My 2 1/2 Year Old Is Fighting Brushing Her Teeth! HELP!

Buy a couple brushes and a couple of different pastes. She can choose which she uses, but she doesn't choose if it gets done. This worked most of the time with my daughter. Othwerwise, she got held down and it got done. She quickly learned the difference between the easy way and the hard way.

My son stopped fighting as much when the dentist told him about the "tooth buggies" that eat at your teeth and can make them hurt. Now, he wants to make sure to get rid of the "buggies." He still fights it sometimes, but not nearly as much. I just put him on my lap, facing me, and brush them for him. Sometimes I let him try doing it himself, but he knows that when i pick him up on my lap with the toothbrush, it's time.

Edited to say: I remind him daily that the reason we are brushing is to get rid of the buggies.

Our daughter did the same thing around that age. We not only told her about "tooth buggies" but my hubby took it a step futher....He grabbed his keychain flashlight and "showed" her the buggies in the mirror. Of course she couldn't see the buggies but the distraction of the flashlight was enough for her to get interested in brushing again just so she could use the flashlight. We make a game out of who gets to brush her teeth first and who gets the most buggies off. We always brush her teeth as well as having her brush them, we just rotate who gets to brush them first. We had to use the "flashlight method" for a few weeks but then she just stopped asking for the flashlight.

Fight back! She will get over it.

It's the age of asserting contol. You can try to take a bit of the fight out of it by giving choices.. .where to brush or do you want to brush this morning or do you want mommy to do it? Give it a shot. They do seem to go through stages of hating to brush their teeth...

Give lots of choices, have two toothbrushes in every bathroom. Do you want to brush upstairs or down stairs? do you want Daddy to help you or mommy? My son and I each get a turn each time. He decides who goes first and who goes second. if he is feeling lazy I do it by myself (I'm sure I do a better job!) Set a timer when the timer goes off it is toothbrushing time!

make it a game! take your timer from the kitchen, set it to 2 min and say that if she can brush until the timer rings then she gets a sticker or extra time with the tv, video game, park, etc.

Hope this helps :)

Try the new mouthwash that shows the stuff that sticks on the teeth. I remember when I was younger the dental assistants came to our school and we chewed on a tablet that showed all the germs that were in our mouth, or all the plaque that we missed when we brushed. I think there is either a toothpaste or a mouthwash that does the same thing, that might make it a little fun for her. She might be getting more teeth in or maybe one of her tooth is loose. Brush your teeth with her and make it a game to see who can brush their teeth faster, and use the same mouthwash. That might make it more positive for her.

Sometimes I'll help him brush in a different spot - like he'll lie on the bed, then come and spit after. Give her a choice of WHERE she can brush her teeth - maybe she'll come up with some goofy answers, but they'll get brushed :) Good luck!

I agree with the fighting back. You just have to keep pushing. My daughter gagged for the longest time with brushing her teeth. Try brushing a kids teeth who gagged every single day for months and months. It was horrible. She finally at the age of 5 let us do it. What a nightmare!

sometimes i do what i call "going back to square 1". i make a visual list of everything he has to do. i use microsoft word or something, use some clip art, and *voila*. a "list" that my preschooler can read. undies, pants, shirt, socks, shoes, toothbrush. at 2 1/2 he was feeding his pet fish as well. now, at 4, it's the dog. then at the bottom i put several pictures of "fun" things (a snack, toy cars, crayons) he gets to pick a fun thing once his chores are done. he can follow his list and do all his chores, or he can choose to go to time out instead. as many times as necessary. i have used this method twice and it has worked miracles both times. we have gone from tantrums and fights (the WORST kind i have ever seen in a kid) to practically perfect mornings. at 4 when we did it, we didn't even have to do time out one time. he took right to it.

She'll like going to the dentist to get injections and fillings even less! Keep up the program..she'll get over it. P.S. you always brush her teeth EVERY night