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It’s hard to count how many times I’ve sat in bed after an epic toothbrushing battle, thinking to myself: how on earth do you teach a toddler to brush teeth without throwing a fit?
It’s the same story every night. You’re done with bath time and story time. It’s time to brush teeth and hop into bed.
Except your toddler has other plans.
After much cajoling, your toddler makes it to the sink. She manages to squeeze out half the toothpaste onto the sink.
This is followed by much toothpaste licking and taste tasting. There’s 3 seconds where she chews on the toothbrush before tossing it into the sink to announce she’s “all done”.
If you try to get in there with the toothbrush, there’s much squealing and squirming and protesting.
I’ve been through this ordeal nightly (and come out of it with a toddler whose learnt to brush quite well).
So here is some advice I’d like to share with you on how you can teach a toddler to brush teeth without either of you ending up in tears. .
Teach a Toddler to Brush Teeth with These 9 Simple Hacks
1. Understand your toddler’s hesitation
If you think of it from your child’s perspective, it starts to make sense why they resist toothbrushing.
Poking something in your mouth and moving it around can be scary and uncomfortable.
To empathize, think of how much you hate trips to the dentist and having to open your mouth while things are poked inside.
Being able to understand and empathize with your toddler’s resistance will make a world of a difference in tacking this issue.
Trust me.
You’ll be less snappy, less agitated and a lot more patient.
2. Make toothbrushing fun
Now that you understand your toddler’s perspective, try making toothbrushing a fun activity. This is the number 1 technique to get your kids to do anything.
There are tons of ways you can make toothbrushing fun.
Some ideas include:
1. Singing songs about brushing teeth. I like the one that goes:
Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Every single day,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Brush them every day(in the same tune as ‘Row your Boat’)
Lame, I know. But it works like a charm. Also singing a song assures kids that the brushing is time bound. It will end soon once the song ends.
2. Playing ‘dentist’ with your toddler: “Mr Bear’s teeth are looking quite yellow, let’s get in there with a toothbrush and scrub them clean”
3. Letting your toddler brush your teeth. Now you might (you will) feel uncomfortable having your little tike poke a fuzzy stick in your mouth. But trust me. This really helps ease the tension and makes toothbrushing more of a fun game.
3. Let your toddler be in charge
Nothing makes your toddler get more of an ego boost than feeling like he’s the boss. Let your toddler make decisions.
Let him feel like he’s calling all the shots.
Buy a bunch of different colored toothbrushes and various flavored toothpaste. Let him decide which brush and paste to use and which song to sing.
Toddlers are much more likely to cooperate if they feel things are proceeding their way.
4. Make it quick
When you’re just starting off on teaching your toddler to brush teeth, make it as quick as possible.
A swipe here. A swipe there. All done.
Seeing how quick and simple toothbrushing is will help them feel less agitated.
As they get more used to brushing their teeth, you can teach them to be more thorough.
But for the beginning, keep it super quick so they associate toothbrushing as a simple activity and not a chore. A great idea is to get kids sand timers. These help kids know that the toothbrushing is time bound and it will end soon. They’re also multipurpose so they can be used for timing other things too with kids like chores, games and even handwashing!
5. Make brushing teeth a part of the regular routine
Children need consistency when it comes to learning a new skill. It’s important that you establish a regular morning and night time routine of brushing teeth.
Your kids will quickly learn to associate it as a normal part of their daily routine.
6. Brush your own teeth at the same time
Many parents underestimate the power of modeling behavior.
Toddlers are at a stage where they love to copy adults. In particular, they love to do exactly what their parents are doing.
I realized that when I started brushing my teeth in front of my daughter, she would love to follow along and copy me. It became less of a struggle and more of a game.
7. Use a reward chart
Let’s face it. Reward charts work for pretty much anything you want your kid to do.
I’ve used them for potty training and handling behavioral issues. It just made sense to use it for brushing teeth too.
8. Read books about brushing teeth
Reading fun books on brushing teeth is a great way to motivate kids. I noticed it had a big impact in helping my toddler understand why it’s so important to brush.
Plus seeing other children or cartoon characters brush their teeth helps normalize the whole process for them. This is a really good toddler book written and illustrated by a dentist to help kids understand about dental hygiene and the importance of keeping their teeth healthy.
9. Take your child toothbrush shopping
This is one of the easiest ways to get your toddler excited about brushing their teeth.
Let them pick out a toothbrush. It could be one of their favorite cartoon characters, a toothbrush that lights up or one that’s electric.
This toothbrush is one that every toddler parent swears by and some have called it a “game changer”. It has LED lights, which helps get kids super excited about brushing and it also helps parents look inside their child’s mouth to better clean. It also vibrates for better cleaning and massaging of gums and kids love the vibrating sensation as they brush. It’s 75% more effective at removing plaque from hard to reach places compared to a manual toothbrush. It comes with two heads, one for smaller babies and another for toddlers, so it grows with your child. The brushing heads can be bought separately so that’s an added bonus – once the bristles get old you can simply get a new head rather than having to buy another toothbrush. Oh and get this – it comes with a built in 2 minute timer!
Frequently asked questions:
At what age should kids start brushing their own teeth?
By the age of 3, you can start encouraging your child to hold his own toothbrush and try brushing himself.
However, brushing teeth is a skill that takes time to master. Most children lack the skills to be able to independently brush their teeth until the age of 6.
So up until this age, its important that you supervise your child while he brushes. The best way to do that is to brush alongside your kid. Model good oral hygiene and your child will be sure to follow.
At what age should kids use toothpaste?
I was so confused about when I should start using toothpaste with my kids. There seems to be a bit of a debate with regards to using fluoride toothpaste for children younger than 2. Some like the Canada Dental Association suggest brushing a toddler’s teeth with a toothbrush moistened only with water. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggested the same. However in 2014 they revised their stance, stating that a grain sized amount of fluoride toothpaste can be used for babies and toddlers.
The problem is that two year olds haven’t developed the skill to spit, so any fluoride you put on their toothbrush gets swallowed. A tiny amount of swallowed fluoride is not dangerous but if the amount is slightly more it could lead to an upset tummy.
Some parents opt for a middle ground and use training toothpaste. This is basically toothpaste that cleans your child’s teeth but it doesn’t contain fluoride. This way you can scrub your child’s teeth squeaky clean without having to worry about them ingesting anything harmful. (training toothpaste is safe to swallow).
Should I force my toddler to brush her teeth?
Forcing your child to do anything will only create power struggles.
As parents, many of us can testify that at one point or another, we resorted to force (out of sheer desperation).
Except it’s a tactic that always backfires and creates even more resistance.
“Threats and force will ultimately create more resistance because force always creates pushback. After all, how would you feel if someone sat on you, pried open your mouth, forced in a toothbrush and scrubbed?”
Psychology Today
Wrapping up
Having a toddler whose averse to brushing their teeth makes it very high on the list of parental frustrations.
Pick a few ideas from the list that you find easy, implement them tonight and see for yourself what a big difference it makes.
Next Read: 6 Ingenious Ways to stop a Toddler from Jumping on the Couch
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