Help - 4 yr old refusing to brush her teeth

[lennythelion]

Hi I'm after some advice - my 4 yr old DD has always hated brushing her teeth and kicks up a fuss every morning and evening. She will only have the mild Aquafresh Toothpaste for babies as she say's the one for her age (3-6) is too minty.

It's got to the point where she's regularly having tantrums in an effort to get out of brushing them and my DH & I end up shouting. She's driving me mad. Any tips would be gratefully received.

Get a fruit-flavoured toothpaste?

You can buy apple or red fruit flavoured toothpastes suitable for older children from Lidl.

show her photos of really grose teeth...

dont scare her, but point out that all the sugar in her food (sugar bugs) will eat her teeth and she wont have teeth any more.

I bought my DD an electric toothbrush so she has same as Mummy and Daddy, and she gets Princess heads for it (braun make them) we have a clock in the bath room and she brushes twice a day - its just breaking the cycle and getting in the pattern.

And I dont want to get flamed for the showing pictures comment. Your DD may not understand why brushing teeth is important.

Sticker chart for when she does it well, and reward her?

Yes, I second that. My 4yo also understands that if she doesn;t scrub the sugar and bacteria off her teeth they will rot and be sore and she will NEVER BE ALLOWED TO EAT ANYTHING SWEET AGAIN.

Also, make it fun: if either of my 2 are reluctant to clean their teeth I notice that there are squirrels running wild all over their teeth. Or a gentleman going for a stroll. Or a lot of lawyers doing a dance. OR somje dogs playing frisbee. So I don't actually need to clean their teeth "...but let me just have a look at those squirrels... oh dear, lots of them... shall I quickly scrub them off for you...? Oh my goodness, they have hidden nuts all over the place! You can't go to sleep with nuts on your teeth! Let me get those for you and look! Did you eat icecream today? Because I have just noticed some pigeons trying to lick up the icecream on your teeth... ..." etc etc etc until teeth are so sparklingly clean I can;t look directly at them "arrrgh! My eyes! They;re so shiny!!!" etc etc etc...

haha yes DD often has a monkey dangling from her tonsils which I scrub off... grim but works

oh and for what its worth, DD has about 5 different brushes and 6 or 7 different brands of tooth paste. I dont care what she uses - as long as they get brushed!!

Hahaha! LOVE YunoYurbubson and OnlyWantsOne's ideas!! I'm def going to try that when mine can understand what i'm saying!!

Thanks for the advice. I have explained about bacteria and tooth decay. She has no problem going to the dentist but always kicks up a fuss about brushing. I will try the fruity toothpastes - hadn't thought of that!

DD has about 5 toothbrushes including an electric one. Great idea about a clock in the bathroom.

Will do the marble jar as a reward.

Many thanks

my six yr old still uses the 0-3 aquafresh as other ones burn his mouth any toothpaste is good, even baby ones as long as they are having a really good brush. i tell mine if the don't brush properly their teeth will fall out and they will have to live on mash and soup which they hate.