Gething kids to brush their teeth

aliasojo

Kabazzzz wrote: »

Ok maybe I should rephrase the original post...

I tell them to do it, they say they have when they haven't... the consequences of this are that I march them into the bathroom and do it for them.

So it gets done, my point is that it shouldn't be such a battle every day, especially at their age.

I take on board on the dentist idea with more regular visits and perhaps this is they way to go.

I have to admit I didn't brush my teeth as a kid. I don't know why tbh. I'd tell Mum that I'd done it but the reality was I'd sit on the edge of the bath for a few minutes before coming out all angelic. My Mum never checked, I think she just wanted an easy life by that point.

My own kids have never had the option to not brush. Because of my own actions, I took no chances with mine and stood over them whilst they brushed in front of me. Once I was satisfied a routine had been firmly established, I stopped watching them but checked their mouths when they came out. After a while i was happy enough that they were going to keep it up and was able to trust them to continue themselves.

Keep on at them OP. If you have to stand over them, so be it. Don't do it for them, just make sure they do it themselves.

Kabazzzz

I have asked in the past and the answer is usually along the lines of "I don't have time in the morning" or "I can't be bothered" or just plain and simple... "I don't want to" grrrrr...

I may start with those little tablets though and use the stand over them method. I have bought mouthwash in the past as that seemed to work for a little while on DS but then it just stopped!

Mojisola

Our dentist has a poster up that says
"You don't have to clean ALL your teeth - just the ones you want to keep!"

[Deleted User]

You could show them some photos of really manky neglected teeth and tell them that this is what happens if you don't brush your teeth properly and regularly eg - yuck!

LEJC

If its any consolation...once they become interested in girls the whole washing/cleaning teeth senario is that you cant get them out of the bathroom!!!!

You could try the disclosing tablets that turn the plaque a different colour...they need to clean them then to get it off...maybe an electric tooth brush so at least theres a better chance of the brushing being of better quality...
Do either of them chew gum...there are some which can help to clean teeth....

other than that its probably just a case of keep reminding/keep telling and it might sink in.

We were in a similar position for a while so I think its all a phase that particularly boys might go through....and I know its really difficult to explain the pain of toothache to someone whos never had it ....but once they experience it then tooth cleaning will have a higher prioity...

our son has never had as much as a filling yet an regularly used to not brush...no idea how they manage to get away with no tooth problems I certainly didnt as a child!

applecrumble24

I have to pin my two year old down to brush his teeth at the moment, last week I had to go round and apologise to my next door neighbour as I'm sure it must have sounded like I was torturing him nstead of enforcing basic dental hygene! No advice, i'm afraid i'm now just worried that i will be doing this for a lot longer than i thought!

Candy53

When mine were only little, I just tried to get them into the habit of brushing their teeth by making it as much fun as I could.

I bought fancy little toothbrushes with pictures on them, and, don't know if you still can, bought fruit flavoured toothpastes.

As for when they were older, I have an inherited disease where my teeth went bad very quickly, and had to have some out, and all the others filled. That scared them into brushing twice a day! Their dentist compliments them on having lovely teeth.

OP, I would tell your children that because they don't clean their teeth, other people will notice, especially their friends, which could be embarassing for them. That might make them think twice.



Candy

hazyjo

Someone mentioned an electric toothbrush to make sure their teeth are clean, but it might actually be enough in itself to make them want to clean their teeth. Always a fascination with things like that - especially if they've not had one before.

My friend had a toothbrush that told you when the recommended three mins for brushing was up. Something like that would encourage them. Anything slightly gadgety would probably help.

Jx