how do you get a 2 yo to brush their teeth?

[LittleGoldfish]

DS won't let me do it & when I let him do it himself all he does is put the toothbrush in his mouth it doesn't actually touch his teeth lol!

He hasn't actually got all his teeth through yet.

What can I do - help?

Toothbrush timers can help. Also tell him that he is clearing away all the plaque on his teeth because otherwise, they grow into big giant plaque monsters and they will eat his tonsils. (actually you might not want to tell him that).

Seriously, do you have an older child or friend that could lead by example. Could you all do it together? The toothbrush timers are (I'm told) very good at making them do three minutes in full.

Three minutes!!!! I'm lucky if I get it in there for 3 seconds!

My friend who's a dentist said the important thing is to get the fluoride in their mouth if nothing else.

We had this a couple of months ago. We finally solved the problem (well we're 90 per cent there) by finding a Diego toothbrush and telling DS1 that Diego was watching him brush his teeth. Could you find a similar idol?
Don't worry too much - DS1's phase - whihc in the worst stages had me sitting on him pinning him down - lasted about five weeks

We take it in turns, I let dd2 do it first then i do it properly.

I have never heard of toothbrush timers. What are they? where do you get them?

Toothbrush timers

Oh actually that might not work if you are not a maccy person...hang on....

here's one on ebay

I had a problem brusher in DS2, but no way was he going to win! The only way that worked (and it did like a treat) is having what we called a 'cuddle brush'. This entailed him sitting on my knee in the bathroom and being cuddled (obv), whilst I got on with the job at hand.

He still sometimes asks for a cuddle brush, if he is feeling a little tired.

Thanks.