Spitting instead of swallowing

[monsterowl]

No, not that. Shame on you.

DCs are aged 4 and nearly 3. When we brush their teeth, they keep swallowing the toothpaste every time the foam builds up, and it's really difficult to get them to spit it out afterwards instead of swallowing it. In fact, efforts to encourage them at least to try to spit end up in tears and wails of 'But I don't want to!' - not sure why!

Any tips on how to get them to spit out without trauma?

Hmmm, no I'm not sure, bumping for you though :)

Thanks!

We're still working on the same thing with dd (3.5). She sometimes manages to spit a little bit out - she's got the hang of spitting since we practised with a cup of water at the sink.

Recently taught DD 2.5yo to spit. She found it a real novelty to stand on the toilet (close to sink) where she can reach, and very enthusiastically sprays the sink/floor with toothpaste. Now trying to teach "in one big pile of bubbles like daddy" (we call the foam bubbles)