I think kids need supervision while brushing their teeth. Not only do they need help reaching all the teeth, they also need an adult to make sure they don’t decorate the walls with toothpaste!
Here are a few ideas to help make teeth brushing time a better experience.
Brush their teeth during their bath.
My little kids take a bath and then rinse off with a shower. During the rinsing time they get a toothbrush (with toothpaste already applied) and they brush while rinsing. They spit into the drain and there is no mess!
This tip works really well with young kids who can’t reach the bathroom counter.
Keep the toothbrushes in the kitchen.
I have a friend who keeps the toothbrushes in the kitchen drawer and the kids brush their teeth in the kitchen sink. Since kitchens are bigger than bathrooms it is easier for mom to help the kids brush at the kitchen sink and for some reason there seems to be less mess.
If you are concerned about kids spitting in the kitchen sink, give the sink a quick cleaning after they are finished brushing. Your sink will always be clean!
Put on some music!
A dentist friend of mine recommend putting on some music and encouraging your children to brush their teeth for one entire song. Brushing to music will help the time go by quicker.
How do you help your children brush their teeth?
Lauren says
My two year old has been great about brushing his teeth since he was very small. I decided that the best way to start with him was to just set a great example. I would always brush my teeth when he had to brush his. Sometimes Daddy would get in on it too and we would all brush together.
After my son brushing a little…and sucks on the brush a lot…I tell him it’s mommy’s turn to tickle his tongue and I go as quickly as I can to all of the corners of his mouth, his roof, and his tongue. He never really gives me any trouble. We are not good flossers at our house, but it’s funny how as a parent you want your children to do as you say and not as you do…so we got those little flossers…..not even the cutsy kiddy ones. Just regular flossers and I showed him how to use it. Now he’ll say “Mommy, I do a dental floss”.
I know I’m lucky that he’s pretty easy about this. Not all kids are…but my son makes up for it in his rambunctiousness!
The best was when we were on a playdate and the other mom and I were talking. We thought that kids were in the little girl’s room. Then we noticed it was quiet. The other mom went to check on our little ones and the two of them each took a toothbrush from the bathroom and were brushing their teeth! That’s gross…..but how awesome that he was so willing to brush? lol
Elizabeth says
My kids each brush their own teeth. Then I get a turn brushing their teeth and they get to brush mine. After they each floss. They get to take turns picking what kinds of kids flossers we buy. I also pour their mouth wash into a paper cup that they use to get water to rinse after they use the mouth wash.
stacie says
I just got toothbrushes that you need to turn on…and now they love to brush their teeth (with help of course!)
Gabrielle says
Isabelle, my two year old can tell you: “Mommy’s turn, then Da Belle’s turn.” I do a very thorough brushing of each section of her teeth and then it’s her turn. She’ll never learn if I always do it for her, but at the same time, I want those teeth good and clean! It helped to buy a fun tooth brush. In fact, she used to call brushing her teeth “Dora teeth” because of her Dora tooth brush. She really looks forward to brushing her teeth!
Jrmiss86 says
As soon as they are reliably able to spit when brushing, we started using the blue dye for their teeth. It turns any plaque in their mouth blue and they have to keep brushing until it is gone! They love the idea of having a blue mouth and look forward to brushing.
Mami2jcn says
We make a point of going to the store and having our sons pick out their own toothbrush and toothpaste. That way they’re enthusiastic about brushing if they think their toothbrush is cool.
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
Hi Toni!
First of all, I still have a hard time w/ the “brushing in the kitchen” concept, and my son was once vehemently chastised by a friend when he wandered into her kitchen while brushing his teeth (another story :-(), but I lived in Japan for a year and they all brush in the kitchen there. At least they did in the dark ages when I lived there.
Our kids have done well w/ the electric toothbrushes. It has an automatic timer that lets them know when they are done. Love the music idea!
I would be concerned about keeping wet toothbrushes in a drawer where the moisture would encourage mold. What do you think about that?
Natalie says
Years ago, I found a toothbrush holder that sang a toothbrushing song for two minutes when you pushed a button. When my kids were little and I was helping them brush, we used it as a timer to make sure we were brushing long enough. When they started brushing on their own, they still used it as a timer. Even now that they are older, my 12 year old still faithfully uses the singing timer and I occasionally catch my 17 year old playing the song as he brushes! But only when he thinks no one is around that might hear 🙂
Alison says
I found small plastic hourglasses at the Dollar store – like in Wizard of Oz. They came in fun colors. I timed them – almost three minutes. I have the boys use them to brush and it works great. Even my oldest packs it with his toothbrush and paste when we go on trips. I also bought battery operated toothbrushes with cool characters and have the kids floss picks. We try to keep it fun 🙂
Theresa says
I let my son help me brush my teeth, then I help him brush his. Works great.
jessie says
Our dentist gave us a pretty pink timer which we set to let our daughter know for how long she is supposed to brush. Because the timer dictates the length of time required, there is much less fussing!
Jade =) says
I have been having such trouble getting muy 5 yr old to brush his teeth (let alone brush them correctly!). I got him an electric toothbrush just a few weeks ago and now he LOVES to brush his teeth. Whew! I sure hope that excitement sticks around… not sure what else I can come up with! Haha!
Emily E says
My best friend checks her son’s mouth for “bugs” after he’s done brushing. They make a game out of deciding which bug she is looking for and then she goes in with the toothbrush to brush all the teeth real good and “kill the bug.”
Melanie L says
we say “on no!! ___is in your teeth!! Lets get them out!” or “how do you think Mommy or ____ Brushes their teeth?” We go through as many names as we can. We also make noises for each area… front teeth are EE EEE EEE like a monkey.
LauraBeth says
We use toothbrushes with characters that they like (or that do something cool, like flash for a minute or two), and we play “Dentist” and the kiddos lean back on my arm and let me brush their teeth while I pretend to be the hygenist and ask them about how often and well the brush and count their teeth.
Mrs K says
When helping my five year old brush his teeth, we “look” for his favorite characters. Sometimes he suggests the movie, sometimes I do. But if it’s Cars, I point out everyone that I can “see” and give him an oral report…”Oh, there’s Lightening McQueen and there’s TowMater….”. He loved pointing out who I missed and I’ll go back in to check if they are there.
Renee Rayder says
The thing that has worked best for my two year old has been just working it into her bedtime routine. We read stories with Daddy, then put on pjs and then brush our teeth. She gets to hold the toothbrush but Mommy helps maneuver it around to get all the teeth. Then she rocks with her choice of Mommy or Daddy for 5 minutes before going to bed. Since we’ve made it part of the routine, she knows to expect it and never fusses anymore about doing it. Before when it was hit or miss of remembering to do it she always fussed when we remembered. Now it’s just a necessary step to get to her favorite part of snuggle time in the rocking chair.
Michelle Ross says
We started brushing our kids teeth in the kitchen about a year ago and it makes such a big difference! Less mess and it’s just easier.
Becky Milstead says
My boys get to pick out their own battery powered toothbrushes at the store. I let them have a turn brushing, then I get to finish. We have a good time & I make sure I “tickle” them a little on their tongue. Lots of happy teeth brushing. 🙂
Jenni says
We haven’t been good about incorporating teeth brushing into our night time (or morning) routine with our two year old — She sometimes chews on her toothbrush, but doesn’t really do a lot of brushing. I think brushing at the same time is a great idea — we will have to try that!
Sara says
For my older kids they enjoy the toothbrushes that play music…it helps them to know how long to brush, until the song ends. For my younger 2 I still help them brush.
Jennifer says
We have made it part of the bedtime routine. He has several toothbrushes to choose his favorite character. We don’t do a great job in the morning and after meals though. Maybe we will try the kitchen sink.
Brenda H says
A fun toothbrush with their favorite character certainly helps, but so does singing. I sing “This is the way we brush our teeth” while my boy brushes away. This helps keep him focused and makes sure he brushes long enough (for the whole song).
Heather B says
My son is a big superhero fan. In case you haven’t noticed most of the villains have nasty teeth, Whiplash in particular (Iron Man’s foe). My son does not want whiplash teeth, so he is happy to brush. I usually tell him his teeth are looking a little “whiplashy” and he hightails it to brush. We have brushes in both bathrooms and the kitchen (we only have 2 kids so this is feasible). When he’s done he asks me to verify his teeth are superhero white.
Carole Hayes says
When my four-yr-old got to her “Little Miss Independent” phase, and wanted to brush her own teeth, it was a battle to get her to let us brush them to make sure they were clean. I was inspired one night and asked her if I could “paint” her teeth with the toothpaste, and then she could scrub it off. She was intrigued, and agreed without arguing, so that’s what we’ve been doing for at least half a year now: we buy several colors of toothpaste and let her choose which color we’re going to “paint” them with, and then we scrub the “paint” off. (Sometimes she wants to paint and let us scrub, and that’s just fine with us, too.)
Mari says
My son has a favorite Cars 2 toothbrush that he uses every night. He claims that his teeth only like the Cars 2 toothbrush and won’t let him use another one!
Steph says
We hum the alphabet while brushing. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. We have also used the bathtub brushing trick which they think is pretty funny.
Renee says
my kids use the Inspector Hector Plaque Detector Pre-Brush Rinse for Kids .Similar to the red tablets we had when i was a kid. I also found tooth brush sanitizer at tuesday morning that have a uv light.They love to put them in there when there finished. If you did brush in your kitchen you could put them in the dishwasher to sanitize them.