my daughter is 28 months and some days is good she lets me brush with no problems and some days are terrible. but i always insist brushing thoroughly twice daily.
2006-10-25 20:19:27 · 10 answers · asked by Barb 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
my daughter always gets a few minutes on her own to brush her teeth. the battle starts when i have to finish up. i have done all sorts of fun things to occupy her mind and hands while i finish up. we make up new games as we go. i have given her a book to check out, put her favorite program on tv, favorite game on the computer for her to play , give her puzzles, play the piano, get dad to be the tickle monster,etc. i have tried infront of the mirror so she sees what's going on, given her a second toothbrush to brush my teeth at the same time, take turns brushing eachothers teeth, she brushes her teddybears teeth, we play a game "what did you eat today" as i brush i "find" items in her mouth of all the food she ate that day and we brush them all away! we sing brushing songs and other favorites. it is just a battle most nights. very tiring, and frustrating. i dread brushing time.
2006-10-27 07:29:29 · update #1
Look forward to endless battles with teeth brushing! My eldest daughter is 5 and I still battle to get her to brush her teeth!
2006-10-25 20:23:39 · answer #1 · answered by Slk 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The problem is that you are brushing her teeth for her. How will she learn to do it by herself? Toddlers are striving for independence and want to do things on their own. Let her brush her own teeth and make it a fun experience. Don't use toothpaste as toddlers don't like the taste - water should be fine. Give her more responsibility and you won't have power struggles. The trick is to head them off before they begin. Give her a choice of either taking a bath then brushing her teeth, or brushing her teeth then taking a bath. You are getting what you want and so is she - the ability to make choices herself.
2006-10-26 16:42:37 · answer #2 · answered by judirose2001 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I let my 2 year old brush her teeth by herself then I help her. She still fights me on it sometimes but her teeth are being brushed. I have heard to parents using 2 toothbrushes - one for the kid to use herself and one for mom to do it. I think that would be a good idea to make that part of the routine. Even on the days my daughter fights me, I try to remind myself that the routine is the most important thing. I figure she's fighting me because she is two and that as she gets older she'll accept the brushing as part of her day.
2006-10-26 08:56:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, me too. My daughter is 21 months old, and it is an endless battle with the toothbrush. She screams and we have to hold her down to brush her teeth. It's aweful. I don't know why, we try to make it fun by singing songs and brushing our teeth in front of her at the same time, but she just hates it.
2006-10-26 04:04:34 · answer #4 · answered by nicole 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My 18 mo. old granddaughter (who I baby sit for) loves to brush her teeth. We let her play withthe toothbrush at first. She needs help with the actual brushing and she wants to brush everytime she is near the bathroom. We make a game of it and sometimes several of us are brushing at once. Her first "sentence" (two words strung together) was "Brush teeth." Good luck, though. Neither of her two older sisters were this easy or fun!
2006-10-26 08:32:03 · answer #5 · answered by AKA FrogButt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From the beginning we let our kids brush their own teeth. We let them do all the "big girl" stuff like turning on the water, getting the brush out of the cup and wetting it, etc. We let them brush for awhile, then we excitedly state "my turn!" and they are usually happy to let us have a go.
Weird, never had a problem getting them to do it, it's just getting them to the bathroom to begin with that's hard for us lol
Perhaps you are being too rough? I don't know, maybe you need to change toothpaste?
2006-10-26 08:29:56 · answer #6 · answered by arewethereyet 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My 17 month old WILL NOT let me brush her teeth. So, I have to use a technique that was told to me by my dentist. Sit on the floor with your legs out, and lay your daughter down, putting her head between your legs. Then, put her arms underneath your legs so she can't move her head or arms. It is really not as mean as it sounds. And now, my girl's kinda use to it, and thinks is funny.
2006-10-26 14:22:38 · answer #7 · answered by memichelle 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I babysit 2 toddler 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 and they wan to walk around all day and chew on theirs, its kind of disgusting-maybe just let the baby try for a few days and feel lindependent? Try different toothpaste?
2006-10-26 11:39:46 · answer #8 · answered by Jep 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have 23 month old daughter and she was like that too..so i started handing her the toothbrush and she would happily chew it away...once she was used to that i started brushing in front of her myself and asked to imitate mummy..and as all children love to imitate, especially elders, she too started..now i stand her in front of the mirrior and ask her to reach the teeth at the back...all the while holding her hand gently and guiding her..never letting her in on the secret that its not her who's doing the real job. and once i finish...i let her do it all on her own for sometime, before i take the toothbrush and wash and keep it back...'just like mamma's..' u have to outsmart these kids..;)..
2006-10-26 07:53:54 · answer #9 · answered by priti 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes!!!
I fixed the problem by changing toothpastes. They were using mint flavored and hated it. I bought them pink, bubble-gum flavored, toddler toothpaste, with fluoride, and they love it. The toddler toothpaste has fluoride, but less than regular adult toothpaste, so if they swallow it (my kids can't figure out how to spit it out), they won't get sick from it.
2006-10-26 15:45:54 · answer #10 · answered by Used_to_know 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋