Works-for-Me Wednesday: Brushing the Kids’ Teeth
April 30, 2008 by Veronica Mitchell
I haven’t done one of Shannon’s Works-for-me Wednesdays in a while, but the last few nights a new trick has been working for us, and I thought I would share it.
Our two older girls - four and almost three years old - hate getting their teeth brushed. It is a struggle every night. We won’t relent, but they howl about it every night. It takes dexterity to clean all those teeth, and our kids just can’t get the job done by themselves yet. Our general rule is that we will brush the kids’ teeth until they can write in cursive. That’s still a long way away, and I cannot bear the thought of hearing the howls of protest every night until then.
Two nights ago, in desperation, I tried something new. I handed them my toothbrush and I opened my mouth. While I brushed their teeth, they got to brush mine. The protests stopped, and they giggled. Currently, they think this is fun.
It’s not a perfect solution. My almost-three-year-old tends to just gag me with the toothbrush. But it is still much, much better than the screaming.
For more helpful ideas, visit Shannon’s Works-for-Me Wednesday.
I just let my kids (2 and 4) “brush” their own teeth, and when they say they’re done I do it again myself. I think it helps that they love their toothpaste (Aquafresh Kids) so much that I actually have to hide it or they will eat it.
Try asking them just to brush your front teeth - gosh, won’t you have a sparkling smile!
Do you think this would work on a 13 year old? I’m at my wit’s end trying to get him to clean his teeth properly. He has braces so it’s a laborious and time consuming process and he simply doesn’t want to put forth the effort.
Brilliant.
Ha ha, I love it!
On a related topic, do you have any suggestions for how to get an almost 5yo who has been potty trained since age 2 to stop arguing about whether or not he is required to wash his hands? Believe me, I have never given him cause to think that I might waver on this one. And still he argues.
we’ve done that too. sometimes we also find that the almost 2 year old will cooperate for his 4 year old brother better than us. this requires supervision and coaching so the 4 year old gets all of his brother’s teeth - but he loves to help. and they adore each other. most of the time.
That’s the same thing that works for my 16 month olds. They let me direct their tooth brush as long as I let them “direct” mine. I try and remember it’s cute.
That’s hilarious! Bless you for your dedication to your kids’ teeth. I just bought new tooth brushes today and they are all fighting over the one red brush. Hopefully they will be as anxious about it at bedtime…
That’s a great idea! My husband did that when our kids were really little (they’re 6 and 8 now.) He also leaned over the tub and let the kids wash his hair during their baths.
He’s the fun one. Can you tell? LOL!
Great post!
What a great idea.
We had ourselves a pleasant dental experience earlier this week when we took the boys in. First we were scolded by not only the hygenist, but the dentist, for not brushing the boys teeth TWICE a day. We’re doing it religiously at night, but apparently we’re supposed to be doing it in the morning as well. Then, we were informed that we needed to be doing it twice a day for all three kids until they are at least 8-YEARS OLD. Holy smokes that’s a lot of your life spent in the bathroom brushing, brushing, brushing…
I used to do this when I was a camp counselor for special ed kids. It worked really well!
Now, with my daughter, we sing Raffi’s tooth-brushing song, and she loves it.
Blessings,
Michele
http://www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com
Something tells me your dentist is going to be asking you some hard questions about enamel erosion at your next visit.