My 4 1/2 yo son will NOT brush his teeth in the a.m. or p.m. no matter what I do...any suggestions?

Question

Every morning when he wakes up and night before bed we have this problem. He just won't budge! I need to get him to brush his teeth regularly for obvious reasons of course. Please help. Thx.

I did take him out to buy a tooth brush he picked out a spongebob one and used it for like a week all by himself but that was it.

Answer 1

It's a control issue with the child. The child is controlling you. I've tried all of the above mentioned suggestions plus one more. I give my son the tooth brush with tooth paste and tell him he can brush his teeth himself or I will do it. I wait while doing other bedtime or morning chores. He sometimes brushes his teeth and sometimes I do. But either way he doesn't fuss anymore. I think he wants me to brush his teeth on the days I haven't played with him much or work late. He is controlloing the time I spend with him. He is smart like that. Keep trying though, eventually it works itself out. But don't let him see you get upset or give up. He knows he is in control then.

Answer 2

I am dealing with the same problem with my 3 1/2 year old daughter. It drives me nuts because I can get her to put the toothbrush in her mouth, but she just sucks on it and refuses to brush. She will listen to my ex-husband and brush and/or let him brush her teeth but even if I make the same attempts as he does, she still refuses to brush. I have read other people's questions on here who have had the same problems and what was suggested is to either a.) let your child pick out their own toothbrush and toothpaste and try to make it out to be something fun or something that you do together b.) rewarding them when they do brush and/or taking away something they like (such as watching tv or a certain toy) when they refuse to brush c.) taking the child to the dentist every few months or so for a good cleaning since they refuse to do so themselves and then with all of the above try to be very consistent with it and show them that you mean business and are not going to give in when they refuse to brush. I am still working with my daughter on this one and believe me I know how frustrating it is because the last thing that you want is your child's teeth to be rotting and full of cavities but my daughter is finally starting come around and hopefully your son will too. (I have to threaten to call her father and tell him how she is not brushing in order to get her to brush her teeth plus I have myself and also others compliment her nice smile while she is brushing and after) Good luck to you and I hope that you are able to figure out your own strategy that works. Take care :)

Answer 3

Try this...

Put together a calendar and have some stickers ready (will work really well if child likes stickers). Explain to the child that for every time he puts the toothbrush in his mouth, he'll get one sticker for that day. If he moves the brush up and down that will be another sticker for that day.

Also explain to him that after he's accumulated a certain number of stickers, he'll get rewarded with something he likes or a trip to a place he's been wanting to go.

Good luck!

Answer 4

My mom gave us reward stickers when we were younger if we brushed our teeth. She had a little calendar hung up on the bathroom wall and would put a star sticker on it if we brushed our teeth. At the end of the week, if we had all our stars, we got to pick something out for ourselves (like a cheap toy or something at the grocery store). It worked very well until one day me and my sister found where she hid the stickers and stuck them all over the place. : )

Answer 5

What you need to do is be stern and consider it as a demand more then a request. Start with no t.v., toys, or treats until it is done. If that does not do the trick then consider grounding him to his room for awhile until he listens to "mommy" about brushing his teeth and how important it is. At about 5 or so years old I'm sure he'll grasp the concept more then now... but until then, I suggest that you really start to get strict as his development will be more of a listening to your demands as a parent type relationship then letting the kid get away with anything they want type.

Answer 6

Some ppl will say to just make him but you know you cant always do that.,well, you could hold him down, maybe hog tie him,lol.
Ona serious note. Have you tried one of those cool power toothbrushes. They have this toothpaste that turns your teeth colors,too. He might like that. Or go to the extreme and show him pics on the internet of bad teeth. Maybe its the toothpaste flavor. MY kids only like this kind with the Dora picture, maybe he would like to pick out his own stuff. But, if it dosnet work, you have to do it yourself, it has to get done. Force the brush in his mouth, get it over with, even if it takes some force. It used to be that way with my 3yo.

Answer 7

he's 4 and a half, brush them for him.
You could also try the trick we used for my son when he would wiggle out of his carseat. We had a police office talk to him about it. Call your sentist, he's old enough to be seeing one anyway, and ask for his help. Sometimes hearing it from someone more official that Mom and Dad helps.

Answer 8

Take him out and let him choose his own toothbrush and paste. All kids go through this stage at sometime or other

Answer 9

good question.
i m facing the same problem with my daughter of same age. but i think it is better to accompany while doing so till he gets habitual.
it must become habbit till then you should follow him. some times it takes one month some times six months. best luck.

Answer 10

you should get him kids toothpaste with flover and get a fun toothbrush.......something that he can have fun with but also get him to like to brush his teeth