If you find it difficult to get your child to brush their teeth on daily basis know that you are not alone. I am a parent with toddlers and young kids and I know how it feels.
Almost every parent struggle once in a while and so we learn new ways and techniques to get things done. And here are the best and proven ways by most parents to motivate your kids to brush their teeth every day.
How to Motivate Your Kids to Brush Their Teeth Every Day?
- Let your kids pick their toothbrush
- Change their toothbrush or brush head on time
- Brush together
- Educate them
- Start a Routine and Stick to It
- Set a reward system
- Go electric
Let Your Kids Pick Their Toothbrush and Toothpaste
We love picking things for kids based on price and what we consider as being quality. But what is good for us by selection is not always the best choice for a child. Go shopping with them or even if you are shopping on Amazon be with them at the time of shopping and show them options and tell them what you consider as the best and why and let them choose from given options based on color and the character they like the most. This will make them like to use the new toothbrush on daily basis unless other factor interferes.
Change Their Toothbrush or Brush Head on Time
It is recommended that you change the brush head if a child use electric toothbrush after every 3 months. Or change the toothbrush if he using the manual one after three months time too. However, sometimes kids toothbrush wear out quickly as they like chewing them while brushing. Therefore, If your child toothbrush shows signs of wearing out, change it even if three month recommended time is not yet reached.
Sharp edge bristles cause pain while brushing and if a child experience pain once brushing they will not want to brush any more.
Brush Together
Brushing together is one of the best techniques you can use to motivate your kid to brush their teeth every day. Children love copying what their parents do. Show them by action and tell them how and why you do it.
Educate Them
Children love asking questions every time you ask them to do something. You will hear ‘why should I brush my teeth everyday? And if you do not brush with them, you will hear ‘you do not brush your teeth every day, why should I be the only one brushing my teeth everyday?’ Quite annoying sort of questions but answering them will help your kids learn the important of brushing their teeth on daily basis.
Educate them how plaque forms, what happens if they are not cleared away on time. Even show them pictures of what happen if they do not clean their teeth.
Start a Routine and Stick to It
Setting a routine and following up is one of the hard things to do. But if you can master it, it can be the main difference between your children brushing or not brushing their teeth. You can set for instance brushing before breakfast and 30 minutes after eating supper. In this way a child can know that I am not going to have breakfast until I brush my teeth first. With the time, they get used to especially if you do with them together. It keeps you responsible and happy seeing your kids desirable smile.
Set a Reward System
I personally don’t like this strategy. It can surely get kids to brush if you are consistent in rewarding them. However, they get used to it so quickly and get bored especially if you don’t set new treats frequently.
If you have tried this method in other areas and see it working perfectly then, introduce it into daily brushing routine.
Go Electric
Electric toothbrush for kids comes with many interesting features to entertain the kids to brush long. Things like downloadable apps with tutorials and rewarding system, stickers, favorite characters and music. You download the app, whether the magic timer by Oral B or Sonicare for kids app, install it on your Smarphone or tablet and connect with the toothbrush via Bluetooth .
The child need to have access to your phone or tablet at the time of cleaning their teeth. The only thing as the parent is that are you willing enough to let your child use your phone, will you be there for them when they are using it so they do not end spoiling it by accidently dipping it into the water or start playing other games?
If you are willing, buying a Bluetooth enabled electric toothbrush for kids like the Philips Sonicare for kids is the best way to go.
And here are our best electric toothbrush for kids ages 3 to 18 years teenagers to get you started.
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Dr. Tom Bell holds a doctorate in Medical Anthropology and is passionate about oral health. He is the creator of dentalrave and has dedicated over a decade to researching and promoting oral health. His goal is to offer trustworthy and free expert guidance on a diverse range of dental products, tips, methods, and topics, with the aim of making it easily accessible to everyone. It is hoped that this blog will assist you in identifying the appropriate methods and oral care products to enhance and maintain your dental health.