Seven Simple Tips to Help Children Properly Care for Jewelry

Amy Williams - 30 May 17

Tangled necklaces, earrings without their mates and rings that have somehow dropped into couch cushions are jewelry nightmares many parents face with little ones who want to accessorize.

Teaching children to take care of jewelry (no matter what quality or size) is a lesson that can save hours for parents who have gone cross-eyed from trying to untangle tiny knots from minuscule chains or searching rugs for missing earrings.

For parents with kids who love their jewelry, here are seven simple tips to help children wrangle and preserve their tiny treasures:

1. Invest in a jewelry box. An easy solution to keep jewelry safely stored in one place and to help protect a child’s precious items, jewelry boxes can be expensive but offer storage areas for most jewelry items. Many jewelry boxes also include a music box function to add a personalized touch.
2. Buy or make an earring tree to ensure that all earrings have a home. Earring trees can be elaborate sculptures with branches to hang or post earrings or they can be simple plastic circles with tiny holes to insert earrings. They are relatively inexpensive to buy and also easy to make. To make an earring tree, purchase heavy cardboard at a local craft store, cut the cardboard into a circle, star or heart and punch earrings into the cardboard design. Make sure children always remove earrings at bedtime (unless ears are newly-pierced when earrings must remain in place).
3. Always hang necklaces to avoid tiny tangles in the chains. Many jewelry boxes offer a rack to hang necklaces. No jewelry box? Key racks, which can be purchased at most stores, also work great to hang necklaces. Children can also have fun decorating the key rack for a more personalized touch.
4. Use a gift box to corral small rings in one place. Teach children to take off rings at bedtime and use one box to store all rings. Keep the box in a convenient place like a nightstand.
5. Enforce a policy that once jewelry is removed, then the accessory is retired for the day. Jewelry is typically lost when a child fidgets with an item in the car or when playing. If a child is continuously playing with a piece of jewelry, have them remove the item.
6. Keep jewelry out of the bathroom. Many rings and earrings have been eaten by drains in the bathroom sink. If earrings must be removed in the bathroom, make sure the drain is closed.
7. Teach children proper jewelry hygiene. Backs of rings can accumulate soap buildup and other debris, which can result in skin irritation. Teach children to clean rings with an old toothbrush to remove yucky debris. Also make sure that all earrings (and earring backs for pierced ears) are cleaned with either peroxide or witch hazel to properly disinfect.

With proper jewelry storage and care, young children can keep their accessories looking great and out of nooks and crannies while parents can avoid the headaches and frustration of missing and tangled jewelry.

Amy Williams

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