Wednesday, April 18, 2007
WFMW (10 Ways to Make Brushing Fun! )
Before I share my WFMW tip, I'd like to mention that this Friday I'll be doing a Vegetarian edition of my Favorite Ingredients Friday recipe exchange. I hope you can join us!Now, it's time to post yet another WFMW tip. For the longest time, Snuggle Bug was really good about brushing his teeth, but over the past few months he's decided he's no longer interested and it's been a challenge to convince him otherwise. This week I'm sharing some tips on brushing that I found on the Orajel website.
10 Ways to Make Brushing Fun!
While brushing is usually a fun experience, your child may go through a cranky phase when he or she hates to brush. if this happens, try not to make tooth brushing a battleground. Be casual and lighthearted about it all, brushing your own teeth with great gusto and delight, so your child sees how much fun he or she is missing.
Remember that bedtime brushing is most important and, during the day, offer your child lots of plain water after meals.
Here are some ways to make brushing fun and easy for parents and kids (I do #s 1, 3, 6, & 10):
1. Brush with your child — Stand next to your child in front of the bathroom mirror and brush together. It's a nice time together, and your child can mimic your brushing technique.
2. Brush in bed as part of the bedtime routine — If you use a product like Baby Orajel Tooth & Gum Cleanser that is safe to swallow, your child can climb in bed and begin unwinding. Some nights you might even include one of the many books available on taking care of teeth or visits to the dentist.
3. Cute toothbrushes — There are lots of great-looking children's brushes available in stores. Be sure to choose a toothbrush that's small enough for your child to hold comfortably, with a small, rounded head and very soft, polished bristles. You'll probably have to replace toothbrushes every three to four months (more often for preschoolers who tend to chew while they brush!). For babies, a soft finger toothbrush is easy for you to use.
4. Tasty toothpaste — For children under 4, choose a product formulated especially for children, like Baby Orajel Tooth and Gum Cleanser. It has a special mild flavor that babies and toddlers love, in Fruit or Apple-Banana. It's also safe to swallow and non-abrasive. So tooth and gum care is easier and more fun.
5. Count as you brush — Count out loud as you brush each tooth: "Tooth number one is all clean! Tooth number two is all clean! Here comes tooth number three!" This is entertaining for your child, and a good way to practice counting.
6. Say Ahhhhh! — You can't say "ahhh" with your mouth closed. As you brush his or her teeth, encourage your child to say "ahhh," varying the pitch, tone, and rhythm to keep things interesting.
7. Bring a friend — At bedtime, kids may want to invite a favorite stuffed animal into the bathroom to watch as they brush.
8. Tell a toothy story — Kids love to hear favorite stories again and again. Try making up a special short story that you tell only during teeth-brushing time.
9. Make a sticker poster — Hang a piece of bright construction paper on the bathroom wall. Each time your child has a thorough brushing, he or she can choose a sticker or star and put it on the poster. You can also have your child color in Thomas, Percy, James and Gordon on our Thomas & Friends "Brushing Chart" .
10. Sing a toothy song — Make up a silly song to sing every time you brush. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Here's what I sing to Snuggle Bug while we brush our teeth:
"Brush your teeth. Round and round. Circles small. Gums and all. Brush your teeth!"
Making brushing fun works for me! To see what works for others, be sure to check out the other links at Shannon's, the creator of Works-For-Me Wednesday!
My past WFMW entries:
Crayola Twistables Slick Stix
kids car organizer
stop urban legend emails
send credit scores soaring
foolproof extra creamy cottage cheese
stainless steel ball whisk
Uses for your child's wagon
10 Reasons Why Parents Should Not Spank
Love Sweet Love
travel tip
free children's printables
calendar labels
Strawberry Spinach Salad
mesh laundry bag uses
12 lbs 'til Christmas
toddler healthy eating techniques
reindeer puppet
Grocery Game website
No Fear Shakespeare
list of age appropriate children's chores
linking within comments
baptism gift
creating blogger categories
alternate use for pot rack
cake decorating tips
unique way to stay connected
cake baking tip
comforts of home while traveling
quenching the thirst of your little one
pie crust made in bulk
hot chocolate kicked up a notch
Labels: Works-For-Me Wednesday
13 Comments:
Great brushing tips! Here is another fun brushing song/rhyme:
Up like the rocket
Down like the rain
Back and forth
Like a choo choo train
Thanks for sharing!!
You are such a good mom! We are a bit wilder here. I think I like your plan better.
Great ideas.
Before Izzy's accident she was a toothbrush addict :o) Every trip to Target had to begin with a walk down the toothbrush aisle to find a cute toothbrush. I hadn't thought about that in so long.
The best way to get my 13 year old son to brush regularly has been to say, "If you don't brush regularly, you will get huge brown holes in your teeth." Worked like a charm, I don't even remind him anymore!
Thank you for your prayers! It is amazing when you seek answers from God, He provides them!
blessings~
Annie
Great tips! Joey hates it when I brush his teeth, I'll have to try some of these out!
And hopefully this Friday won't be as crazy as the past few and I'll be able to post my Favorite Ingredient Friday!
Some very good ideas...and some of them still work on teenagers lol.
Vegetarian...my daughter will be thrilled as she doesn't like meat. Can't wait!
Catherine
http://angelfoodcakeisntacandle.blogspot.com
There is always some sort of animal in Becca's mouth that needs to be brushed out. Be it chickens, dinosaurs or the like. Works for us :) Great tips!
Great tips! Around here anytime there is hesitation I just say, "You can use mommy's toothbrush." I have an electric brush that uses replaceable heads. My kids love to use my "grown-up" brush. I keep extra heads just for these occasions.
Excellent tips! The Baby is very against getting her teeth brushed, so I'll see if these help.
We use the sing a song method! "this is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth, this is the way we brush our teeth to get them nice and clean (or before we go to bed, or so early in the morning)."
Great ideas! Luckily I haven't had any rebelling against teeth brushing yet. All I have to say is "you don't want your teeth to turn yellow do you?".
Since my kids are under 5, and monitored bathtimes are a must, we frequently have brush in the tub time. I would suggest doing this in the beginning of the bath, since dropping and dipping of the toothbrush can be a hazard! We also tend to brush to the goofiest made up songs about brushing. It really doesn't matter what you sing, as long as it is about brushing teeth and it is long enough to get the job done!
Thanks for the great tips. Always good to have some tricks up my sleeves!
Hi! Those are great tips! Thank you. I have 9 kids and this is definitely something I could improve on. I am going to try the stuffed animal thing. Sounds fun! Your blog is great.
Ahhh, it makes me relive the memories I had with my nephew. I used to brush my teeth with him, and there was one time when he resisted on brushing his teeth. The next day, while I was sitting in front of my computer, I called my nephew and showed him a picture of a set of rotten teeth with an explanation on why did that happen, and then a few seconds later I showed him an image of beautiful teeth. Later that night, he joined me with enthusiasm and he went along with me to the dentist in Germantown, TN who I usually visit every month or two.
There is usually a good method for children to keep them interested in keeping their dental hygiene at best and won't get them scared from visiting the dentist. Germantown, TN, where we live, currently is pretty busy, so I must keep myself focused on whatever I do, especially on my oral health which is essential to my job.
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