How to get your kids to brush their teeth

There are certain things that parents and kids will always fight over: vegetables, school, and clean teeth. Getting your children to brush their teeth every night is a difficult chore and ideally, you probably don’t want to have to check your children’s breath every night. Before you start thinking about techniques and methods to get your children brushing properly, you first need to organise a tooth cleaning routine and stick to it. Children work a lot better on a schedule and having a set time for teeth brushing reduces room for complaints and compromises.

Get them a friend

If your children always think of cleaning their teeth as a chore then, of course, they’re going to do their best to avoid doing it. The best trick any parent can use to get their children to brush their teeth is to make it fun for them. Of course, there is only so much fun that can be had when brushing your teeth, but you can make teeth brushing slightly more appealing with a few little changes. By bringing a stuffed animal into the bathroom you child can have a brushing buddy. You want to encourage your children to feel grown up and look after their teeth on their own and a great way to do that is to encourage them to teach their brushing buddy how to brush their teeth properly.

Make them a special kit for brushing their teeth

A lot of kids will be happy to receive anything if you wrap it up nicely. A great way to get your kids to clean their teeth is to put together a special kit that’s just for them. Get them a little wash bag with characters or colours they like and put their own special toothpaste, little rinse cup and toothbrush inside it. An electric toothbrush is a great asset to any child’s teeth brushing kit. Kids love pressing buttons and using grown-up tools, so an electric toothbrush will entertain and make them want to brush their teeth. You can buy a safe and good quality kids electric toothbrush online that won’t be harsh on their teeth and gums but will give them the clean they need. If your children tend to rush through their brushing you can also include an egg timer they can use to make sure they brush their teeth for two minutes. When kids have a kit of their very own that they can be in charge of they’ll feel more in control of brushing their teeth and so won’t dislike the task as much. If you have several children that don’t want to brush their teeth make sure they each get their own kits. Sharing will only cause arguments and when siblings are arguing they’re not getting their teeth cleaned.

Teach them the right techniques

When you first teach your children to brush their teeth you should brush your teeth together. Let them watch how you brush teeth and let them copy. Stories and songs are always great tools for teaching children. To make sure they brush their teeth for the proper amount of time you can teach them songs to sing while they’re brushing, such as the alphabet. To make sure they’re brushing in circular motions you can have them imagine the wheels of a train and make the ‘choo-choo’ noise while making circles with their brush.

The final thing your children needs is lots of encouragement. Instead of scolding them when they don’t brush their teeth, praise them when they do. They need lots of enthusiasm and positive feedback to keep them wanting to brush their teeth. Then, soon enough, they’ll be doing it all on their own. Lastly, don’t forget to also bring them to visit the Dentist in Alhambra for regular check-ups and cleaning.