via RSS
via email
Last week I told you a little bit about Arm & Hammer’s ProClean Spinbrush. And for the record, since the day I received it, I have used no other toothbrush. Nada one. I’m a complete convert and am totally in love.
So this week, I thought I might bring it back to the Punks in our lives and ask what your Favorite ways are to help your kids learn the importance of brushing their teeth?
Teethbrushing. Toothbrushing. Cleaning the teeth. The teeth that need to be cleaned….yep, all that.
It’s tough.
Our Punks are 3, 2 and 1 years old. Piper, the baby is lagging in the teeth, and thus the brushing department, but Hayden and Addie try our patience each and every day. Mostly because they are having just too much darn fun with so many other things, that stopping to brush their teeth is just not all that exciting.
The best success I’ve had is in making the “Bathroom / Toothbrush Set-up” look cute. It seems to make them excited about their bathroom and their toothbrush.
Funny thing about it….when I lose track of Piper for a few seconds, I can always find her in the kids bathroom with one of the big girls toothbrushes in hand. Maybe that’s the best trick?? Just starting them from the earliest possible age, even before they need it at all, so it just becomes second nature.
I also know that our girls LOOOOOVVVVE to do whatever we are doing. I carry a purse, they carry purses, I have a cell phone, they have their toy phones, I’m carrying Piper, they have their baby dolls….with a baby bottle tucked into their bags. Truly funny. So maybe the next extra incentive is to get a toothbrush just like the new one I use and love??
I Googled and came across a Spinbrush for Kids. I’ve never seen it, nor ever tried it, but I like that it comes with stickers to decorate it with, that there is a boys and girls option, and that it is “just the same as mom’s” grown-up Spinbrush. So when I saw it at Target, I picked a couple up. I also like that it comes with 100+ stickers. I’m planning on picking a new sticker for their toothbrush each time they finish brushing. Crossing my fingers! (This is not a review of this product, I found this all on my own…)
I really would love to know what you do with your Punks to get those little chompers clean??
And guess what?! The fine, fine folks at Arm & Hammer are providing a $25 Visa gift card for a giveaway! That would work nicely for providing some morning coffee, don’t ya think!?!?
No major hoops to jump through, just leave a comment below with your Favorite trick for the kiddos and you’re entered. Random.org will pick us all a winner on Friday, June 10th. Giveaway closes 9:00pm PST.
Best of luck and happy brushing!
{Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is compensating me to try different products. Whether good or bad, the opinions are all my own. Get a $4.00 coupon for ARM & HAMMER Spinbrush then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge where you can enter to win $25,000}.
My kids like to brush so I don’t have to trick them but I imagine bribery might work on others.
[Reply]
I let me kids pick out their own toothbrush and toothpaste from the store. They are now really excited about brushing! My daughter loves her princess toothbrush and my son has a Toy Story one.
[Reply]
Hate to tell you, but unless kids can tie their own shoes, they need parental help brushing teeth. As Dr Seuss said, “Only brush the teeth that you want to keep”. Start early, it seems to help. Good luck. It does get easier.
[Reply]
Oh I agree! It’s a team sport all this teeth brushing :-) You should see them all lined up at night! LOL!
[Reply]
My punks are 16,14 and 10 now and pretty much on their own now with the tooth brushing thing, but what worked best for me was to brush at the same time they did it. That way, it wasn’t something I was sending them to do, it was something we did together. Sometimes I faked it with water when we had 3 separate bed times….but it worked pretty well
[Reply]
OK I like that idea! The girls always see us brushing, but I’ve never thought of doing it at the same time as them. You must have the cleanest teeth in the world :-)
[Reply]
Told our 3 year old that when you don’t brush, you can get cavities which don’t feel good (we have the Dora goes to the Dentist book) and monster teeth (a song that she loves) that are yellow and green. Seems to do the trick!!!
[Reply]
Oh my! Have not seen that one Hysterical!
[Reply]
We made up a little teeth brushing song. My daughter has always responded well to music. We LOVE kindermusik classes. Singing songs about putting toys away, or brushing our teeth, or wearing the seat belt in the cart while shopping….you name it! Singing helps us. :)
[Reply]
Love the idea to sing a song! We sing the “washing hands song” and the “clean up the toys song”, both of which work really well. I need to find a good song for teeth :-) Thx!
[Reply]
My older boys have started brushing their teeth while taking a shower. I hand it to them with toothpaste, they brush for a few minutes and hand it back. Works great because they don’t get distracted and they can’t run away from me :)
[Reply]
Ha!! Ours actually take their brushes in the bathtub with them….some days it works great, other days the toothbrushes do dive shows with Nemo :-)
[Reply]
I somehow feel like “I hold her and deal with the thrashing” isn’t the right answer but it is, sometimes, the reality.
I actually had to switch back from a flavored toothpaste to a “normal” (read: minty) one – little one would simply suck all the yummy toothpaste off but the normal kind lead to more business and less messing around. Some days it’s a win, other days it’s a fight. That’s kids…and husbands…and dogs…and I won’t incriminate any wives because we’re perfect.
Tricia @ {every}nothing wonderful’s last blog: Embracing Life
[Reply]
I like to get really excited and shout, “GUESS WHAT?! It’s time to brush teeth, OH MY GOSH!” and act like it’s the most exciting activity ever. Now if I forget (c’mon be honest, we all forget sometimes) they say, “GUESS WHAT, WE NEED TO BRUSH OUR TEETH YAYYYYYY!” I get them to do a lot that way. I don’t use a tone of voice that assumes they don’t want to do it…. I start with total excitement, lol.
Anna’s last blog: How & why I took back my weekends
[Reply]
I had to use scare tactics! I showed my 3 yr old picture of rotten teeth on google images and now she’ll even tell on her daddy if he didn’t brush his teeth!
[Reply]
I admit that I also use scare tactics. I told my son that if he doesn’t brush, his teeth will fall out and then he won’t be able to eat cheeseburgers and cookies (his favorite foods) anymore.
[Reply]
I tell my kids we need to make sure we brush to get all the sugar off if not the sugar bugs will come at night while they’re sleeping and attack their teeth. They will leave them black or take the whole tooth.
My kids are young so I think it’s okay to make this up. ;0)
[Reply]
From an early age I told my (now 5 year old) that there were yuckies in his mouth and uf he didn’t brush at night they would crawl down into his tummy and give him a tummy ache. Probably a little scary for a 2 tear old but it worked. He never goes a night without brushing. If he gets in bed without doing it, he will actually get up once reminded.
As for the morning brush, I tell him his girlfriend (yes he is 5 and has a gf) won’t want to talk to him because he will have bad breath.
The kid has great teeth so something worked!
As for my almost 2 year old, she just follows suit. I got lucky in that dept.
[Reply]
My girls are 3 and 4. They hated getting their teeth brushed until I told an unhappy fairytale about a pretty princess who didn’t brush her teeth and the germ fairy came at night and took her teeth. If that happens the toothfairy won’t come and grow new teeth. Soon the princess had no teeth and wasn’t able to eat ice cream or candy. Now every night they brush and then I brush their teeth to make sure the germ fairy doesn’t stop by. So far no nightmares and its works great! Good luck!
[Reply]
My daughter loves to brush her teeth. When she hears my electric toothbrush going, she runs to the bathroom to get her toothbrush. The only issue I have is that she wont let me help her after I let her brush on her own for a minute or so. But she likes to do it herself, so I am happy with at least that! :)
[Reply]
We have a variety of toothbrushes for our son to pick from … ones that blink …. electric/vibrating …. manual. Whatever he fancies at the time, we use :)
[Reply]
My two year old only brushes if I do it at the same time!
Emily @ Random Recycling’s last blog: Whats Eating Your Child
[Reply]
Hey Shan
I still fight with my kids and they are 15 & 18. I remember when we were kids we used to brush so that we could eat the ‘purple’ pill to see how good we did – you can still get them too.
Love L
[Reply]
When the kids were little there was no tv or toys after breakfast until we were dressed and teeth were brushed. I used a lot of songs when the kids were little. Just making it a non negotiable part of the morning and bedtime routines really helped. I would love to say it gets easier. My kids are now 15, 12, and 8 and while they are fairly good about the routines there are still days I have to yell “brush your teeth” or “change your underwear” to the eldest two.
[Reply]
i guess im lucky, my daughter loves to brush her teeth!
[Reply]
Keep some of their favorite songs or some catchy tunes for listening only while they are brushing!
[Reply]
My little one is almost 2 so we are still learning how to help him brush his teeth. But if one of us brush our teeth at the same time then he wants to be like us and he is more likely to brush his teeth!
[Reply]