Introducing a toothbrush to a Very independent 6 month old

[ChaosMoon]

Alright, i know she's not actually independent at 6 months, but she wants to be. We're doing baby led weaning in part because she'd never tolerate being fed anything she didn't have control over. Giving Calpol and other meds has always been a nightmare as she hated being given it and we now give her a preloaded spoon as it's the only way to get it down her.

So, now she has two tiny teeth and we need to brush them. She will chew on the toothbrush, actually she loves it, but the second we get involved, she pushes it away. I don't want to set brushing up as a battle from day one, but I'm not sure how to approach it.

Has anyone else has this and do you have any tips?

We bought a Brush Baby chewable one from Boots for £5. Put a smear of toothpaste on it and leave her to get on with it. That's what we had to do with my second born nightmare child..!

Chewable brush. Mine loves it!

Oh that sounds good. How old was she when you started brushing "properly"? (And I do hope they later became a dream 😉)

We use one from BickiePegs that you wear on your finger. But toothbrushing is one of the things that I’m ready to be strict about, she either opens her mouth and I sing to her and act silly or I get her mouth open, pin her down and do it. Absolutely non-negotiable. She got the message pretty quickly.

Mines 18 months now and still clamps her mouth shut. I'm pretty sure her baby teeth are fucked bit she won't open her mouth for the dentist either so I guess we'll never know! My oldest was always fine with it from about 18 months though.

You have to make the distinction between optional/ negotiable and non negotiable. Things like road safety, not touching the oven and toothbrushing are 3 of the things on my non negotiable list.

DS hated having his teeth brushed at first, I held him down and sang to him the same song each time. So he learned to associate the song with teeth brushing and he learned that the brushing would stop when the song ended. It didn't take too long for that to sink in. He would tolerate me doing it and keep still most of the time. Now he's older he sometimes makes a fuss about teeth brushing but he also knows full well it's not optional. He has even started bringing me my toothbrush and asking can we brush our teeth!

So I would encourage you that some things it's ok and healthy to force on the child, you will not damage their development.

My DS is a few months older but with a similar personality! He has a chewable brush which is great, but what also works is holding him in the sling and (pretending) to brush my teeth with his brush, which of course he immediately grabs and shoves in his own mouth, then I hold it with him and brush.