Works for Me Wednesday: Carrots as Teethers

I can't take credit for this one, although it's a brilliant idea and I'm happy to share it with the world. Our pediatrician recommended it in order to allow us to avoid toys from China several months before it was really scary to let your kid chew on toys from China.

Basically, you take a baby carrot of appropriate size (not too short or thin, but not too thick either), hand it to your teething child, and let them gnaw on it. They'll like the sweet taste, they'll love the coolness if it's right from the fridge (although don't freeze them because they get mushy), and it's too hard for them to bite off a piece (and is therefore of excellent hardness for teething).

One other advantage of this is that later on when you introduce solid foods, you can start with carrots and they'll recognize the taste (and remember the joy it brought them), making the transition just that much easier.

This _definitely_ works for me!