# Who gives a toddler an expensive bracelet or necklace? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451 "2012-07-26T14:37:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/1 "2012-07-26T14:37:41Z")
I feel bad for the two mugging victims. But why in the heck were those toddlers wearing expensive jewelry? Haven’t they heard of kids plastic jewelry in the toy section? Or at least buy a cheap pot metal chain for a toddler. I wouldn’t dream of giving my kid real gold until they were teens. Man this country is going to hell fast. Mugging babies now. > **[Second B’klyn toddler mugged as thug swipes bracelet off 2-year-old](https://nypost.com/2012/07/26/second-bklyn-toddler-mugged-as-thug-swipes-bracelet-off-2-year-old/)** > > HARVEY Chain stolen off neck.SHAME: A Brooklyn man was arrested for allegedly stealing a bracelet from Destiny Maizanche, pictured here (left) yesterday. ( )No toddler is safe in this city! A heart… > [@](#): > > A heartless thug mugged a 2-year-old toddler in a Brooklyn elevator — saying nothing as he snatched the young girl’s bracelet while her terrified, pregnant mom looked on, The Post has learned. > > Michael Andrews, 30, was arrested yesterday morning for the sickening attack, which happened a half-mile away from where a thug ripped a $400 chain off a 3-year-old boy’s neck as he sat in his stroller, sources said. > > “He didn’t care that I was pregnant and he was stealing from a little girl,” said Adriani Espinal, whose daughter, Destiny Maizanche, was mugged six days before her third birthday. > [@](#): > > Law-enforcement sources said Andrews allegedly targeted Espinal and her daughter as they entered an elevator at about 7:20 a.m. on July 6 at the building on Flushing Avenue where the tot’s grandmother lives. > > The thief took the child’s $300 bracelet off her tiny wrist as well as her mom’s $300 necklace, according to the sources. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/2 "2012-07-26T14:52:00Z")
Kiddie bling! It’s for the parents to show off, obviously. Same reason adults wear bling. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/3 "2012-07-26T14:53:56Z")
The prices seem high, but in Hispanic countries and some other mostly-Catholic ones it’s very normal for a little kid to get a gold medal on a gold chain for his baptism; there may be a cross to go along with it. My two sets of “baby earrings” were pearls on gold (baby earrings are designed to be very difficult for the child to take off, the beam is a screw). They may also have gold or silver brooches used to anchor the pacifier. Note that Espinal is a Spanish lastname. I know from previous threads that Indians also use baby earrings. Several of the medal manufacturers I’ve found in Spain while looking at prices also offer “Hindu medals”, but I have no idea whether those are intended to be worn by babies or not. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/4 "2012-07-26T15:01:02Z")
If they’re Indian they might have been given gold at birth. Believe it or not, sitting in my parents’ safety deposit box are impossibly small rings and necklaces of 24K gold that they had made for me and my sister for our naming ceremonies and such. Normally they’d be boiled down and made into something else but my parents are oddly sentimental about them. That said, we were both born overseas and my mom keeps all of our gold here in the bank for this very reason. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/5 "2012-07-26T15:08:38Z")
It’s an inner city trend that has been around for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/6 "2012-07-26T15:32:57Z")
What the hell kind of journalism is that? “Heartless thug,” “sickening attack”? Oh, the Post. “He didn’t care that I was pregnant.” :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/7 "2012-07-26T15:53:44Z")
The dramatic prose doesn’t change the facts. Mugging a pregnant mother and young toddler does require a really unique piece of slime. No telling what rock he crawled out from under. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/8 "2012-07-26T15:58:55Z")
Ditto for Chinese, big part of the culture, giving gold. Just because it’s outside your own culture doesn’t mean it’s truly ‘baby bling’, but it does make it hard to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/9 "2012-07-26T16:16:04Z")
When I lived in Albuquerque, I worked for some time in a jewelry-supply shop, selling turquoise to and cutting sheet silver for Native American craftsmen. One thing I saw that was common in the area were little baby bracelets made of silver and turquoise. Not really expensive though, just a few bucks at the time. Looked cool though. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/10 "2012-07-26T17:24:13Z")
It sounds like the same old argument - should you be able to run around sporting a thousand bucks worth of jewellery on you and your children? Of course. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to do so and not get mugged for it? Maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/11 "2012-07-26T17:41:26Z")
The same kind of person that names her daughter Destiny. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/12 "2012-07-26T18:26:36Z")
Giving a toddler expensive jewelry and letting said toddler wear expensive jewelry on all occasions are different things. It seems rather impractical to let a toddler wear expensive jewelry all the time. Even if she doesn’t get mugged, she’s likely to lose or damage it. Do these cultures that encourage people to give expensive jewelry to toddlers also say that the toddlers should wear the expensive jewelry most or all of the time? It sounds like the Indian culture **anu-la1979** was raised in doesn’t require or expect the child to wear the expensive jewelry all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/13 "2012-07-26T19:03:15Z")
Baptismal medals and baby earrings are worn all the time, yes. And the brooches are worn while the kid likes pacifiers. Since the jewelry has safety clasps/bolts which are made to be specifically hard to open and close, it’s a lot less complicated than taking them on and off. Earrings are barely noticeable if you’ve been wearing the same unmoving pair since you were born; the medals, only a little more. And how is the kid supposed to damage them? Not even my cousin whose name became a curseword in our hometown from the troubles he got into as a little kid was able to do that. The earrings are pretty much impossible for a kid to take off, and while the kid is little the chains get knotted to shorten them, so the kid can’t suck on them and they won’t get caught on stuff such as clothing’s buttons. My baptismal medal didn’t get off me until someone gave me a different necklace which was uncomfortable when worn with the medal. Turns out I find anything necklaces heavier or bulkier than that medal and its chain uncomfortable… ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/14 "2012-07-26T19:20:25Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Just because it’s outside your own culture doesn’t mean it’s truly ‘baby bling’, but it does make it hard to understand. One of the children was wearing a christening chain, but the baby bling phenom is real. I see it day in and day out. Not a penny in college savings for their child, but he’s wearing three giant gold necklaces. It’s the same mentality where someone won’t have enough money to pay their rent, but they have an iphone, fake nails and ghetto gold doorknockers. Screwed up priorities. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/15 "2012-07-26T19:25:30Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > The same kind of person that names her daughter Destiny. Granted, although I still give her massive props for managing to spell “Destiny” correctly. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/16 "2012-07-26T20:15:25Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Giving a toddler expensive jewelry and letting said toddler wear expensive jewelry on all occasions are different things. It seems rather impractical to let a toddler wear expensive jewelry all the time. Even if she doesn’t get mugged, she’s likely to lose or damage it. Do these cultures that encourage people to give expensive jewelry to toddlers also say that the toddlers should wear the expensive jewelry most or all of the time? It sounds like the Indian culture **anu-la1979** was raised in doesn’t require or expect the child to wear the expensive jewelry all the time. Mine does, though usually toddler jewelry is 14K and under gold or sterling silver. Costume jewelry is viewed the same as feeding your children Twinkies instead of nutritrious food. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/17 "2012-07-26T22:52:45Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Granted, although I still give her massive props for managing to spell “Destiny” correctly. Sorry, that was a misspelling by the newspaper … as soon as the babymomma screams about it they will print a correction 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/18 "2012-07-27T05:23:14Z")
My Vietnamese in-laws gave our babies engraved gold baby bracelets, and expected them to be worn. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/19 "2012-07-27T05:36:20Z")
My wife insisted on buying a strange gold bracelet with black beads for our son, some kind of cultural superstition probably involving mal joe protection. At some point we stopped putting it on when he started trying to dismantle it. Pretty sure my mom from Germany saw buying some jewelry for a baby was a nice way to buy something of lasting value for the child, I get the impression the view of jewelry has changed over time. So yea not all baby jewelry is showing off status. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451/20 "2012-07-27T05:40:12Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > It’s the same mentality where someone won’t have enough money to pay their rent, but they have an iphone, fake nails and ghetto gold doorknockers. Screwed up priorities. From your perspective maybe, from the perspective where ANY kind of savings will inevitably get eaten up by some “emergency” or will cause family to ask for loans and cause trouble if those requests are ignored, buying items of tagible value and worth like gold might seem like a good idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gives-a-toddler-an-expensive-bracelet-or-necklace/629451.md?page=2)