He gets excited when I say "time to brush your teeth" but once I get the toothbrush in once he is done with it. I have tried letting him do it himself and I have two toothbrushes for him. One for him to use (which he just chews on) and one for me to use. Please help I don't want him to have cavities by the time he is two! Thanks!
2007-09-03 13:30:41 · 20 answers · asked by robben1277 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
You got to keep doing it. There will be a point he will want to do it himself instead of you. You just have to wait until he wants to and continue to brush his teeth yourself.
2007-09-03 13:36:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
My daughter is 21 mt. old. and we've been working on tooth care since about 6 months...
First we used the finger brush. That worked well until she'd want to use it and then she ended up just chewing on it at around 11 months(which made me VERY nervous). So after that we went and got her a special "BIG GIRL" toothbrush, which was right around her 1st bday. Since then she is almost constantly "brushing" her teeth, at first she would just chew on it but now at 21 months she is pretty good at it. One way I've helped her learn to brush with the toothbrush is to help me brush mine (BEWARE: Sometimes she gets a little rough, but for the most part she's pretty good about staying on the teeth!!! LOL) This also worked well in allowing me to get in there and finish the job. EX. You help brush Mommy's teeth, then Mommy will help brush yours.
I'm using the trainer toothpaste and for the last 3 months or so she's grasped the concept of "spitting".
Just let your son work at it and he'll get it. There is no reason that you shouldn't allow him to brush. Good Luck and God Bless
2007-09-03 23:42:45 · answer #2 · answered by colorfulswanson 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter (18 months old) has two toothbrushes both different but very decorative. I use the Orajel Training toothpaste, which she loves (And is minus the flouride which they should not have at this age - Wal-Mart carries it). Her pediatrician said by age one, I needed to be brushing her teeth and the first dental visit needs to be between one and two years old; they are not too expensive ususally and very helpful. (We are self-pay, no dental ins. and I think it was 64.00). Anyhow, I stand behind her and brush her teeth because it is easier for me to do it like I am doing my own, and then I give her the toothbrush to finish. This way, they get clean and she gets to practice. You may want to go by Barnes N Noble too, there are books about brushing teeth that can make it fun. You could also let him try to brush yours, my daughter gets a kick out of that.
2007-09-03 21:04:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kids at that age like to give us a hard time, but the trick I used with my niece and nephews was to take them to the store and let them pick out their own toothbrushes and toothpaste and floss (the ones with a theme like Winnie the Pooh and Power Rangers) and then I made them all excited to use them. And now, as long as I remind them, they run to brush their teeth because they have so much fun with it. Make it seem like a fun thing and not something they have to do. And when they decide they don't want to or they dont like their toothbrush anymore, I just pretend I'm going to give it away and tell them that they're going to have creepy crawly bugs in their teeth, they're then pretty eager to use them again. Hopes this helps!
Good Luck
2007-09-03 20:38:03 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My almost 20 month old loves to brush his teeth. He is constantly asking to do it. We made a game out of it at first. And we have two older children that he watched. Have him watch you brush your teeth and have him brush his teeth at the same time. As long as he is chewing on the brush, I would think that it was getting most of the gunk off and wouldn't be too worried about cavities. Just don't let him have a bunch of sweets.
2007-09-03 21:22:28 · answer #5 · answered by orphan annie 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have a 19 month old son and i still use the finger tip toothbrush and brush his teeth with that..Why are you trying to make that young of a child to brush his own teeth??? he is not even going to do that good of a job. My daughter who is 9 yrs old now did not start brushing her own teeth til a little past 2 years old. give him time!!!
2007-09-03 20:47:35 · answer #6 · answered by ♥Sexy Mama of 2 cuties♥ 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
He's only 19 months old. Brushing his teeth is YOUR job, while teaching him at the same time. He doesn't yet have the capability to do a proper job. Once he's older he'll be able to do it on his own (with you watching to make sure he does a good job)
2007-09-03 23:22:32 · answer #7 · answered by paperpenandtea 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Toddlers are all about independence. Let him do it himself. He won't do it perfectly, but you can show him how by brushing your teeth along with him. He'll want to do exactly what you do. Get him a little step stool so he can stand at the sink with you. He'll want to copy what you do, including "spitting" and rinsing the brush (my 18-mos. old daughter does:)
Good Luck!
2007-09-04 09:22:18 · answer #8 · answered by Lady Katherine 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Brush your teeth in front of him every single time and make it show him such a fun/cool thing to do. You shall not force him using the tooth brush but you should try to brush his teeth by yourself.
2007-09-03 20:58:21 · answer #9 · answered by Save me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no problem. Kids w/heathy diets donot get alot of cavitys. teach him the song up & down & all around this is how we brush our teeth.Or try the tunes tooth brush. Go to this web site it is great for "good moms" like yourself.wwwkizoodle.com. enter this code 6KD7GN.
2007-09-03 21:18:37 · answer #10 · answered by Dotr 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋