Have you noticed that one of the most popular must-haves for babies is a wooden ring? But WHY? Why is it SO important to have? And what’s with all the crocheting around them? Apart from it being visually very attractive due to the lovely colours of the yarn, it actually has two main reasons. One of them is, as the name suggests, to ease the pain of teething when those tiny first teeth are tearing their way through your baby’s tender gums (it sounds horrible, right?). The other one is (and this is where the crochet bit comes in) that it can be used as a tactile toy to help sensory development. As I said, these are only the two most important reasons, and we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg here. Read on to learn about this all-important, omnipresent baby toy, the crochet teething ring.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
The Crochet Teething Ring is very simple, a ring which has some yarn tied around it. Instead of crochet you may find some that are knit or it was made with the technique of amigurumi. Either of them should be fine.
Sometimes they are not only crocheted around but have other objects attached to them such as beads or bells, maybe a cute little animal. Take a look at Etsy where you can find a gazillion options, including a variety of patterns if you’d like to have a go and make it yourself.
The size of the ring is not that important. What you have to pay attention to is that it has to be comfortable for your baby to hold and it has to be big enough so that it does not present a chocking hazard. The Rings in my Shop are 7cm diameter.
SO WHY IS THE CROCHET TEETHING RING IS SO ATTRACTIVE FOR YOUR BABY?
One of the main reasons I think everyone loves these rings is that, due to the fact that they have a lot of benefits, they can be used for quite some time.
Tactile Mobile
When your baby is around 2.5 – 3 months old, s/he will start to reach for objects. Very soon those tiny hands will try to bat (this is where the Bell on a Ribbon mobile comes handy). The next steps in the development are grabbing and pulling, and that object will eventually end up in the mouth. The Ring (together with the Grasping Beads, if you have them) can help your little one with all of the above!
First you can use it as the Ring on a Ribbon mobile, hung from an elastic ribbon. Then, when your little one has learnt how to grasp and hold an object, can use it as a tactile toy. And this is when the crochet part comes in! Your baby will have hours of fun with exploring the two differing sides of the Ring. Smooth and rough, hard and soft(er), natural, neutral colour and colourful. All this playing with the crochet teething ring is great for those fine motor skills to get a good workout!
Teething toy
Around 4-7 months, the fist teeth will start to erupt. This is a long process (sometimes it feels like it will never stop!) which can cause a lot of discomfort for your baby. Those little gums are swollen and tender and a teething toy is just the right tool to alleviate the pain a bit. The best thing? Babies can use the ring independently, and can place it in their mouth when they need it the most.
Sometimes a teething ring will not be enough. Here’s an expert guide with helpful tips on how to help your baby if things turn worse.
Development in the mouth
A lesser-known benefit of the teething toys is that while babies happily munch on it, all that chewing and oral exploration stimulates the tongue to move around it. This helps to strengthen facial muscles, gives more flexibility to the tongue, which in turn will help in speech development.
A great treasure basket toy
It would be a great addition to every treasure basket during Sensory Play.
A safe mouthing toy
We need to make sure that the objects we provide for this oral phase are safe for our little one to explore. Well, nothing can be safer than a wooden ring! Nevertheless, don’t leave your baby unattended with the Ring and never tie it around their neck as it can become a choking hazard. Head over to this post to read about whether crochet toys are safe.
WHAT ARE THE SCIENTIFIC BENEFITS OF THE CROCHET TEETHING RING?
- Development of fine motor skills
- Hand-eye coordination
- Exploring the relationship between cause-and-effect
- Extended focus and concentration
- Executing a planned action alone
- Raising self-esteem
- Visual tracking (when the ring is in motion)
- Develop intentional and coordinated movement
- Muscle and core strength development
- Learning about self and their effect on the environment
- Strengthening connections between left and right side of brain
- exploring the tactile differences between the two different sides of the Ring
- soothing teething pain
- stimulating tongue movement, therefore aiding speech development
FINAL THOUGHTS
Even though a natural wooden ring does not look like a very interesting baby toy, but there are important reasons for why it became so popular. The crochet teething ring does not only help with teething problems but also plays a special part in physical, especially fine motor skills development. Using it as a tactile toy can help in enriching your little one’s sensory experiences. Not to mention how it aids speech development! When jumping on the bandwagon and getting one for your baby, it always pays well to learn about it as much as possible so that you can use it to its full potential.
Click here to read more about how the Montessori Visual Mobiles, the Montessori Tactile Mobiles or the Sensory Baby Toys help your baby’s development.
How did your baby react to this material? Please share your photos on my Instagram site. #montessoriedited, @montessoriedited