HELP!!! How do i get 16 month old ds to let me brush his teeth?!?!

[huffpuff]

Cos its becoming a bit of a trauma!!!

Any tips?

DD just used to sit there and let me do it!!!

I found that giving DS a mirror (safe childs one from Boots) helped as he kept looking in it and opening his mouth to look at his teeth.

Have a toothbrush each?

Bring out small toy car that only comes out at teeth cleaning time for him to fiddle with whilst you do teeth?

Do story after teeth and threaten no story unless teeth finished off by mummy?

I am very experienced in this area.

I call it 'brushing ds's superstar teeth' which entails carrying him all the while (he's over two stone), putting the lights on in front of the mirror and doing my teeth two and he laughs when I spit.

Yes, a bit of do.

But I do remember that ds went through a stage where he hated it - I found out the brush was a bit hard - so changed it.

Do yours at the same time.

Headlock from behind if it's a bad day.

A song we made up which goes along the lines of 'brush and brush and brush your teeth until they're nice and clean' if it's a good day.

Have you tried a battery-operated toothbrush? The novelty factor might help!!

DS used to be really shocking until I bought a wee wooden chair from a second hand shop. He now stands on it up at the handbasin and looks at himself in the mirror, rinses his brush under the cold tap and brushes away! Well, more like sucks the toothbrush with the occasional scrub in there, but I let him do that for awhile and then tell him I'm going to scrub them and he actually lets me do it. Way better than it used to be which was a real battle.

definately do yours at the same time. My 19month old DD now yells "teeth teeth" while pointing to her toothbrush when we are in the bathroom!!