What are the best ways to get your children to brush their teeth?
I’ve tried so many different ways to get Pops to brush her teeth these 5 are the ones that have got the best results.
Ways to get your children to brush their teeth #1 -MUSIC
Not only does having music there help with making it more fun, it can be a great way to get kids brushing for the right amount of time. Get your little one to pick a song they love that is 2 minutes or more and they brush until the end. If they are younger then make sure you do the majority of brushing and let them do the last bit.
Ways to get your children to brush their teeth #2 -Brush a doll or toy they love
This one didn’t work for very long for us because Pops doesn’t have a favourite toy but if your little one has something they take around with them everywhere then get them to help brush its teeth. It will make them feel more responsible and distract them long enough for you to brush theirs too.
Ways to get your children to brush their teeth #3 -Brush your teeth together
Kids learn from what they see. Watching you brush your teeth should help them feel more comfortable with brushing and even teach them a good technique.. as long as you’re doing that yourself!
Ways to get your children to brush their teeth #4 – Mirror and Explain
This was a big hit with Pops. Spending time talking through what I was doing and letting her see in the mirror made it so much easier. It’s a great way to teach your little one the right technique too.
Ways to get your children to brush their teeth #5 -Rewards
Rewards seem to be one of those things that get toddlers to do EVERYTHING. Rather than rewards of food and treats I use books for bedtime. Pops loves being read a book (or 10) for bed and while I like that and know it’s great for her I use teeth brushing as a way to get more or less books read. If you don’t want to use books then get a little chart to add stickers too. You don’t want to reward with much else that close to bed so its better to save them for the next day/ weekend if it’s something big or edible.
You may find things that worked before all of a sudden won’t, if that’s the case then try something new! Like most things making it a routine helps too – start brushing as soon as they have teeth (even before with a cloth if you can) and it will hopefully get easier as they grow.
Will or have you used any of these before? Did they work?
Until the next post,
Are and Pops.
Never mind toddlers, I’m still struggling with my 9 and 6 year old. We have bought a timer though and that seems to have done the trick. My youngest (2 yo) is also not the best so I will try out some of these ideas. I think brushing her dolls teeth may help – fingers crossed.
I hope it helps! Let me know how it goes. A timer will be great, I find bribing with screen time helps when they’re older (or youtube obsessed like Pops) x
Great advice here. Our toddler needs some encouragement with this so I’ll be testing out these tips.
Let us know how you get on and good luck! X
When I babysit my grandchildren we have the Welsh section of the UK Toothbrushing competition (with timer) with a selection of their friends who have certain events happening to them.. they can fall over, poo themselves or loose their toothbrushes – we have spit time plus the results read in reverse order (they always come first obvs) but there’s much cheering and the crowd goes wild haha! It’s been working for quite a while now though there’s no disqualifications now, everyone gets to finish (their idea)
haha that sounds amazing!