FollowMy kids are not fans of tooth brushing. My 3 year old, always asks me "Do I have to now? I just brushed my teeth last night?" Everyday I answer their question patiently complete with actions of "Eww, do you want that?" On my running low on patience day, I just simply grunt and say "because I say so."
But I guess one step for me to cut the chase in toothbrush time is to make it fun and empower them to make choices. Here are some tips I deploy (every battle needs a plan;-)) to keep those pearly whites clean and strong:
1. GIVE KIDS A CHOICE. Of course, it is not a choice whether they should brush teeth or not. It is a choice, if they want to use the blue toothbrush or the yellow one? You brush your teeth first and then mommy helps you after? Or Mommy helps you first and then by yourself after? Orange or grape flavored toothpaste? Happee toothpaste gives them a spread of 7 flavors to choose from which delights them. Will it be a bubble-gum pop morning or an tutti-frutti twist evening?
As basic as tooth brushing is, it is great that Happee Toothpaste takes the boredom of routine out with choice:-)
My 3 year old likes the tutti-frutti flavor, my 11 year old prefers the grape while my 13 year old likes all the flavors! The 7 kid-citing flavors are Strawberry Bloom, Orange, Tutti-frutti Twist, Apple Crunch, Juicy Grapes, Bubblegum Pop, and Cookies & Cream Ahoy, all of which are available in leading groceries and drug stores. BTW, don't throw away those toothpaste cartons. They come with fun games for the kiddos.
2. TALK, SING or ENGAGE KIDS IN SOME HUMOR. 2 minutes may be short (the required amount of brushing time) but for kids this is an eternity! Happee Toothpaste comes in well-loved character design like Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Dora and Boots. It's a jump off point of conversation to engage with the kids. "Boots said he can smell your breath from the jungle!." I always try to add some humor to entice the kids to do routine tasks.
For my 3 year old, it is a good transition toothpaste from his infant toothpaste because it still has that same fruity flavor but his time with the bubbles. I assist him and remind him, that Cookie Monster toothpaste will produce bubbles and that he has to spit the bubbles out. And my, does he enjoy spitting;-)
Happee Toothpaste has kid-safe fluoride levels, giving kids just the right protection against tooth decay.
3. ALLOCATE ENOUGH TIME. Often the battle begins when we parents are rushing (aren't we always rushing?!?) and don't give enough time for kids to settle down to the routine. If bedtime has pre-bedtime routine and we can't expect kids to just plop down and sleep, so does brushing teeth. Give enough time for the convincing, for the brushing and for keeping the toothbrushes and toothpaste back in its place.
4. SET A ROUTINE. Kids though they will fight it to death are creatures of routine. After eating is bath time, and after bath is milk and story time, after milk time is toothbrush time. Hopefully this routine will turn into a life-long habit.
5. BE THEIR ROLE MODEL. Sometimes allow them to see you brushing your teeth, flossing or mouth washing. Remember monkey say, monkey do;-)
Hope the above tips help:-) For more fun and exciting dental tips, visit Happee Kiddie Facebook.
With a little bit of creativity and Happee Kiddie Toothpaste, tooth brushing will be more fun and we will be creating good dental habits for our children;-)
Flash those pearly whites and say Happee!:-)
Disclosure: Thanks to Happee Toothpast for coming up with 7 kid-citing flavors and sponsoring this post.