Battle every time with 5 year old over teeth

[Drinkandknowthings]

I’m so fucking sick of it. She’ll literally stand there with the toothbrush in her mouth but not moving it or start trying to tell me some story or she’ll be dancing around and not brushing them.

She has a fit if I say I’ll do them and TBH I just want her to do them, not have to do them for her.

I’ve done reward charts, I have a cartoon app that counts 2 mins and tells her when to change sides. But it’s the standing there not moving the toothbrush that really winds me up.

Kids can be very annoying, but you are the adult here, OP. If you can’t control a 5 year old you will have hell on wheels by the time she’s a teenager. You need to be assertive and firm - either she cleans the teeth immediately or you do. You can tell her the delights of dental caries and fillings to motivate her, but if she won’t get on with it then you must.

Mine does exactly this.

I got him a toothbrush that lights up for two minutes and told him I need to hear the 'scrubby' sound the whole time the light is flashing.

If I don't hear it he has to them again. And again. And again.

He's starting to get the message that if he just does it properly first time it's loads quicker.

I also got my dad, who has the most appalling dental hygiene to show him exactly what not brushing your teeth does

You should be doing it for her up until age 7 anyway according to my dentist. It's an utter non negotiable in this house and that has involved clamping them between my legs at at times.