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Parenting

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Original poster

Tips on getting 16mo to brush teeth

12 replies

SorryForTheRant · 13/06/2023 20:40

I have a 16mo DD who hates having her teeth brushed. I know it's a non-negotiable so I pin her down to do it but it's got to the point where she is crying so much she is being sick.

She's too small to understand bribery/negotiations/YouTube clips of brushing songs/anything like that. I already let her play with the toothbrush both before and after, and brush my teeth in front of her while she plays with the toothbrush. She will put it in her mouth and copy me but obviously she isn't brushing them properly, so I make sure I do it for her as well.

Any tips on how I can get a baby of this age to calm down whilst I brush them? Off to change the sheets for the second time today (first tip is to not let her climb on the bed whilst she screams after brushing I guess!)

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Londontomadrid · 13/06/2023 20:42

At that age we introduced a battery operated toddler tooth brush that vibrates and lights up. Would that be an option?

Original poster

SorryForTheRant · 13/06/2023 20:43

@Londontomadrid absolutely, if that helped you I will go and buy one tomorrow!

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thunderandsunshine01 · 13/06/2023 20:47

Watching eagerly - I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 18mo and both are utterly horrific at brushing time ! I can offer you sympathy if nothing else 😅

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LittleBumblebee3 · 13/06/2023 20:49

We went through an awful stage here too. Have you tried turning it into a funny game like giving her your toothbrush and let her brush yours while you brush hers?
Learn from my mistake - get dressed for the day AFTER doing this 😬 not while wearing your work clothes and running late leaving the house 🤣😅

Original poster

SorryForTheRant · 13/06/2023 20:59

@thunderandsunshine01 the sympathy is much appreciated! As sometimes feels like I'm just rubbish at parenting...

@LittleBumblebee3 great idea, I'll try that tomorrow whilst I wait for Amazon to bring the light up toothbrush!

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TheLurpackYears · 13/06/2023 21:07

Is she too little for the Blippy thoothbrushing video? It's hideous, but was popular here for a while.

vipersnest1 · 13/06/2023 21:09

Give her a brush too, and pretend she's doing a really good job. Meanwhile, you dart in there with your own (child's) brush yourself 'to help'.
It's how I got my young DCs to cooperate.

LittleBumblebee3 · 13/06/2023 21:16

SorryForTheRant · 13/06/2023 20:59

@thunderandsunshine01 the sympathy is much appreciated! As sometimes feels like I'm just rubbish at parenting...

@LittleBumblebee3 great idea, I'll try that tomorrow whilst I wait for Amazon to bring the light up toothbrush!

@SorryForTheRant Hopefully it works for you 🤞🏼 just to forewarn you - mine is now 2.5 and it’s still a battle some days 🙄😬 we have a selection of funny games that we have to play on the tough days to get the job done 🙄 Yours might be a bit young currently but mine currently likes when I look in his mouth and make a huge deal about being able to see dirty teeth 🙈😅 “ewwww, what’s that GREEN thing?! Have you been eating broccoli?!”, “is that a BLUE thing in there?! What have you eaten that’s blue?!” 😂
The neighbours must wonder what on Earth goes on in my house 🙈

Whatisityoucantface · 13/06/2023 21:24

The brush baby light up toothbrush worked for us!! I let her play with it as a toy first

Hazelnuttella · 13/06/2023 21:29

Brush baby light up toothbrush and also brush baby chewable silicone toothbrush.

We use both, he gets bored of one quickly and then moves onto the other one, but having two lengthens the total amount of brushing time.

Also brush baby applemint toothpaste - very tasty.

I have never pinned down/forced it as I just think it makes it into an ordeal every night and only has the potential to make it into more of a conflict not less.

Maybe get a completely new brush (like the silicone one) and do a complete reset. Just offer that to chew on for a few days and then introduce the light up one for some better brushing when she’s more relaxed about it. DC can hold the silicon one to chew and then you can use the electric one.

Hazelnuttella · 13/06/2023 21:30

Also if it’s a point of contention, try a completely different approach, we brushed DS teeth while he was in the bath for a while, he was more distracted and it was a bit of a novelty.

BertieBotts · 13/06/2023 22:25

If it's turned into that much of an ordeal I would just stop for a couple of weeks. Nothing is going to happen to her teeth if you stop brushing for a short time.

Once she's forgotten about it, let her play with the toothbrush (maybe get a new one if it's already got a bad association) and praise her if she puts it in her mouth. Personally I wouldn't use an electric brush for a toddler, I think it has the potential to be more scary than helpful, but it's worth a try if you want to.

After a couple of days of this you can start holding the brush yourself and again praise her for letting you put the brush in her mouth. Don't actually try to brush yet, you're just getting her used to having the brush in her mouth.

You can then work on modelling tooth brushing so that she copies you and her letting you get a bit more of a brush each time. This should then build up into a full routine of tooth brushing over time.

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