Every parent has faced the challenge of getting their children to brush their teeth regularly. It’s not something their look forward to and often outright refuse to so. For parents facing this challenge, brushing teeth doesn’t have to be an activity your child dreads on a daily basis. Be creative and try to engage your child by making regular brushing fun and something they enjoy, rather than something they ‘have’ to do.
Here are some fun ideas on how you and your child can learn about oral health and play together.
1. All about the electronics! Give your child an electric toothbrush.
Kids love gadgets and many electric toothbrushes, like many other electronics that permeate our lives today, can play music, have timing mechanisms to time how long you brush and other features that will make brushing fun. Why maybe not on par with the functionality of an I-Pad, some electric toothbrushes even come with apps, so innovation promises to continue for these products. Let technology help you and your child.
2. Show Fun Brushing Videos – Who doesn’t love Sesame Street?
Here’s one I enjoy using…
[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMrtK-kYnE[/embedyt]
3. Take the opportunity to connect brushing with singing!
You don’t need to be able to carry a tune to sing with your child, as singing with brushing can be very helpful as it increases the fun level and reinforces the daily routine. You can come up with some creative lyrics in short order. “This is how we clean our teeth….” or “My toothbrush goes round and round…” One additional important element around singing is that it reinforces the fact to the child that there is a limited time to brush, so they can count on it ending when the song ends.
Play with different songs and encourage your child to add words and maybe even a dance move or two to accompany the song.
4. Brushing the teeth as an activity throughout the day
Make tooth-brushing a play activity during different times throughout the day. Especially for children just starting out on brushing, this can help to get them used to the idea and comfortable with the activities. For example, encourage your child to brush the teeth of stuffed animals, dolls or other toys.
5. Let children brush your teeth
Kids love doing grown up things, and letting them brush your teeth and seeing your positive reaction could make this routine fun right out of the gate! Try it!
So as I discuss with parents at our Northern Virginia pediatric dental practice, most children need a helping hand to get them accustomed to regular brushing, and creativity can go a long way. Make an effort to be fun, and it will go a long way to helping your children to develop good brushing habits and strong oral health.
