Babies have chewing and sucking needs and it is good to offer your child bite toys for this. In this article, I will talk about bite toys in babies and what to look for when purchasing bite products for your little one. Finally, I will give you a few tips for appropriate bite material.
Why bite toys for your baby?
All that gripping and chewing is very good for babies, because it has a very important role in the development of your child. We are talking about sensorimotor development.
Sensory motor skills are about the cooperation between the senses (also called “sensory”) and movement (“motor skills”). Simply put, working together between those 2 ensures that you can learn and discover well. In other words, your little one can’t discover enough by biting/chewing or sucking on everything. And for this there are chewing jewelry and bite toys in different strengths, with or without texture, various colors and shapes.
A baby likes to suck and chew. Sometimes they use your finger for that, or other things that are not chewable. another time a teething ring or bite toy. Chewing not only contributes to sensorimotor development, but also provides relief for teeth coming through. Sometimes we see that older children still tend to bite something. This is a way for them to process and regulate stimuli. You can read more about this in the article why children chew on pencils and toys.
How do I choose suitable bite material for my baby?
There are many different shapes, textures as well as colors of bite toys. Pay attention to the firmness and flexibility when making your choice! For young children it is nice when the bite toy is not too hard, that hurts too much to chew on. Also check if there is texture on the bite material (think of ridges, studs or otherwise) this is certainly pleasant for your little one because it gives some more stimuli.
Our tips
- Test out which firmness or flexibility suits your baby best!
- Make sure the bite toy is safe! Is there a CE mark and the silicones used are food-grade or medical-grade silicone and free of plasticizers.
- A chewing chain is not suitable for babies. However, you can hang one yourself where your little one can suck. View the collection of gumigem.
- Never leave the baby alone with bite toys.
- When your little one takes something in the mouth that is harmful, give him or her a bite toy.
- Make sure that your bite toys can be cleaned properly, because babies often throw things on the floor. (you can clean the bite toy under a tap, in a sterilizer or in the dishwasher.
What strength do you choose for baby bite products?
It depends on how much force a child puts with chewing and depends on the intensity / chewing frequency which product fits best. The products for light chewing needs are usually suitable for babies. They can’t really bite through yet. They still often talk about sucking on products. The products for average chewing need are best suited for little ones who like to take something in the mouth that is a little harder to chew. Think of a toddler who likes to grab duplo to bite. For the youngest children under the age of 3, chewing materials are rarely recommended for firm chewing needs. These are too stiff, inflexible and unpleasant to explore with the mouth.
How do I know if the bite toy is safe?
The cheap chewing jewelry and bite products that are available online often do not sufficiently comply with European legislation regarding safety. Safe jewelry and bite toys to bite on such as those of the
chewigem
and
ark
therapeutic brands have been extensively tested. They are made of medical grade and food grade silicone. They are free of BPA, PVC, Lead, Phthalate and latex and have a CE mark.
Our top 3 Teething Toys for Babies
Silli Chews Unicorn
This Silli Chews brand teething ring unicorn features cheerful colors and texture to meet chewing needs, the unicorn teething ring has textured surfaces that your baby will surely enjoy exploring with the fingers and mouth. This texture helps your child relieve the pain of teeth coming through. The Silli chews silicone teething rings are soft, flexible and great to feel and chew. If your child is older than 3 years, buy a loose cord and make it a bite chain unicorn.
Ark Therapeutic Flower
The ARK’s Flower Wand bite toy is full of possibilities! This beautiful two-colored flower has a long stem at one end for chewing with the molars. The cute flower shape of this bite toy at the other end is suitable for chewing with the front teeth. The end of this flower has a ridge texture around the outer edge for extra visual and tactile stimuli. Also check the Magic Wand to chew on.
Ark Therapeutic Lego Brick
The MEGA Brick Stick ™ from ARK is very similar to the original and popular Brick Stick chewing chain from ARK. What’s the difference? This MEGA version is much bigger! Wider, thicker and longer. The Mega brick chewing stone is about 12 cm long, 1.5 cm wide and 1.2 cm thick. The MEGA stone has almost 4 times the weight / volume of the original stone – ideal also for stronger chewers but also for the slightly older children. For the youngest I can recommend the Ark Grabber Brick .
