Despite my attempts to get him interested, my nearly 15-month-old son is reluctant to have his teeth brushed. Once in a great while he will let me quickly rub his teeth with a washcloth in the bathtub, but he shows almost no interest in using his baby toothbrush, and resists any attempt I make. I don't want to make this a battle, but I'm worried about the health of his young teeth. Any suggestions on how to make teeth brushing a more fun activity that he will enjoy?
With my son, who is 13 months old, I have made it a fun game. I showed him how I brush my teeth, then I hand him my toothbrush and let him brush my teeth. In the meantime, I use his toothbrush to brush his teeth. He thinks it's funny, and we both laugh. So now when I tell him it's time to brush his teeth, he gets excited and laughs. It may seem really silly, but it works for us.
My boys used to hate brushing their teeth when they were that age. My youngest boy didn't like to until a few months ago and he's 5 yrs old now. I would make it fun for them to brush their teeth. I would sing "Row Your Boat" to them but instead about brushing their teeth. It worked for them. I also allow them to pick out their toothbrushes from a few I choose for them and allow them to pick out their toothpaste. I think kids like it when you allow them to make some decisions on what they get sometimes on their own.
My daughter is about that age and I recently bought her a toothbrush and the learning toothpaste. She refused at first too and would not open her mouth. I got my toothbrush and brushed mine with her watching and told her how much fun it was. She wanted to try it herself so I let her and after a few minutes I told her to let mommy do it now so I could make sure all of them were brushed and could make them all pretty. She let me!!! Now she throws a fit to brush her teeth. She makes sure we do it on a regular basis. I also had bought a 2pack of toothbrushes which was great because she wanted the other one for a while to brush her own teeth. She has since gave that one up and prefers the real thing with toothpaste!
Hope this helps!
Hi, i have an idea. for my girls i let them go to the store and pick out there own toothbrush and toothpaste so they get to pick what they are going to use. he is old enough to use a regular toothbrush and they have all kinds of cool characters now.
My son went through that for a little while but it was mostly because he was teething and anything touching his mouth hurt. Once the teething pretty much stopped he started letting me brush his teeth again. Once in a while he still gets cranky but I can tell it is because the teething is hurting again. I have even tried to get him to help me and that helps make it more fun for him. Of course he is still not that great at brushing on his own but he likes to try. My son is 17 months old.
Hi S.,
Your not alone! My son turned two in December and it has always been a fight with him. Just recently he lets me get in there for a few seconds to brush his teeth, I usually have to fight to get the brush in his mouth, then he bites it. Just get in their and brush as much as you can for as long as he'll let you. I tell all my children me first then you brush. He likes that he gets to brush his teeth so that kind of helped. I suggest fun tooth brushes, I always let them pick one themselves every few months. They love to pick their own. Then just keep at it. That's all you can do. Eventually it will get easier.
Hi S.. I know exactly what you mean! My son hated brushing his teeth, but I knew that it was so important. I didn't want it to be a battle either. We finally started asking him if he wanted to do it the "easy" or "hard" way. The hard way wasn't fun for anyone, so he started choosing the "easy" way after a few battles. :) He still doesn't like his teeth brushed, but he will let us do it without a problem now. Hope this helps!
- M.
S., I have a 21 month old daughter who was the same way, except now she wants to be very independent. I let her brush her teeth herself, and then I tell her mommy has to check for the buggies and germies left over so then I am able to brush her teeth. Ya know last night, she handed me the toothbrush, instead of me fighting for it and said, "buggies". Just an idea to let him have the toothbrush for a bit and then let him know it's mommy's turn. Good luck.
Hi S.,
My little girl was the same way around that age. I bought her favorite character toothbrush and that helped a little. Then I explained to her that there were germs crawling around in her teeth and I had to get them out. I would say things like "Open your mouth and let me see if there are any germs in there...OOOOh I see one, let's get him! Ope there's another one...Got it...Phew!" You get the idea. After a few times and a consistent routine of the same times brushing every day she was fine. She even reminds me now to brush her teeth...Hope this helps.
M.
The book "Brush Your Teeth Please" worked wonders for me.
I also made up a silly song where we sang bye, bye to the food she ate that day.
Sometimes I just had to brush her teeth with her screaming. Eventually, she got over it, and at 2 is happy to first brush her teeth by herself and then let me really brush.
I kinda still have the same issue with my THREE year old. She already has the beginnings of a cavity, but she would fight fight fight me on EVERYTHING - I'm still potty training. Let's just say she has a mind of her own, but her grandmother is a dental hygentist & got her interested by "counting" & "naming" her teeth, and brushing each one as they count. Making it a game! Good Luck!
hi, S.!
how are you? i have a 12 month old son who was refusing to have his teeth brushed until we found some "goofy grape" toothpaste at wild oats. it doesn't have fluoride so it is safe for children to swallow. he sees the tooth brush coming now and opens up wide! wild oats also carries a strawberry flavor that is good, too! hope this helps!
-B.
When I first started brushing my son's teeth, I told him that we had to get all the cooties. I used my best Wicked Witch voice and said "I'm going to get you cooties and you little dog too!" He thought he had dogs in his mouth that we had to get and found that to be so funny that he would let me brush. Now, we have a contest to see who can say "Ahh" for the longest. We both open our mouths really wide and say "Ahh" for as long as we can. While we're doing this, I am free to brush his teeth. He thinks it's great fun. So, I guess my advice is to make it into a fun game and he will want to do it. You might have to try a few things first but eventually you'll find something that works for him.
Wow I have been there and done that so I know exactly what you are going through. The best advice that I could give you especially if you have a fighter is to do just simply the best you can. I used to try to do it while he was watching his favorite video or playing with his favorite toy. IT seemed to help although it was a battle for quite awhile. Just know that this will pass and as a mother we move from one battle to another. Kids aren't they just adorable?
I know how frustrating this is. My son is 28 months and just recently got over fighting me to brush his teeth. The trick was to buy him a spin brush. I found a Superman one but they also have ones that play music (a little pricey in my opinion but the dentist mentioned they work). He enjoys biting it more but I try to tell him "mommy brushes teeth first then you". Wish you luck. I know it's not easy.
