tooth brushing

[Lockdownbaby2021]

Hi all. my son, (14 months) has just started to get his teeth... all at once 😖

at first he didn't mind me brushing his teeth but now he HATES it. he clamps his mouth shut and screams. i try and get on with it and do it anyway but i feel sooo guilty.

If i let him do it himself he gives it a little go but licks it more. I try brush with him etc and he tries to copy.

Question is, do i just keep letting him do it half heartedly or should i persevere and get it done properly twice a day with trauma?

Any advice would be great

We had a bit of a no nonsense attitude to teeth brushing, if they wouldn’t do it willingly it was something that had to be done. Sometimes it would involve tears followed by cuddles afterwards.
we did what we could with videos, Elmo’s tooth brushing one worked quite well.

now at 6&8 they both brush their teeth willing with no lasting memory of the trauma.

Someone will probably come along now to tell me I’m cruel!

Sounds sensible. There will be way more tears if he gets rotten teeth and abscesses

Yes we used to force the issue as well. It's a bit better now he's over 3. I still use the hey duggee toothbrushing song on occasion...

DD used to say “teeth brushing is a non-gowshabul” (non-negotiable) because I was so firm about it! There was a brief period of holding her down while she yelled, but it soon passed. The toothbrushing episode of Hey Duggee helped.