Brushing Teeth - Logan,UT

I have had to do the same thing with my boys. It's good that you are brushing her teeth after she tries because if you didn't she will have cavities later on. I try to pretend that the toothbrush is a train and I even make the noise! I tell them to say, "eeee" and say it for as long as they need to keep their mouth in that position. I usually end up pinning down my two year old, but my five year old is quite used to brushing his teeth. Sorry, there isn't much else that I can think to tell you.

We make a game of it-goofing off and playing-he has an electric toothbrush that sings though (Hannah Montana-don't ask!!) and he loves it, plus I let him pick out his toothpaste and help me put it on his brush etc. Try to make it fun for him.

Hi S.,
We have been lucky in that department. My daughter loves to brush her teeth. She likes to do it herself, which obviously doesn't really get the job done since she just sucks on it. So I tell her, "Let mommy do it first and then you can finish. We use the little rubber finger toothbrush. I do what I need to do, and she knows that if she behaves, then she will get to do it after me. Maybe that will help? Good luck.

Take your child to the store and have her help you pick out a children's electronic toothbrush. They come in all colors and characters. Talk about how it will tickle her teeth. That way even if the toothbrush is only in her mouth awhile, the tickling action is cleaning a lot more that a normal toothbrush. And if she helps choose her own, she might be more inclined to use it. My son loves his!

I tried pretty much everything with my son from about 6mo. He is 22mo now and we still have issues. It's easier with all these tips, but just know there is no magic solution. We have to change things all the time to keep it interesting: change toothbrush (new characters, sometimes electric, sometimes not), change the game, change the parent brushing, giving stickers, etc. I agree that pinning a kid down just reinforces their hate for brushing. My son seems to do a lot better with Daddy. I like the sugar bugs idea, and I'm surprised that going to the dentist with such a young child helps and doesn't just scare them. I am definitely going to try that. Thanks for posting this question and thanks for everyone's advice!

What really seems to work with my 2 year old is to play a game where she gets to brush mommy's teeth while I brush hers. She thinks it's lots of fun and opens right up. If we don't do that, she screams and says "Ella do it!!" and we have a battle. I might try that electric toothbrush idea, but I hope you find at least something here that works! Good luck!!

hey S.. i have a little 2 yr old girl as well and i havnt had the teeth brushing problem with her but when theres something i want her to do that she doesnt want to i do it first and show her how much fun it is. try telling her that you 'need' her help brushing your teeth and when she does be really excited about what a good job shes doing and how much fun it is to do it together. then she might be a little more willing to have you help her.

Yes-been there at around the age of 1 1/2 years. We finally got an electric toothbrush that has a soccer ball on it and he loved it. When that started to get old, we found a Thomas that sang while we brushed his teeth. Now at 3 1/2 years, he LOVES to brush them! We told him that there were sugar bugs on them and we would also try to catch them. I showed him my silver fillings and he thought for sure that those were the bugs. We also took turns-he would brush mine and I would brush his. Good luck!

Our boys did the same thing when they were your daughter's age. We decided to comprimise and let them brush their teeth by themselves in the morning and then we help them at night. This seemed to work for us.

Good luck!

I wouldn't force her, it will only create problems later. Instead do like Deb said and get a fun electric toothbrush, and have her mimic you guys, no she won't get every spot, but that's ok, once she is done, use some flouride rinse, if she can do it herself great if not rub some on her teeth with your finger, do it seperate from the brushing, she'll probably be less resistant. And then take her to the dentist, Deb is right the sooner the better they listen to them a lot better then us!

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Pinning her down will just piss her off. Try getting a battery operated fun toothbrush that she picks out. The battery ones help them do a good job and make it fun.
She obviously has to have them brushed, even taking her to her first dental appt (which I recommend everyone does early so there are no fears of the dentist later) and have them explain how important it is. Get those red tablets they chew up to see where they missed and show here how yucky her teeth are. I had no qualms in letting my kids know how much cavaties can hurt and how important keeping healthy teeth are.
I had both of my kids at the dentist for the first time at 18 mos and they LOVE the dentist and whatever he tells them as far as brushing twice a day, flossing and so forth they think is the LAW! :) Giving her a positive experience and making it fun, like setting a timer or a reward chart even.

It helped for us to take our son to the dentist. Everyone in the office made the visit fun and positive for him. At one point the dentist explained to him that after he brushed his teeth himself, his parents needed to brush them too to get the rest of the "sugar bugs" off. It worked. Any time after that when he would resist me brushing them, I'd remind him of what the dentist had said and he'd let me brush them. Good luck, 2 yr olds can be so stubborn!

My son was the same way until I started asking him what animal he wanted to be while i brush his teeth. Last night he was a kitty and I just go with the flow and say "good kitty, look at those kitty teeth let's clean them, nice kitty" He totally gets into it and we have fun while doing something that he hates.

Keep doing it. It may take a month, but she will learn that she has no other choice, just like being buckled in a car seat.

When my son went through the same struggle I would brush his teeth anyway, the whole time telling him good job, even though he was kind of resisting. I also told him to "say cheese" so I could brush his front teeth without his lips in the way. That's an important thing to do I think, because it lets your child know that it's not a punishment, or torture. Talk to her about how beautiful her teeth are and how lucky she is to have a good mom (you) who takes care of them for her. Good luck!

I agree with everyone about the battery toothbrush. Take her to the store and have her pick one out. I got my son a brush that sings. You could also rent some of the videos that are about brushing, Bear and the big blue house has one (i dont even think that show is on pbs anymore). My son sang the brushing song from that show for about 1 year. Good luck!

About the time my kids turned 2 they stopped letting me brush their teeth. One of my boys was exceptionally stubborn and I had to pin him down. I tried everything I could think of (making it a game, brushing my teeth at the same time, looking at our teeth in the mirror, threatening timeouts, etc) but nothing worked. Then a friend suggested that I give him choices, and that he can choose to do the right thing (let me brush his teeth) or he can go straight to bed. I was prepared to send him straight to bed for a few nights if that's what it took!

Here is what works for us... at bed time each child gets a turn at the sink. I let them brush their own teeth, then they must let me brush their teeth. After brushing they get to wash their hands and drink water. I try to give them a lot of freedom with the washing and drinking so that it is fun for them. They LOVE to drink from a cup and spit water into the sink. Or they just stare at themselves in the mirror while they slowly pour out the water. If any of my kids do not let me brush their teeth then I clearly tell them that they will have to go straight to bed and they will not be able to wash their hands, drink water, or read books. More than once I have had to pick up someone and carry them towards their bed, but they always scream "brush teeth!" by the time I get them into their room. When we get back to the bathroom, they always let me brush their teeth.

By the way, using choices/consequences has been working fairly well for us all day long. We just always have to be able/willing to follow through if they pick the "wrong" choice!

OMG....we have the same problem with our 3 yr old. At Christmas, "santa" brought him a buzzing electric charactar toothbrush. We found it at walgreen/walmart for $6. It has helped tremendously along w/Silly Strawberry and Mango toothpaste from Toms of Main (all natural). Keep letting them try and then follow up yourself as much as possible. We explained the "plaque bug" story too and how they cling onto your teeth and make cavities...you need to brush them off and down the sink! Good Luck! :)

My son is exactly the same way, and has been since we started brushing a year and a half ago. If you find a solution, let me know! I feel terrible pinning him down, but I do it anyway, because I don't want his teeth to rot out of his head!