Dangers of Teething Necklaces?

"New amber necklace warning
after near-strangulation"
Read this article: HERE

So I have been asked by quite a few moms my opinion on this incident since it has gone viral. I've decided to respond here to answer a few of your questions… this is a LONG post but very important. So please read!

First, I want to say that we do not sell Baltic Amber Necklaces but Hazelwood Necklaces, mostly because my personal preference for my own children has been to heal naturally by REMOVING toxins (acidity) from the body by using Hazelwood (whereas Baltic Amber releases succinic acid INTO the body which supposedly helps with pain relief). This article states there is no science behind Baltic Amber being effective, because the natural temperature of the body does not get hot enough in order for the succinic acid to actually be released into the body. Whereas it's evident to the wearer of Hazelwood that it is drawing OUT the acidity, as they see the wood turning black with the absorption of the acid (high acidity levels exacerbate the pain from teething and many other symptoms from digestive issues to skin conditions -- this is why Hazelwood works for teething pain, as well as help babies with colic/reflux and aid in healing eczema). However I've always said that moms are the best judge of what works best for their child! Only YOU can decide that!

Second, I want to comment about the injury. In my opinion this necklaced was not sized correctly for this child. This is not the  moms fault. Maybe there were no sizing instructions that came with it. As per Quinn & Lane's sizing instructions, all Hazelwood worn on children under 5 years of age should fit SNUG! The necklace should be no more than 1.5" - 2" longer than the neck measurement. This is just enough room to allow two fingers to fit between the Necklace and the child's neck. If sized properly, your child would never be able to feed their arm through the necklace like this child had. If your child can pull the necklace up over it's chin, it is TOO BIG!!!

Third, I want to talk about the clasp. As far as my knowledge goes with Baltic Amber Necklaces, they all (should) come with a breakaway clasp. It's hard to tell in this picture if this necklace's clasp breaks apart under pressure. But I'm assuming it does and I don't know any seller/maker of Baltic Amber that would not put a breakaway clasp on their necklaces. But having said that, some clasps require a fair amount of pressure to be applied in order for it to actually snap apart. Ideally, there really shouldn't be much pressure required, and had the clasp on this necklace been a good safety clasp, the necklace "should have" broke open under the amount of pressure that was applied due to the child being stuck. So PLEASE check your child's necklaces to see just how hard it is to pull open. If it does not pull open easily, DO NOT use it!

OUR CLASPS: This is where our clasps for our Hazelwood necklaces are different. They are screw-post safety clasps that are designed to come apart at the loop-end. It does not take much pressure when the necklace is pulled on, for the clasp to open up and the necklace to fall loose (without losing it's beads). For anyone who has ever had me replace a broken/lost clasp, they can attest that it does not take much pressure to fall loose. As it should be! And this is why I will NOT use any other type of clasp (even though it is requested often). The ability of teething necklaces to pull apart and fall loose under a small amount of pressure is SO IMPORTANT TO YOUR CHILD'S SAFETY!

If you currently own a Quinn & Lane Hazelwood necklace I encourage you to TEST THE CLASP out. Remove the necklace from your child's neck. Close the clasp and start to gently pull the necklace apart. What do you see happening? The clasp loop ends immediately start to open up without very much pressure! This is what it is designed to do (fyi you can use a set of pliers to gently re-close the loop end of the clasp now that you've opened it up). Go on, try it! And don't worry, if you happen to pull too hard in the process of this test, and can't get it back together, I will replace your clasp for FREE! I happily repair/replace many clasps each month because of this. Every time I hear a necklace has been pulled off, I'm actually happy (even though the parent is sometimes rather annoyed) it's always better to be safe than sorry!

I also have a Hazelwood FAQ. Please read it HERE

Hazelwood Necklaces provide natural healing relief from
teething, eczema, migraines, acne, colic, reflux, heartburn,
nausea, arthritis, constipation, digestive issues & more!

If you have more questions, post them below! I'm happy to answer whatever it is you want to ask!