Benefits of Munchables Chewelry: Anxiety, Focus & Oral Sensory Input

Many children, teens, and adults chew on shirts, sleeves, fingers, or pencils to cope with sensory overload, anxiety, or trouble focusing. Sensory chewelry (chewlery) and chewable jewelry – like chew necklaces, bracelets, zipper pulls and pencil toppers – give them a safe, clean way to get the oral sensory input their bodies are craving.

Many children, teens and adults chew on shirts, sleeves, fingers or pencils to cope with sensory overload, anxiety or trouble focusing. Chewelry gives them a safe, chewable option so they can get the oral sensory input their bodies are craving without damaging clothing or hurting themselves.

What are the Benefits of Chewelry (Chewlery)?

Chewelry (chewlery) and chewable jewelry can reduce anxiety, protect clothing, and provide calming oral sensory input that helps kids and adults focus, self-regulate, and feel more comfortable in their bodies.

CAOT Logo

The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists recommends Munchables sensory chewelry for their ability to “replace inappropriate chewing behavior (i.e. chewing on fingernails, pencils or clothing) and to provide potential regulating effects for the sensory system - reducing fidgeting and promoting attention and focus.”

The CAOT reviewing committee was "unanimous in recommending that Munchables pendants be accepted for the CAOT Product Recognition Program. Munchables pendants could be recommended by an occupational therapist for clients who tend to chew on items when seeking increased oral sensory input."

Decreases stress and anxiety,
Encourages healthy chewing behaviors,
Strengthens facial muscles,
Increases focus and attention,
Regulates the sensory system,
Strengthens oral motor skills,
Provides oral sensory input,
Reduces nail biting, and
Provides self-soothing and stimming

What is Chewelry?

Chewelry (also spelled chewlery or chewlry) is chewable jewelry – necklaces, bracelets, pencil toppers and zipper pulls that are safe to chew. It gives kids, teens and adults a clean, durable alternative to chewing on shirts, sleeves, fingers or pencils.

Many children, teens and adults search for chewelry for kids, chewelry for adults or chew necklaces when they notice constant chewing. These chewable sensory tools provide calming oral sensory input that can help with focus, self-regulation and comfort. Those with autism, ADHD, anxiety or Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) chew to help calm their nervous system, stay alert, or cope with overwhelming situations. Chewelry lets them chew on something that is clean, durable and designed for oral sensory use, instead of chewing on collars, sleeves, hair, nails or pencils.

Munchables chewelry is made from 100% food-grade silicone, independently safety tested and backed by our 90-Day Chew Guarantee. Our designs range from smooth, discreet styles to highly textured pendants for extra sensory input, so you can find a chew that matches your child’s age, style and sensory needs.

Does Chewing Reduce Anxiety? The Science

Research shows that chewing can have a calming, organizing and focusing effect for many people. Several studies have found that chewing can improve sustained attention and help with stress regulation in both children and adults.

"There is a great deal of research that supports clinical observations that having something in one’s mouth to chew or suck on can provide a calming, organizing, and focusing response." (Scheerer, 1992, The American Journal of Occupational Therapy).

Kazım Cihan Can performed a study in 2022 that found chewing provided a group of 65 adults with ADHD "improved sustained attention performance". (Can, 2022, Journal of Cognitive Psychology)

A study in 2019 found that chewing "significantly improves levels of sustained attention in cognitively demanding tasks." (Miquel, 2019, Physiology & Behaviour Journal)

There is also evidence regarding the positive effect of chewing on cognitive functions (i.e. sustained attention). "Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention." (Hirano, BioMed Resarch International, 2015)."

There is also research that supports the use of oral-motor sensory input in balance, suggesting that chewing behaviors allow neurotypical adults to increase postural stability when standing on an unstable surface with no visual input (Alghadir, Zafar, Somatosensory & Motor Research Journal, 2015).

For more, please check out our March 2021 series, "Why Kids Chew", on our Blog.

Choosing just the right chewelry can be challenging when you are not sure where to start. As a quick guide:

Choose a Medium chew if you’re unsure where to start.
Move up to X-Strong or XX-Strong if clothing, pencils or previous chews are damaged quickly. Our strongest (and firmest) chewelry is the Donut with Sprinkles (XX-Strong).
Pick beaded styles or softer designs for chewers who prefer more flexible, “chewier” textures.
Look for textured designs, such as the Biscuit Chew, if your child likes extra tactile input, or smooth pendants, such as the Scribbles Chew or Tear Drop, for a more discreet feel. Some chewelry may have one textured side with like the Dragon or Unicorn, for extra sensory input.
For the most chew, checkout the U-Shaped Pendant and the Chewy Tube Chewable Pencil Toppers

What do Munchables Customers Say?

"This necklace has helped my daughter get through the day. It calms her anxiety. She chews her nails and skin when she's anxious and cannot calm down. With this chewy, she has started to chew on the necklace instead and she can wear it anywhere." -Brenda H.

"We have been ordering from Munchables for several years now, the chewelry is discrete and has saved us countless tshirts that used to get soaked and/or destroyed from constant chewing." - Sadaf

"My daughter loves these! She's ruined many pencils and erasers with absent-minded chewing, these have helped so much and have held up quite well." - Amber B.

"Best Money I've Ever Spent!!! I stumbled upon Munchables as I was looking for something other than my fingers to chew that was safe. I'm an adult in my 30s with high-functioning autism and ADHD, among other mental health issues. I've been biting and destroying my fingers for as long as I can remember despite the pain and the many, many different attempts to stop; I just seemed forever doomed to attack my fingers. Since using Munchables chewelry, my anxiety has made a huge about-face since chewing my new pendant. Not a 180, but I already feel myself in a much stronger sense of calm. Thank you, Laura May, a million times, thank you." - Greta F.

"I have a 5 year old grandaughter that puts EVERYTHING in her mouth: she chews her finger nails, gnaws on her hair (which her mother has threatened to cut off if she doesn’t stop) and lately has taken to chewing her sleeves. I purchased the necklace and bracelet (which sadly she has misplaced somewhere), but she now wears the necklace whenever she walks through our door…. she LOVES it; and I love the fact that she’s not destroying her clothes, or her hair, or her nails!! Thank you!" - Karen T.

"Amazing! My daughter LOVES her Munchables. She wears them to school every day. They last, look cute, and give her an outlet to chew without destroying clothing/pencils, etc. Highly recommended!" - Andrea M.

"Love our Munchables! We purchased a Munchables necklace and bracelet for our daughter who got into the habit of chewing (thus destroying!) the collars of her shirts. As soon as she put on her new jewelry, she immediately switched to chewing on those. It did exactly what we hoped- and as a bonus, they are pretty to wear!" - Catherine L.

5 Reasons to Shop with Munchables:

Includes a 90 Day Chew Guarantee,
Ships free with minimum purchase (within USA & Canada)
Helps to stop destructive chewing & increase cognitive function,
Recommended by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, and
Founded by a Canadian mom with two sensory seeking children.

Let's change "Don't Chew That" to "Chew This"

with Munchables Chewelry!

Ready to try chewelry? Explore our chew pendants, chew bracelets and chewable pencil & pen toppers to find the right fit.

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