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My first review of Tween Bling fashion fidget jewelry from Smart Mom Jewelry was last November. Since then, Clara-Bear rarely leaves the house without her Smart Mom chewable jewelry. I even have a backup in her school bag in case I forget to put one on her.

Smart Mom knows that babies love to grab and chew, and they know that as girls get older they like to fidget. They might not know that children and adults with Special Needs can also chew and fidget, but they still have done a fabulous job of making age appropriate, safe, and durable chewable jewelry.  They have definitely helped my Special Needs child with her focus and ability to deal with stress.

One time I took Clara-Bear to therapy without Smart Mom chewable jewelry and her PT felt there was  a difference in focus during the session. She asked that Clara-Bear come to therapy with either her Spio Suit compression vest or her Tween Bling. How cool is it that our Physical Therapist put Smart Mom chewable jewelry in the same league as a prescription stabilizing garment?  Tween Bling is a regular part of my fidgety girl’s sensory diet as well as her wardrobe.


Probably the only time she doesn't wear it is when she will be someplace where it will drag as she climbs and plays, like an indoor playroom.  Silicone does not support bacterial or viral growth but it doesn't kill them on contact.  I try to be mindful of what she will be doing while wearing something that will go in her mouth.

This is how her Tween Bling looks after 8 months  of hard use:


They’ve held up great! Clara-Bear is almost six so she's not teething.  She's biting and she's not holding back. The silicone pendants don't even have bite marks. The cord gets chewed on as well but the strands aren’t fraying or separating. The necklaces get washed in the dishwasher after one use and are occasionally dropped into boiling water to make sure no buggies are growing in the cording. Regular cleaning with hot or boiling water has not caused any fading or signs of wear.

In addition to biting her Tween Bling, Clara-Bear likes to twirl and wave the necklaces when she stims. I was letting her do this to relax after school until she removed two necklaces and bit the safety release clasps. It took me a little while to figure out how the clasps were being crushed.

Replacing the cords was easy but Clara-Bear is no longer permitted to remove her Tween Bling.  She can only twirl it while she is wearing it and with direct supervision. Overall, I am thrilled with how Tween Bling is holding up to the triple threat test of time, teeth, and twirling (I don't blame them for the clasp crushing).

This giveaway is for one Vanilla Bean scented Smart Mom Jewelry donut shaped pendant with cord. I have not seen the actual product, but the 2x2 pendant looks lovely in the pictures.



A matching vanilla bean chewable bangle will be available for purchase through Smart Mom jewelry this month.  A chewable bangle might be an option for individuals who chew on their hands or fingers.

Substitutes for harmful or socially undesirable behaviors aren't always welcomed.  Have a plan for redirecting from chewing, sucking, or teeth grinding and expect resistance. It took a few months to get Clara-Bear to wear her Smart Mom jewelry because of sensory and behavioral issues.

If she pulled a necklace off I took it away immediately and told her to leave it alone.  She learned that if she wanted to see the necklace and play with it she would have to leave it on.  At the same time, I was doing Wilbarger DPPT every two hours (with hand hugs instead of joint compression).  This helped with the tactile defensiveness that made it difficult for Clara-Bear to wear a necklace.

Then I had to show her what to do with the pendant.  I would put it into her mouth and tell her to bite the chewie instead of grinding.  Because I substituted chewing on the pendant for grinding she still had a way to self regulate in stressful situations.  She had just started sticking her fingers in her mouth so we were able to stop that habit from forming at the same time as we dealt with teeth grinding.  

About the scents.  We have berry, peach, and pineapple scents and they were subtly scented when new. The scents have faded over time. I cannot tell you how a child with Sensory Dysregulation like in SPD or Autism Spectrum Disorder will react to the smells. Clara-Bear has marked hypotonia, and the low muscle tone seems to reduce her ability to taste and smell.  I think for her the scent helped made the chewable jewelry more appealing. Unscented products are available.

Totally off topic: our association with vanilla has nothing to do with baking. When Clara-Bear was a micro-preemie in NICU, she had frequent episodes of apnea of prematurity (meaning she would stop breathing). One of the neonatologists learned about my interest in aromatherapy and brought in a copy of a research study showing that apneic episodes can be reduced by placing a cotton ball with essential oil of vanilla near the baby. We tried this with Clara-Bear. Even though it didn’t work, that copy of the study and her original bottle of essential oil are still in her memory box.  Ahh, Mommy Memories.

All Smart Mom Jewelry is non-toxic, phthalate, BPA, PVC, latex free, and lead free. All pendants come with a breakaway clasp as an added safety measure. The mom owned company has even posted their Commitment to Safety on the website.

One lucky able2able follower will win a Vanilla Bean scented chewable necklace from Smart Mom Jewelry (ARV $19.99 USD).

Mandatory First Visit the Smart Mom Jewelry website and tell me which of their clever and fun products you like best.

The mandatory first entry must be completed before you can complete any of the following additional entries! You can choose to do one or all of these additional entries in any order. There are a total of 14 possible entries.

For 1 additional entry:

• Like Teething Bling on Facebook and leave a wall comment saying that you entered this giveaway at able2able.
  
• Visit the Teething Bling blog, and leave a comment HERE about something you learned there.
  
• Follow Teething Bling on Twitter. They have some fun giveaways going on there!
• Follow able2able on Twitter.
  
• Like able2able on Facebook and post a shout out comment on the wall. Current Facebook Fans may post an entry.

For an additional 2 entries (post a comment for each entry):

• Post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook status.
• Tweet the link to this giveaway.

For an additional 4 entries (post a comment for each entry):
Blog about this giveaway! Your blog post must include links to this giveaway and mention able2able and Smart Mom Jewelry. Include a link to your blog post in your comments.

It is very important that you post a comment for each entry. Why? Because a random number generator will be used to select the winner. Each comment will be numbered by Blogger, and I will use those numbers for the drawing. So if you combine entries into one post all your entries will not be counted. There will be no do-overs!

I will verify that the winning entry has met the requirements above, so if your comment for a FB status update is the winning comment then I might ask to see that link, etc. If I cannot verify your entry, then all your entries will be removed from the list and the drawing will be repeated.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 pm (CT) on Thursday, July 14th. The winner's name will be posted on able2able and I will also contact you. The lucky winner will have 72 hours to reply.

I received samples of Tween Bling jewelry in the past. This review was not influenced by any products I received and has not been edited by the sponsor.