My little girl presently refuses to brush or have her teeth brushed. She used to be OK with it but now just lies on her bed or the floor, face down, when you go near her with a tooth brush. I don't want to have a fight over this as I do not want tooth brushing to become something that is a desperate struggle but I'd like to be able to keep her teeth clean. What techniques do the parents out there have to make brushing a bit of fun and an easy task at each end of the day?
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Getting a (nearly) 2 year old to brush their teeth. Help?!
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Posted 7 months ago #
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Stickers!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Exactly same scenario as you - we offer a toothbrush every night in the bath. If they won't brush we don't make a fuss and just try again the following night. Our view is that, at 2yrs 3mths, they are too young to bribe with charts to award good behaviour but once they are old enough to grasp that concept we will try harder.
I am interested in ideas others may have though...
Posted 7 months ago # -
offer a big bar of chocolate if they let you
Posted 7 months ago # -
Sweets?
My 2.5 yr old is currently being bribed with stickers for his eating habits, which is kind of working.
My 15 month old hates having his teeth cleaned, but I'm putting this down to teething. I've found that being as gentle as possible, stopping if he wants me to stop, and being persistent helps. Or pinning him down and scrubbing like mad if all else fails.
None of the really helps does it, except to say you're not on your own and we all feel your pain.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Our view is that, at 2yrs 3mths, they are too young to bribe
That is the conclusion that I had come to. The art of negotiation is presently wasted on her.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Our 18 month old does some times and doesnt others. Again we try not to make too much of it. We do some times mimic brushing our own which he finds hugely amusing and then does his own or lets us do it. (lets face it an 18 month old isnt going to do a great job)
Posted 7 months ago # -
yeh, bit young maybe but telling them they can only have sweets etc if they brush their teeth properly* made a difference to ours
*"properly" is a highly subjective term, apparently
Posted 7 months ago # -
electric tooth brush! my nephew would have tantrums about cleaning his teeth until he stopped at ours for the weekend and I brushed his teeth with a 'lectric toofbrush' and so bought him a cheap one and he now loves cleaning his teef.
Posted 7 months ago # -
One thing that does work occasionally with our two - letting them use grown-up brushes. They enjoy copying (as do all kids) and are more likely to brush if we give them our brushes if the mood takes them.
Posted 7 months ago # -
"telling them they can only have sweets etc if they brush their teeth properly"
Now theres logic for you
Posted 7 months ago # -
brushing with them; "who can make the most foam?" "are you going to be a grown up boy/girl and brush your teeth like Daddy is?" etc
you don't need to be too worried about how effect they are at it - it's the habit you're trying to instil.
oh, and some kiddy type flavoured tooth paste - ours hated mint.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Carrot and stick innit - the argument is that they are not allowed to eat sweets if they don't brush their teeth at the end of the day.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Try putting a mirror in front of them so they can see what they're doing. Made a big difference for us. Also try brushing your teeth at the same time, using the old like mummy/daddy talk.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Show them my dad's teeth
Worked on my children.Posted 7 months ago # -
What worked for me is having something they like follow brushing teeth (Story Time). No story if they dont do it. And then you have to be relentless with it. If they dont its naughty step and then bed. If they do its story then bed. After a couple nights they get it and if it starts to slip you have to keep going with it.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Despite the fact that we give much thought to child rearing and have tried really hard to imbue our children of 7 and 6 with self respect, respect for others, an appreciation of their relatively privileged position in the global world order, a sense of fun, and an interest in science, music and the arts etc...
... we've never really bothered about getting them to brush their teeth.
However, I don't feel too bad about this because:
1) They drink water not squash/coke etc. and they only have sweets once or twice a week.
2) They seem to have picked up info re' teeth cleaning somewhere along the way (school + a dentist came into talk to them at Brownies)
3) They are only just getting their adult teeth.
4) Their mum went to the dentist after not bothering for 10 years and was told that everything was fine.Having said all that, now that they are getting their adult teeth, we're trying a bit more to remind them to do it.
Does this make me a bad parent?
Posted 7 months ago # -
We put her in front of a mirror and make aaaahhh & eeeee sounds which works some of the time, the rest of the time she just wants to suck the toothpaste off the toothbrush
Don't make a big deal of it, just give them a really good scrub when they will let you.
Posted 7 months ago # -
When ours decided they didnt want their teeth cleaning we took them to boots and let them choose what toothpaste they wanted. Both being girls we now have Hello Kitty and Disney Princess paste in the bathroom. We found letting them choose something else thats pink rather than forcing our choices on them has helped when it comes to getting them to clean their teeth.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Wharfedale - Member
Try putting a mirror in front of them so they can see what they're doing. Made a big difference for us. Also try brushing your teeth at the same time, using the old like mummy/daddy talk.
That worked for our little one too
Posted 7 months ago # -
Our view is that, at 2yrs 3mths, they are too young to bribe
That is the conclusion that I had come to. The art of negotiation is presently wasted on her.
you 2 are so wrong. ours (now 2 3/4) has been negotiating with us for as long as i can remember.
bribery works. no treats unless they brush their teeth. 2 days of watching mummy/daddy eat cake/biscuits/chocolate without sharing will break any 2yr old. They might go mental at you but thats the point.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Our daughter is similar ( a little older at 2.5), In the evening at least I read her a bedtime story while she has some milk and then brush her teath before reading another story. If she won't let me then she doesn't get the second story. She gets it completely and most of the time is happy to let me brush them so she can have another story.
Also an episode of Peppa Pig where they go to the Dentist helped to get her used to brushing as it is her life ambition to be like Peppa.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Lightning McQueen toothpaste worked for my truculent 2 year old
Posted 7 months ago # -
Have you already tried telling her that you can see a bit of food in her mouth and you need to get it out?
"Ooh, there's a bit of carrot - and a bit of potato. Hold on, there's a bit of pea at the back"
Taht sort of thing works well for my daughter.
Posted 7 months ago # -
you 2 are so wrong. ours (now 2 3/4) has been negotiating with us for as long as i can remember.
bribery works. no treats unless they brush their teeth. 2 days of watching mummy/daddy eat cake/biscuits/chocolate without sharing will break any 2yr old. They might go mental at you but thats the point.
I think what you are doing is confusing your child's development with ours. Yes we can bribe but *at the moment* they don't have the memory to relate not cleaning their teeth on Monday night with not being allowed treats on Wednesday lunchtime. It does work with immediate rewards though. Thanks for your advice anyway
EDIT: I like bigsurfer's and chapaking's advice though
Posted 7 months ago # -
Make it a game, have them copy you brushing yours. Seems to work with my boy
Posted 7 months ago # -
>and an easy task at each end of the day?<
And the good news is that you'll quite probably be badgering her to do her teeth every night for the next 10 years
Posted 7 months ago # -
Had a few battles (2x2 year old girls) but as above:
- Mirror
- Copying adult mummy/daddy
- Turn taking works well for us - give them the toothbrush first then "daddy's turn..." "then _______ turn"Not easy when they are teething...
Posted 7 months ago # -
Just tell them spiders will grow from their teeth if they don't clean them, it will either work or they'll never fall asleep again.
Posted 7 months ago # -
4) Their mum went to the dentist after not bothering for 10 years and was told that everything was fine.
Not bothered brushing her teeth for 10 years?
Posted 7 months ago # -
Our view is that, at 2yrs 3mths, they are too young to bribe with charts to award good behaviour
Hmm bribing and negotiating may be lost on our son (especially the "treats tomorrow if you brush teeth/whatever now") but at 22ish months he understood stickers for using the potty. First few times we gave him stickers subsequently after using it he demanded stickers.Posted 7 months ago # -
Gently pinch them on the nose. When they open their mouths GET THE BRUSH IN
It works on my two.
Posted 7 months ago # -
With my youngest (now 2 1/2) brute force was all that would work for a while. He now holds the tooth brush and I direct it, he is now much more enthusiastic about brushing his teeth.
Posted 7 months ago # -
OMG! is this for real? if you honestly can't manage to clean your nearly 2yr olds teeth you are in for years of self inflicted missery at her hands.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Not bothered brushing her teeth for 10 years?
No, genetically strong teeth and low sugar diet.
Fair point though.
Posted 7 months ago #
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