Toothbrush battle................?

Question

I have a 21 months old baby who always refuses to brush his teeth . How do I make him brush his teeth without a fuss ? Please provide tips which you have tried yourself .

I did that all . But whenever I give him his baby tooth brush, he tries to put it in my mouth to brush my teeth . He is a little , naughty devil .

lolz....................oks...........little naughty angel

lolz.....oks......little naughty angel

Answer 1

21 months is awfully young to expect too much. I brushed my kids teeth for them until they were more like 2 1/2 - 3 years old. I used the monkey-see-monkey-do technique. First I would brush my teeth while they more or less chewed on their brushes, then I'd give theirs a once over while singing a silly brushing song I made up. They would giggle lots and we all had fun at "brushy-brushy time". You might also try getting him a brush with a favorite cartoon character on it.

Answer 2

You're at an impasse with your son on this issue. On the one hand, you want to cultivate good oral hygiene habits for him, and on the other, you don't want to traumatize him by ramming the toothbrush into his little mouth and forcing him to brush his teeth.

Since you've tried a lot of the suggestions from other people, and it's probably not of critical importance that he brush his teeth now, I would try this: drop the matter **completely** (for now). Your sudden change in strategy will really throw him for a loop, and he will start paying closer attention to the matter in an effort to figure out your behavior. He will also no longer have something (or someone) to resist.

Let him watch you brush your teeth, but only if he's around or comes to you when you're ready to do it (that is, don't drag him to the bathroom to make him watch you). While you're brushing your teeth and he's in sight or earshot of you, pretend like brushing your teeth is the most incredibly fun thing you have ever done (to the point of making a big dope of yourself if you have to).

At some point, if you really sell it, and you're not cajoling him to do it, he will want to brush his teeth, too. I think he'll really, REALLY want to brush his teeth if you go so far as to NOT let him do it the first couple of times that he asks. (Seriously.)

It's worth a shot. This kind of strategy certainly works with grown men who behave like children! ; )

P.S. It's probably not cool to be calling your son a "little naughty devil."

Answer 3

Try fruit flavored toothpaste... Get your toothbrush and brush your teeth at the same time you have him brush his teeth (yes you may have to use the gross kids toothpaste but if it gets him to brush it's worth the gross flavor)....

Make brushing a game..

Go to the store and allow him to pick out a tooth brush and toothpaste he likes... look for ones that light up and play music.....

My nephew hated brushing his teeth until we got him a toothbrush that plays music and lights up when he brushes now he loves to brush because it's fun... He now goes in and shuts the bathroom door and brushes in the dark without being asked, so he can watch the flashing lights in the mirror..

Answer 4

He's too young to be brushing his teeth. His teeth don't need to be brushed right now. Wait until he's 3 before you start. Like you said "he's a 21 month old BABY"

Answer 5

Let him watch you for a while brush your teeth. You don't want to make him brush and give brushing his teeth a negative feel. Get him thinking that brushing teeth is something 'big people' do! And like the others say, "Make it fun"! Fun and play are the ways young chlidren learn best! We adults are no different, if it's not fun, we don't want to do it either!

Answer 6

Well, he is probably refusing because it is an unpleasant experience for him. He must not like the toothpaste, or perhaps the bristles on the toothbrush hurt him once and he is afraid. Experiment with different flavors of kids' toothpaste, give him a dab on a finger in the mouth first to show him it's not yucky, and buy a little brush for him with soft bristles. Hope this helps. You may have done this for him already, and if you have, I'm sorry I couldn't help.

Answer 7

First off I hope you are using childrens toothpaste :). After that try finding a song about brushing teeth and sing it while s/he brushes teeth. If that is too much hassle, there are toothpaste containers that play music. If that doesn't work, theres always the belt :O

Answer 8

With kids: If you let them do something annoying, they find out how it feels to do the annoying thing and often their curiosity is sated and they no longer care about trying to do the annoying thing. Is he trying to brush your teeth for you? Then let him! Perhaps then he will be more confident in letting you brush his teeth for him. It's a trust issue. You can also put his favourite flavour on his toothbrush and let him chew on it when he wants to - under close supervision, of course. That will help him get used to having a bristly thing in his mouth.

Answer 9

brush your teeth when he does. Make it fun for him. Take him to the dentist. The first time the dentist introduces the child to the chair and allows them to play in it. Show your child the importance of clean, healthy teeth. It may be hard but keep trying. He will get the hang of it soon.

Answer 10

like others says, make fun while brushing and you both shuld brush at the same time, sing brushing songs for him, i mean the one they normally thought them at school, like THIS IS THE WAY I BRUSH MY TEETH EARLY IN THE MORNING, by brushing ur teeth and let him have his brush in his hand, am sure by singing and ask him to try it, i will be the first to tell u the next morning that mum i want to brush my teeth,

Gud Luck, i've tried it and it works.