How do I get 11 month old to let me brush his teeth??

[MaryThornbar]

My DS shakes his head and refuses to open his mouth when I try to brush his teeth. Any tips??

I think at this point its more about acquiring the habit than anything else.. Brush your teeth with him..

my doc also suggested doing it at the table..

Let him have a go himself - either with or without paste which ever he prefers. He might then let you have a go afterwsrds. Or have two brushes - one for him and one for you. Make a game of it - I used to sing a song with my two - this is the way we brush our teeth, keep them white, make them shine - all to Here we go Round the Mulberry Bush It did help though!!

I second the two brushes suggestion. Our dd (12m) will brush daddy's teeth while I brush hers- yes it's a whole family operation!

Alternatively, brushing her teeth in front of a mirror ('look, the baby's brushing her teeth!') will bizarrely sometimes fool her into it.

Also brushing her teeth while she's in the bath.

She is still more often than not a pickle about it though, and sometimes we just give up. To try and get her used to it I give her her toothbrush to play with each time I am brushing my teeth.

I make it like a tickling game for DS (15m), waving the brush at him with a scrubbing motion and 'tickling' his mouth and then his teeth, when he starts to giggle and opens his mouth. By smiling and saying things like "here it comes!", I think helps him realise it's 'fun game' and nothing to worry about. That said he'll only put up with brushing for 30 seconds or so before pinching the brush himself, chewing on it, swallowing all the paste etc. :-)

pin them down

I brush away the squirrels i can see hopping about on DD's teeth... that always worked

Pretty much what Seline said. Them seeing you brush yours definitely helps IME. You could also try a Brush-Baby brush which cleans their teeth as they chew it. I've not got one (yet) though.

at Seeline. That's the exact same thing we used to do with DS to the Mulberry Bush tune.

2 toothbrushes also works, let him get on with it for as long as he wants before trying to get in there.

Don't worry about it too much, the important thing at this age is to establish the routine of it rather than doing a brilliant job (sometimes they might be experiencing teething pain anyway). We struggled for a good 6 months just doing the above but eventually he just accepted it. DS (22 months) now asks for his toothbrush and we have no problems at all any more.

Use Brush-baby brushes. My DD (14mo) has been using them since she was about 10mo. She jumps up and down with excitment when she sees them now. She has a good suck first to get most of the toothpaste off, then chews on it for ages, so even her molars get scrubbed, which I find impossible to do with a normal toothbrush. If I try to do them ith a normal brush she just clamps it in her teeth and that's pretty much game over.

We had a giraffe puppet who used to do dd's. There is legend on Mn of a mnetter who roped in the cat to help clean her dc's teeth.

All of the above, in rotation. Do wish I'd used a slightly easier to clean toy to "assist". We have a knitted monkey permanently covered in toothpaste

Get him to watch the In The Night Garden episodes where the Tombliboos brush their teeth (they do a little song). Then sing the song while you're brushing your own teeth and give your son his toothbrush too. This worked for us, hope it helps.