Toothbrushing

[TerrariaMum]

Any suggestions on how to get my three year old to brush her teeth? DH manages to do it in the evenings, but I struggle in the mornings. She clamps her mouth shut or says she will do it, but she only sucks on her toothbrush and then clamps her mouth shut.

We use baby toothpaste and I have sung to her about 'brushing away the sugarbugs'. I do manage but not as much as I want.

I brush my teeth with DS (just turning 3) and we make it into a game - who can brush better, etc.

DS also likes brushing in front of the mirror - gives him the visual cue to mimic what I do. Could help?

Also, DS chooses the toothbrush. Same thing I do at work - get stakeholder buy-in before commencing a project!

We make it a game - lots of face pulling and going aaaahhh or eeeeehhhh. I brush mine at the same time and make it fun.

Don't worry if she doesn't get the hang of it straight away - her teeth aren't going to fall out if she misses a bit every now and then.

She has chosen her toothbrush so that is a start and I have had success sometimes by letting her brush her teeth in the bath.

I hadn't thought of the game idea, but she loves games of all sorts so def. worth a try. Thank you

I have a 4 year old son and he is very strict with his teeth.
I am not sure what worked for him from all of the things that me and my husband did, but these are some examples:

• We let him choose his brush and toothpaste;
• I showed him pictures on the internet of people with bad teeth and some videos on YouTube for cavities. I chose materials that won't scare him, but that will give him visualization of what can happen;
• We brushed our teeth together. It was really frustrating because he got distracted and he always had toothpaste on his pajamas. But it was interesting for him to see how I do it and he learned the right way to brush his teeth.
• Every time we play for him a song called “Shiny teeth and me” on my cell phone. He watches the video and doesn’t stop till the end of the song.

Try everything that you come up with and don’t give up. Sooner or later it will work. Now is the time to make this a habit and not an obligation. Good luck!