaches the age of three, the majority of their baby teeth will have appeared. But before that happens, he or she will start teething as early as three months old. Your baby's gums will have a little swelling and soreness as it prepares for the first tooth to come through. Your baby might be irritable or finicky too, and as a parent you want to do everything to ease the discomfort. This is where something as simple as a teether can work wonders.

A teether helps your kid ease the soreness and the discomfort of growing teeth. Instead of a baby biting their fingers or random items to ease the discomfort, parents can offer a soothing teether. However, not all teethers are safe. Surprisingly, some sub-standard teethers laden with heavy metals, toxins and BPA still exist, which can harm the health of your baby.

With the observance of the National Poison Prevention Week on the 20th to 26th of March 2016, it is every parent's responsibility to make sure that the teether  you are giving your child is safe and BPA-free.

How to make sure that the teether is safe?

Carefully check teether packaging or included certifications. Can't find any? Contact the manufacturer. At Little Teether, we make understanding safety simple, because all of our teething jewelry is BPA-free.

Our products are tested for safety not just once but two separate times to truly guarantee safety. One test is conducted by our manufacturer to ensure the highest quality standards, while another test is facilitated by a third party testing facility in the USA. Only after such testings are completed and validated can you be assured that the teething jewelry you are giving your child is non-toxic, BPA-free, food grade, and without harmful heavy metals like lead, phthalates, and cadmium .

Fashionable teething necklaces worn by moms, used by babies

Chew bead manufacturers continue to come up with different shapes and designs. But what many manufacturers miss is that most babies, if not all, don't care as much about the design as they do just yanking on mommy's accessories and putting them in their mouth. That's why Little Teether's chew beads focus on designs that inspire moms with functionality that entertain baby. With such fashionable options, don't be surprised if you wear your fashionable chew jewelry long past your baby's teething phase.

In recognition of National Poison Prevention Week, let's do what we do best as parents and keep our little angels safe. Whether you join thousands of mothers in falling in love with Little Teether's food-grade chewable jewelry, or you find other chew toys for babies, make sure what your baby puts in their mouth is safe.

St. Patrick's Day is one of those "party" holidays that everyone looks forward to. With feasts of food and all-things-green, who wouldn't want to take part in celebrating the luck of the Irish?

Here are five activities that you can enjoy with your family.

1. Embrace Irish movies and music. Ireland has been the setting of some of the best movies ever made and has produced some of the best actors and musicians in the entertainment industry. What better way to celebrate St. Patricks with the family than immersing your family in Irish cinematography and culture? As for its' music, there have been a number of bands and solo artists that have come out of Ireland. The most known of all Irish-associated bands is none other than the Bono-fronted U2. Other artists from Ireland that are worth listening to are Van Morrison, Enya and the Chieftains.
2. Get in some action with the fam. While rugby is a sport with Irish history, more kid-sensitive options include hot potato.
3. Attend a parade. Several cities feature parades or festivals on St. Patrick's Day. Witness bagpipe-wielding musicians and Irish dancers.
4. Use your hands. Break out the crafts and green paint. Unleash the kid in you as you finger paint with the kids or make leprechauns, shamrocks, pots of gold, four leaf clovers, and more.
5. Do a little digging into your family ancestry. On St. Patrick's Day it seems like we're all a little Irish. Why not dig into your ancestry and see if you really do have a little luck of the Irish in your blood?

However you decide to celebrate, the main goal is that you and your family get into bonding time together.

March 2nd welcomes Read Across America Day, affectionately also known as Dr. Seuss Day, after the beloved children's book author. This day is a time-honored tradition that encourages children across the country and motivates them to read.

In recognition of Read Across America Day, here are some lesser-known books that cover diverse topics to help instill the love of reading in your child:

1. Green is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors Authored by Roseanne Tong and illustrated by John Parra, this is an attractive book for children because of its creative illustrations that showcase different items from different cultures from around the world.
2. More More More Said the Baby: 3 Love Stories Vera B. Williams tells the story of how grown-ups have fallen in love with three children. A cute story to emphasize a parent's love for their children.
3. Mama Do You Love Me? is written by Barbara M. Joosse. She drew inspiration for the book from how animals live in the Arctic region. This book is full of questions that parents frequently hear from their children, and helps illustrate the love that parents have for their children.
4. Whoever You Are is a book written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Leslie Staub. This book covers how everyone is different, yet we all share commonalities. Such diversity is what bonds humankind. Little things like crying, smiling, laughing, having fun, getting hurt are all experienced by every child all over the world, no matter their location, race, economic class, etc.
5. Yum Yum Dim Sum is written by Amy Wilson Sanger who based the book on experiences, showing that children's taste in things can develop over years.

6. Global Babies . This book is by the Global Funds for Kids. This one capitalizes on the fact that children love to look at and are attracted to pictures that have people in them. Children are most attracted to photos of babies. The book contains photos of babies from across the globe wearing their national costume or something that represents their home. Although everything is written in Spanish, it is quite easy to understand because the photos speak loudly.
7. Whistle for Willie is an endearing book written by Ezra Jack Keats that involves the relationship of a child named Peter, and his dog Willie. It shows the adventures of Peter learning how to whistle so he can communicate with his dog.
8. Reach: A board book about curiosity written by Marjorie Lisovkis and Elizabeth Verdick is one of the Happy Healthy Baby Series. This book highlights how different babies and cultures explore curious things in the world.

Take the time to read to your child and to expose them to books at a young age. Knowledge is an invaluable treasure. Take advantage of Read Across America Day and pass on some knowledge.

Little Teether necklaces are products for babies just as much as they are fashion accessories for mommy. It is for this reason that our brand is meticulous about selecting the best components to allow for safe biting on by lovely, innocent babies. In recognition of National Children's Dental Month, I want to take a moment an emphasize that our #1 priority is your babies' safety.

Little Teether abides by the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) regulations regarding the manufacturing of goods that cater to children. Based on the CPSC's guidelines, all makers and importers of children's products should have a Children's Product Certificate verifying that the manufacturer complies with safety rules provided by the commission. In addition to embracing CPSC guidelines, we have our products tested by a third-party testing facility, which is further accredited by the CPSC.

Although our products are CPSC accredited, parent supervision is a must, as it should be with any baby toy or accessory. Little Teether's silicone chew jewelry may be for babies to play with, but they are for mothers to wear. At no point should a baby wear any teething product unless specifically noted otherwise by the manufacturer.

The most important and rigorously tested components of Little Teether necklaces are the beads that babies bite on when teething or playing with our product. These chew beads are made from food-grade silicone. This means that they are non-toxic and BPA-free and, therefore, do not pose any harmful threats.

Ah, yes. Brushing your kids' teeth. The highlight of every parents' day. Kids give parents a hard time when it comes to brushing time. Crazy scenes in the home include playing chase around the home until both of you get tired, pretend-sleeping, hog-tying, or worst, and eardrum-crushing scream from the cranky toddler.

Who hasn't held kids' toys hostage in return for a teeth cleaning, or skipped brushing teeth all together to get out of the stressful situation? Sometimes you wonder why we go through the hassle? After all, baby teeth fall out eventually to be replaced by permanent ones, right?

This is true. However, baby chompers need to be as healthy as possible because they hold the spot for permanent ones. In effect, if baby teeth aren't healthy, the adult teeth that follow them won't be healthy either.

Since children love all-things-fun, why not make brushing time fun, too? Here are a few ideas to encourage stubborn kiddos to pick up their toothbrush and scrub away.

Interactive Persuasion

What exactly does this mean? Children love cartoons. Take advantage of this and find interactive stories online which feature their favorite character talking about the importance of brushing teeth. Some websites even feature interactive games online that get the kids to follow along and brush as they watch. If you cannot make your child brush his teeth, maybe Mickey Mouse can.

Channel Your Inner Songwriter

Children love music. It is for this reason that shows like Wiggles is loved by so many toddlers. If you can channel your inner Taylor Swift and create a song from scratch talking about brushing teeth, this is a sure-fire way to encourage your child to pick up the toothbrush and hum along while scrubbing their pearly whites.

Creative Storytelling

If you can't channel your inner songwriter, create a story instead. Perhaps you can have the Caped Crusader battle a Gotham villain, who spreads cavities in the city. Maybe Cinderella and the fairy godmother could join forces to help someone achieve the whitest, cleanest teeth. Whatever you choose, make your story evolves around characters or a plot that your kid can relate to.

Employ Gadgets

Brushing teeth should last for an average of two minutes, a minute spent on cleaning the upper teeth and another minute for the lower ones. However, for kids, two minutes can seem like an eternity. To keep kids from bailing out after 10 seconds, use a cool timer to time their brushing. Kitchen timers usually come in creative shapes. They can distract your kid and help them forget about how long they've been scrubbing. Also, if you feel like splurging, there are toothbrushes that play a two-minute tune when used.