My 2 year old son won't let me brush his teeth anymore. He always has loved it since he was a baby. He would sing the "Ah, ah" song while I brushed and when we were done, he'd yell, "ALL CLEAN!" and do a little happy dance. All of a sudden, one day, he started biting down on the toothbrush making a thorough cleaning impossible. I've had him checked for cavities, etc. but have been told he is probably just exploring his independence and wants to do it himself. That's fine, but I still need to help him to make sure brushing is effective. Any ideas on how to get him to let me brush for him? I used to do the brushing, and then give him a little bit of tooth cleanser on his brush for him to do it himself, so he's always had a hand in the process.
So, I took Malakai to the store and he picked out a Power Rangers electric toothbrush and Spongebob toothpaste. I just finished a thorough cleaning of his teeth, and as I type this, I still hear him in the bathroom brushing his little heart out all by himself. Thanks, everyone, again, for the advice!!!
Hi,
My 19 month old did not want me to brush her teeth until I told her we need to get the "sugar bugs" off her teeth...it worked for us :)
T. F.
There are a few things we do. One was already mentioned about sugar bugs. I tell my son we have to get the sugar bugs all out before we can go read books or in the mornings watch his shows. The other thing that helps recently is getting a call from Elmo 1-866-356-6847 is the toll free number that the GUM toothbrush company provides parents and little ones .
You call and after a short prompt Elmo gets on the phone and sings a little song about brushing your teeth. I cant say it works 100% of the time but it does help. The last thing that is done as a last resort involves two people. facing up he lays his head on my lap and his legs on his dads lap while one is distracting the other is brushing tops or bottoms depending how he is laying .
Hi M.,
I have two daughters, now 8 and 5. I used to name my girls teeth. I would tell them that "Esmeralda" wasn't quite clean yet or that "Farley" wanted to be shined a little more. This would usually allow me time to get in there with the toothbrush. I had a name for each tooth and so I run through the names while/after brushing telling her that we needed to check each and make sure each was shining and clean. It became a game and allowed me to brush their teeth. My 5 year old was really difficult when it came to brushing. When she was about 18 months or so I had to just use a wash cloth. She would not allow me to use a toothbrush. I would wet a wash cloth and use my finger. Although this probably isn't as effective as a brush I figured it was better than not cleaning them at all. I've also used the battery run brushes which they love, and buying toothbrushes fairly frequently also makes them want to brush. (they loved the idea of a new brush) I hope this gives you some ideas. Good luck!
Make it a sugar bug game. We have been brushing my sons teeth twice a day every day since he had them and he just had to have tons of work done. He's never had a problem with brushing, myabe not good enough, but now he lets me chase away the sugar bugs because the dentist told him they'd eat a hole in the teeth. So, he laughs and I brush...
dont let him win! maybe next time you are out shopping let him pick out a new brush and paste. but make a deal that he can only have it if he lets you brush real good, he is old enough to understand.
One thing that I have found that helps with my two year old is to let him brush my teeth as I brush his teeth. I put a little toothpaste on my tooth brush hand it to him and he brushes my teeth, while I am able to brush his. This has worked really well it distracts him from the fact that he is getting his teeth brushed and he loves to do it! Hope that helps.
i had a problem similar to this 1. my son always would bite his toothbrush as well. try getting him a toothbrush with a familuar cartoon character on it. for example... my son really likes spongbob so i got him a tooth brush with spongbob on it. then when its time to brush his teeth i tell him that i have to help him 1st & we go threw how to do it saying top when we are doing the top teeth & such then when ive got them all brushed i let him take the tooth brush & finish himself. that way he feels like he is doing it on his own but at the same time you are helping him as well.
Heidi and I started to run into this with Rainey Joy... we got her a spin braush and let her brush herself. Sometimes she is still picky about who brushes with her (mommy or daddy), but at least she's into it.
Turns out she just wanted to do it herself. She has an Elmo spin brush and Dora toothpaste. YEAH!!!
Kurt
you need to get some childrens mouthwash that leaves the plaque on their teeth blue, so he can see where he needs to brush. I just discovered this recently and my 5 year old loves it! If your concerned that he wont get all of his teeth, when he is done check to make sure and give him some sort of prize if he did a good job (stickers always work for my son, or temp. tatoos) Sounds like he just wants to be independant, that's something to be happy about! good luck =)
Hi M.,
My daughter went through this too. She loved to brush her teeth and one day suddenly hated it. I just stayed on her because oral hygiene is so important. I bought her cute little toothbrushes that suction to the sink, so they stay upright and don't collect germs from the counter, and she loved those and they helped, for a little while. She wanted to gargle on day, so I let her and that became her treat because she though it was SO cool, and it was doing something beneficial, unbeknownst to her. ;-) But, after a while, she'd go back to fighting the brushing routine and I told her she couldn't go say good morning to Grandpa until her teeth were brushed and that worked. Her Grandpa is the only "possesion" that is valuable to her, so I took away her treasure until she did what she was supposed to. So, find what is valuable to your child and take that away until he brushes his teeth. I wouldn't suggest taking away a person they love as REGULAR punishment because that doesn't work and it can be confusing. My daughter is different and has always been beyond her years with everything, so she understands things a lot of other kids don't (sometimes, it's a curse ;-)).
I will point out that after a while with the Grandpa thing, she went back to arguing and whining/crying about brushing her teeth, but would eventually do it, but the whole process was an unneccessary struggle. That was a big problem and we'd often be late getting to places we needed to be. One day, we were staying in a hotel and her dad forgot to pack her toothbrush, so we called the front desk and they brought her a miniature mouthwash, tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush, delivered to the door, and she thought that was the coolest thing EVER! She's been happily brushing her teeth all by herself with no whining or even having to be told to do so! She comes to me midway through to show me if she'd done a good job or needs to brush up on certain areas. She's now 4 and this all started when she was almost 3, so it's been a year and a half of trials and tribulations. Best of luck to you, and I hope this helps.
BTW, tried everything; games, brushing together so she'd mimic how it's done, songs, other new toothbrushes, small rewards, etc., and none of that worked for us in the long run. However, I would suggest trying everything if the previous try doesn't work. One day, you'll find something that sticks, and the trials offer some kind of benefit in their learning stages.
I would make a game out of it or go to he store together and let him pick out a new toothbrush, but tell him you can only buy it if mommy can help him brush his teeth also. Let him brush them first and then you brush them after. Make sure you explain why it's important that you help him brush his teeth. You could also try brushing your teeth together and let him hep you brush yours, etc. I thnk all kids struggle with this sometime or another. My daughter got like that for awhile and it was so bad that I had to literally hold her down and hold her mouth open to brush her teeth. My nephew is four also and had his first cavity about three months ago and he brushes his teeth two to three times a day(he has severe milk & soy allergies-so his problem is calcium), but that has scared my daughter pretty good that now she asks to brush her teeth.
