Behonest, how awful is this?

[wisden]

Firstly please excuseany typos,my space bar is fucked and my "e" has gone missing so having to use a pencil.

DC3 is 2.6yrs. We seem to have fallen into the habitwhen he isbrushinghis teeth that he has a little go with everyone elses toothbrush before his. RankI know.
The thing is, he is going through a very tryingphase at the moment, awful tantrums, referred to SALT (not speaking) not as much understanding as my other 2 DC had at this age.
The tantrums are horrendous and part ofme thinks that although him usingeveryone elses toothbrush is awful, to me it just means one less tantrum at the moment. What do you think?

[CarpeJugulum]

I'd be inclined to have random new toothbrushes in the bathroom that he can use and hide yours. I would be trying to teach him about not sharing them, but this way if he does, it's not the end of the world.

Pick your battles!

[drjohnsonscat]

oh god if you think that's awful, I'm never inviting you to my house. Firstly all our toothbrushes are disgusting because the children chew them to bits. Secondly they constantly swap them for fun. I'm just glad they brush their teeth at all.

[AppleAndBlackberry]

It's not that bad, just give them a good rinse afterwards!

[GooseyLoosey]

Agree with CarpeJugulum's suggestion. Don't in general like other people using my tooth brush, but don't think it is the worst thing in the world. Wouldn't make a big issue of it.

[sparkle12mar08]

I wouldn't allow sharing of people's actual toothbrushes on a daily, routine basis, but would happily buy a set of cheap extra brushes that he could use. They're what, £1 for four in the poundshops, wilko's etc. Would he accept that, or is it the fact that they're your's that he has to know the you have all used them first?

[mycatlikestwiglets]

23mo DS far prefers everyone else's toothbrushes to his own - he demands DH's every morning and can often be found sucking on mine if he gets hold of it. I find it a bit gross because he leaves it all sort of slimy but I really think there are worse things to stress about. If it gets him cleaning his teeth it's worth it imo - we just buy new ones more often that we might otherwise.

[BabydollsMum]

This was how I got DD to brush her teeth - to use mine initially.

[cornflakegirl]

Both of my DSs have gone through phases of wanting to use other people's toothbrushes - I've never had a problem with it. Unless someone in the family has gum disease, it's probably a lot more hygienic than the snotty, slobbery kisses I seem to get on a regular basis!

[wisden]

Glad it'snot just me then Yeswill change toothbrushes regularly. Agree about pickingmy battles, andthis battle doesn'tseem worth it.

[SavoyCabbage]

not awful at all in the scale of things.

Last week, I saw a two year old jump from the top of a ladder on to a barbecue.

[lljkk]

Been there, done that, survived to tell the tale.

[MrsBungleBear]

IMO that is not awful at all :) 3yo DD sometimes uses mine or DH's toothbrush if she thinks it might be more interesting. Doesn;t bother me in the slightest but then I am not squeamish about stuff like that at all.

Agree with picking your battles!

[blanksquit]

Adults have a host of hideous bacteria in their mouths. I've heard more so than on your bum.

I'd get a variety of new toothbrushes for him to use and hide yours.

We are dreadful at brushing dc's teeth. It's such a battle.

[Goldmandra]

blanksquit don't carry on being dreadful about brushing your DC's teeth. You will feel like a really shit parent if they end up having baby teeth removed because they are rotting.

[blanksquit]

Thanks Gold. So far we haven't had problems but I'm realising we need to be much more strict about it. We manage a really good scrub at bedtime, it's the mornings it seems to be hit and miss. It's such a battle when they don't like it at all.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Widen - I have told this story against myself before, but when ds1 was going through the terrible twos, I found myself one morning, sobbing to dh on the phone, because ds1 wouldn't stop screaming. He'd tantrum end for over 90 minutes straight the night before, and was 45 minutes into a tantrum and it was still shy of 8am - and I was sobbing at I couldn't cope any more.

It went quiet.

I finished wailing at talking to dh, and went to investigate - and found ds1 in the kitchen, standing at the bin, eating left-over tortilla chips dh had thrown away the night before - and I didn't stop him because I couldn't face the thought of starting him off again!

Bet shared toothbrushes don't sound so bad now, do they.

[Goldmandra]

I just don't want other people to feel like I did when DD1 had four removed last year. I had always been really careful but then I started a foundation degree and DH took over bedtimes. I felt really crap when I realised he'd not been supervising her and her teeth had really suffered. The guilt was tremendous.

Do you have an electric one? We've just got one with a gizmo which times them and gives them different levels of smiley faces depending on how well they have done them. It makes your teeth feel loads cleaner than our old one too!

[Gimblinginthewabe]

As long as DS brushes I don't care which brush he uses!

[TeddingtonsMarchingBand]

Ooh what is that toothbrush called gold?

[Goldmandra]

Tooth brush with smiley face gizmo

Not cheap but worth every penny IMHO.

[TeddingtonsMarchingBand]

Thanks.