Flossing for 2 Yr Old

I've been flossing between my 2 year old daughter's teeth for well over a year, per her pediatric dentist's recommendation. We use one of those little picks too. I noticed the dentist getting kids to open their mouths by saying he's got to get the little bugs out of there. So we make jokes about monkeys being in there and making monkey sounds or whatever animal we think of. I tell her they're asleep, and we've got to wake them up and tell them to get out of there. She thinks it's funny and usually goes along with it. Being that she's 2, we've had some issues the last week or so, so I tell her I will let Santa know she's not being a good girl and helping Mommy. That usually straightens her right up. LOL Good luck!

I have a very strong willed 2 yr old daughter (turned 2 on 10/31)... At first she would fight me and I'd literally have to hold her down....but after a while and a lot of coaxing and a little bribing too (shh) .... and mostly just showing her that she wasn't going to win, she wanted to act like a big girl.. In our case it also helps that she has a sister thats 4 1/2 yrs older than her ....but also one thats exactly 2 yrs younger :) thankfully she also took well to potty training and has been fully trained for 1 month as of today (doc said it could go either way with having an older AND younger sister) ...
So, just keep showing him/her it will be done no matter what and make it fun if possible ..you win

Oh and I use the individual floss picks.. much easier! And get the ones that say for tight teeth..they hurt much less!

I'm sure I never tried! Brushing was hard enough.

I'm interested to see responses! My twins are two and I have yet to try!

Not really. I use the flosser sticks with my kids and my son's teeth have good gaps between them that there is no real reason to floss other than to let them experience it so it isn't a big deal when his adult teeth start coming in.

S.

I have been flossing my daughters teeth since she was 1, per the dentists request. Our dentist actually gave us a floss holder for her, you wrap the floss around it and it is super easy to use. The disposable floss sticks have the glide kind of floss which doesn't clean in between the teeth as well as the normal floss, so I would try to get one of the reusable ones so you can put waxed floss on it.

oh oh oh i can answer this!!! my daughter has been flossing since 18 months!
what i use is the little flossing picks. i have her lay her head in my lap after brushing her teeth. shes used to it and i never had a problem. she also lets her dentist floss her teeth.

Never flossed my daughters teeth, infact after she turn 2 I could not even brush her teeth... She would hold her mouth shut and there was no way of getting her to open her mouth. After a week of this I gave her the resposiblity to brush her teeth and she is very good about it.

She is now 4 1/2 years old and a few dental students came to her preschool, had a talk, showed them stuff (good teeth, bad teeth, how to brush, how to floss) well NOW she flosses. They gave her a new toothbrush and a toystory kids flosser (which I really want to know where they got it to get a few more) and she has been flossing daily, and brushing at least twice a days sometimes 3 times a day. Sometimes they just need to hear it from someone besides a parent/relative.

Great question Alli! We tell our 2 yr old to roar like a T-Rex and show us his big sharp teeth lol. It works for him, and he will usually
hold his mouth open long enough to floss those chompers! If he's being super uncooperative I'll do the bottom teeth one night and the top ones the next. Normally I'm a dental hygiene freak and won't let him skip a night of flossing any teeth, but who the heck has the time and patience to keep that up on full on tantrum nights? Lol best of luck to you, I know its not always easy to get a 2 yr old to see things from our perspective!

J.