My Duaghter is 4.5 years old. Is she old enough to brush her own teeth?

Question

She does a really bad job if Daddy does not assist.

Answer 1

We bought our 4 year old daughter a princess toothbrush with the spining heads. It helps her do a better job and she really enjoys brushing her teeth because the tooth brush is a special princess toothbrush.

She can do it by herself now. It's always good to watch and offer assistance if you don't think she is doing a thorough enough job.

Answer 2

She is old enough to attempt to brush her own teeth, let her do it first and then you can do a once over. The rule of thumb is 2 minutes. They make toothbrushes that play a tune when you start brushing and then stop when the 2 minutes is up. It is fun for her, and you know when a thourough brushing has been done. Also if you havn't already start taking her to the dentist every 6 mos for a cleaning.

Answer 3

Yep, she's old enough, though it's also reasonable to still be helping with the very back. Try setting a 2-minute timer and having her brush until it goes off. Give her a routine way to do it (top outside, bottom outside, top inside, bottom inside, chewing surfaces, for example). You could even put the routine into a song of about the right length (for you to sing to her at first, then she can be thinking it in her head or humming while she brushes) ... something along the lines of "this is the way we brush the outside on the top, outside on the top, outside on the top, on a Monday morning...."). You can also get her an electric toothbrush ... if she's not afraid of it, she'll probably love it. :-)

Answer 4

My daughter is five and still has trouble getting it all off but I don't like stunting her independence. So I let her do the initial brushing and I do what she and I call the clean up duty. I go through and brush the rest. She is doing better now that I started using that mouthwash that turns plaque blue. Now she can visibly see where she needs to brush more. That stuff is great. It is called Listerine Agent Cool Blue.

Answer 5

my kids have been taught from the age of 1 to try learn to do their own teeth..
they are now 4 and 2 and happily brush away on their own!

Answer 6

Definately...

The thing to do is not to get too hung up on it though... Give her plenty of chances to do it herself (under supervision of course) and pile on the praise when she does it right.

Don't let it become a major bugbear - It's easy for toothbrushing to become a nightmare subject.

Answer 7

She will pick up the right way in due course,by observation. Kids of this age like to swallow the paste. You have to keep an eye on this.

Answer 8

Take her to the dentist and have them show her proper brushing techniques.

Answer 9

Ya, she is definetly old enough!