Teeth Cleaning: Up until the age of two years you are supposed to clean their teeth yourself. Great in theory, but what if they won’t open their mouth, or stay still for long enough, or scream the house down because they just don’t want you to do it. Here are a few tips that have worked for me. You can also use them for a an older child if you need to, only they will be the one doing the brushing and you can supervise.
As a parent of five I thought I could share you some parenting tips that I’ve adopted along the way. I’m not an expert, just a mother and I can’t guarantee that any of my tips will work for you, but they have for me.
Children love to look at themselves so make sure you have a mirror they can see themselves in. Tell them to smile at themselves and see their teeth. Then tell them you will make their teeth lovely and shiny and clean for the bestest smile ever.
Try singing a tune, there is a great one that goes to the tune of the hokey cokey:
Put the toothbrush in, the toothbrush out, in, out, in, out, brush it all about.
First you do the front and then you do the sides, then spit the toothpaste out.
Sing again with a rinsed toothbrush but change last line to spit the water out.
Try different flavoured toothpastes. My little girl absolutely hates mint so I managed to find a children’s strawberry flavour toothpaste for her. Here are some more you might find useful.
When they are a little older, (or if they really won’t let you do it for them) let them copy you. Brush your teeth at the same time and let them see, children love to copy grown ups.
Cleaning their teeth is something that children will be doing for the rest of their lives so try not to make the experience traumatic. Keep trying, but don’t fret if it doesn’t work out every time.
I love this! The jingle is clever and I had no idea that there is strawberry flavored toothpaste! That you share your tips is immensely helpful for moms and dads who haven't had the gift of time or experience. Smart parents do learn from others' successes and failures!
thank you 🙂
How cool is that… strawberry flavored toothpaste. I love the tips and will be passing them on to my step daughter who struggles with this with her young children. :-), Susan Cooper
I'm not a lover of mint myself and tend to pick the less minty toothpastes, like the ones with soda in. thanks for commenting 🙂
Thanks for the really useful information, I've added your blog to my feed reader.
Plessis Dental
Awareness plays important role . Now a days different flavors of toothpastes are available not only strawberry but also green apple orange etc. Encourage and motivate the child to maintain hygiene
I really like the tips and will be passing them on to my Son who struggles with this with her young children
I’ve tried acupuncture but don’t know much else about Chinese Medicine This looks interesting
This is so adorable and informative! this is a big help guiding my kids thank you!
The sooner you start teaching your children how to look after their teeth the better. Provided they see you cleaning your teeth when they are babies they will not be scared of the toothbrush. In fact, they will likely want to wield it themselves. The moment their first tooth erupts buy a baby tooth cleaning kit and start using it.
I truly like this tips and will be giving them to my sun who battles with this with her youngsters
Great tips! You did right by being creative and made the entire process a fun exercise.
I’m grateful to have found this information and will be using it from now on. I hope these tips help my children. It is important to start teaching our children healthy habits at a young age so that they can carry them into adulthood. Thanks for sharing!