Sensory Chews

Chew on This

• What: Sensory Chews for kids
• When: One year and up
• Why: Redirect chewing, prevent damage to other items
• Where: Amazon

If you have a child who loves to chew on things, consider ordering a pack of chew toys, like these GNAWRISHING. I had no idea these types of things existed, and I wish I had discovered them years ago. It would have saved us clothes, furniture, pencils, and numerous other non-edible objects.

My son has always chewed on everything. When he gnawed on his crib rails as a toddler, we stuck the plastic guards on and called it good. But his need to chew outlasted his crib by many years. He’s chewed off a lot of his wooden big boy bed. Recently, the sleeves of his shirts look like they’ve been attacked by rodents. But it turns out, at nine years old, he’s just tugging on them with his teeth until multiple holes form.

You can get these silicone objects meant for chewing in multiple shapes and from many brands. (We also have some from Munchables.) Want to avoid losing all the erasers on pencils? Get a pencil topper. Don’t want to worry about keeping track of the chew? Try a necklace, which comes on a break away clasp. Each type of chew comes in different shapes, like building bricks, robots, and cylinders, as well as different colors. 

We got the bricks, and they have a nice texture on both sides, with the raised circles and a finer dotted surface on the opposite side, and smooth sides all around. Each one measures about three inches, and since we’ve invested in a package of five pieces, we haven’t lost another shirt sleeve, or had to ask him to remove inappropriate objects from his mouth. Here’s hoping that trend continues!