Brushing My Two Year Old's Teeth

You didn't say if you are using any type of toothpaste--if so, it could be that.

My daughter is 2 also. I usually just wet her brush and let her chew on it, (say while I"m changing her for bed) and then I say OK, it's my turn!I make a game of it--can she copy my faces? (mouth open wide, big smile etc) If that is too much right now, I'd just let him chew on a toothbrush and let him see you and the other family members happily brushing. Sooner or later, he'll want to be "big" too! Good luck!

A.,

Hi there. I have a 3 your old Daughter and she loves to brush her teeth on her own, but we always go over them after she is done. But like one of the others said make a game out of it. You brush your teeth with him and let him see that you are doing it and how much fun it is to do it and he will come around. You can make a game by saying see who gets there teeth done first. Good Luck and I hope this helps you in some way.

K.

when my kid was 2, i let him brush his own teeth. Even if all he did was stick the toothe brush in his mouth. maybe every 3rd or 4th day i would do it for him. as months past he got better at brushing his teeth and i didnt have to fight him to much. now that hes 3, i dont have to fight him. he's even getting better at it. he see the way mommy and daddy continue to brush their teeth up/down/left/right and he tries to do the same.
So give it time, and dont put to much pressure on him. hes only 2. hes only been here for 730 days. cut him some slack.

2 year olds are just learning that they CAN control little bits of their lives- thus the old label of being "terrible twos." I imagine that you have tried the children's bubble gum flavored toothpaste already with no avail. I might choose to wait until he was asleep and then brush when he was not fighting you. Constant struggling allows him to see the frustration "he is causing" you- thus controlling you in that small way. You are the adult, but CHOOSING how you "do battle" now will influence how he views "doing battle" with you later in life. Making it a situation of reward might be the better choice. You could try a reward chart for your daughter, allowing her to receive a small star sticker for every time she brushes her teeth. Make this achievement a situation of hugs and closeness. Casually talking about it to her father, without saying a word about your son's LACK of a chart, may stimulate him to want a chart, too. (NO further awards are necessary) If your husband or a grandparent mentions that they are proud of her for all of the stars on her chart, this can add to his desire to brush his teeth so that he can have a star chart and have them be proud of him, too. Allow HIM to do the brushing, even though he doesn't do such a good job. He may just be so active that he doesn't want to stand still for that long. Remember that even a few brush strokes are better than no brushing at all. He will get better as time goes on!

I have a two and a half year old, and he LOVES to brush his teeth ... but likes to do it (at least at first) for himself. Some children are fiercely independent and want to do things for themselves. Not sure if that might work if you let him at least start brushing by himself.

We also bought my son a Thomas the Train toothbrush and toothpaste (the non flouride kind that's safe to swallow). So, he's always been really interested in his toothbrush and using it to brush his teeth because it has his favorite Thomas trains on it! Ha ha! You might let your son pick out his own character toothbrush at the store and see if that helps.

And, lastly, my son really got interested in brushing his teeth after seeing his Daddy and I brush our teeth. Anytime he sees someone brushing their teeth, he wants to brush his, too! ;) So, you might let him watch you brush your teeth and then brush his.

I hope something I suggested helps! Good luck!

Hi A.:
i had the same problem with all 3 of my kids. What i did was write a letter to each of them from the tooth fairy. It was kind of an advance letter. Telling them that i (the tooth fairy) would be visiting them in the future and the importance of healthy teeth. I also put in there that the tooth fairy would buy their baby teeth from them as they fall out. I explained the process to them. It helped me tremendously. I put the letter under their pillow after they were asleep and when they got up, i went into their rooms and got it from under the pillow. I then read it to them. Even now that they are older, (ages 9, 7, and 5) when they loose a tooth, the tooth fairy leaves them a little note just reafirming the importance of healthy teeth. If they give me a fit on brushing their teeth, i just remind them of what the tooth fairy said in her letters and no problems. I hope this helps you out!!! M. j

I have a two year old girl she loves to brush her teeth our problem is keeping up with the tooth brushes. But she really like bubbles so we see if we can make them in her mouth. I also let her do it herself while i brush mine. We bought her a toothbrush that lights up and flashes while she brushes she really seems to like it. Hope any of this helps

You are BIGGER... you are STONGER... and you are the adult.

Clean teeth are a non-negotiable... hold him down and brush his teeth.

Also, when dealing with the "terrible-twos", the message should be clear that they have NO OPTIONS for the non-negotiables.

Just make sure they have areas where they CAN control thier environment... and have fun with those!