When Did You Let Your Kids Brush Teeth by Themselves

My dentist told me that parents should brush their children's teeth until approx 3rd grade. This is when they learn cursive and their hand/wrist movement is better suited for getting all the teeth/gums clean. FYI J.

My daughter turned 6 in October and has just started showering on her own. In the shower she can wash and rinse her hair pretty good but not in the bathtub.

As for her teeth... she has very soft teeth. She has been going to the dentist regularly since she was 3.

I usually have my kids brush their own teeth and I follow up with a few brushes. Just to make sure they are clean.

Hope this helps. :)

My son has been brushing on his own since he was about 4. He's currently 5 in Kindergarten and he also showers on his own. I check to make sure all the shampoo is out of his hair, but the rest I leave up to him. My other children also brush their teeth on their own, one is 4 and my daughter is 3. Sometimes I might help them out, but for the most part they do it. :)
They also shower on their own, but I scrub them down and hose them with the shower head.
Hope this helps. :)C. SAHM of 3.

My son is only 4 and I still help him brush his teeth occasionally, though most nights he does it alone. I second the suggestion that an electric toothbrush, with one of those small, round, rotating heads, is a great idea for kids. His teeth were never so clean before I got one of these.

my son has been brushing his teeth and washing his hair sense he was 2 1/2 he is now 5

Dear K.,

my kids are 3&5. Both of my kids do brush their own teeth, but I also stand in there to make sure they are doing it right. If they don't I just say that it is mom's turn to brush their teeth. Both of my kids like to lather their own hair. I rinse my daughters, but my son does his own. I do stand in there when it is time for him to wash up. He knows to do his head and behind his ears. I do also help him when he asks. Good luck and I think that when you and your daughter are both comfortable with her doing on her own, is a good time to start.
B.

I recently let my 6 yr. old twins brush their own teeth in the morning. But... I still brush their teeth before bedtime. I have been told that kids don't really brush well until at least 7 to 8 yrs. old. They may look like they are doing a great job by themselves, but I don't think kids get way in the back all that well. Therefore, I make sure to give them each a great brushing before bedime! I'd rather take a few minutes to do it myself instead of having to deal with cavities. And... so far, so good... no cavities yet!

And as far as washing hair goes... my daughter likes to do almost everything by herself, including washing her hair. So we alternate... she will wash her hair and then the next time ( usually 2 days later on), we wash it together. (She does some lathering and then I continue to lather and I do the rinsing.) On her own days, if I don't think she rinsed all that well, I will tell her to rinse again. (She gets sensitive about this sometimes... but, oh well... if she wants to do it on her own, she needs to understand that she may still need some coaching.)

i started teaching my son how to do things for himself as early as two or three years old. it is necessary to supervise and help as much as possible, but there is no need to wait until they are older to teach them to be independent. by the age of 6, he was helping to make his own lunches for school, pick out his own clothes, and help with all the daily chores around the house (dishes, laundry, daily cleaning, garbage, etc). by second grade, he did all of this for himself, as well as doing his homework without being asked and helping to remind me of his weekly scheduled activities. this doesn't make me a negligent mom. in fact, i think it does a disservice to the child to not teach them these things. i know i will not have to worry about him when he goes out into the world. he is now fifteen, and one of the most responsible kids i know (better than some of my adult friends!!) letting them be a child does not have to include being their servant.

I sorta weened my kids. When they started asking to do it themselves, I'd let them do it like every other night. Or, maybe a couple of times a week. I'd monitor them doing it and show them things to remember. Then, I'd let them do it once in a while all by themselves without any supervision. That way, they begin to feel some independance, but you are still making sure they brush and clean well. My daughters had very long hair so I would go in right before they got out of the shower to check and make sure they had rinsed it well.

The biggest thing to remember is that if they do it themselves once in a while and it's not perfect, it's not gonna hurt them that much. I would say 7 is a good age to start giving them some responsibility with it.

I started letting my daughter brush her teeth at age 4. I made sure she was doing it right and usually I would brush them once a day and she would brush them once a day. Now she's five and I very rarely brush them. My son just turned four and I let him start doing it by himself, but he barely brushes them, so I do it most of the time for him. I plan on letting him slowly take over over the next 6 months or so. As far as washing hair, I will probably let my five year old start trying that in the next year, but I do let her bathe herself now. She does a great job. I would say that if you can teach her what her hair feels like once the shampoo's all rinsed out, that she should be able to do it by herself. You can always start by letting her do it, and when she's done you can go in and make sure it's rinsed out properly.

MY daughter is 2 1/2. She brushes by herself, but not until Mommy or Daddy have a turn first. Just to be sure. I think that once I'm comfortable with how much she actually gets them brushed, instead of just biting or whatever, then we'll be ok with her doing it on her own. But I'm not expecting that to be for a few years. I'm sure your dentist should be able to tell you the "proper" age for starting, though. And I would imagine that for every kid it varies - just like everything else!!!

My youngest daughter started brushing her own teeth at 3 and we have had a clean bill from the dentist. I let her brush and then I go over them. We also use the battery powered tooth brushes. Washing hair my oldest daughter was 6 -7 before I let her do it by her self and still at 9 I still do it sometimes for her.

My son is 4 and he is now brushing his own teeth but with the childrens toothpaste (non floride) I just watch him and make sure I help him get his front teeth (he is autistic) so he hasn't got the spitting down pat yet

We started letting our girls brush their teeth by themselves at 4 yrs old but for the first few months we would watch them to make sure they were doing it right. They also started going to the dentist for their cleanings at 4 yrs old. They are seven years old now and I'm glad to report...they do not have any cavities!

I let my son who is 3.5 brush his teeth himself. I bought him a battery operated spiderman toothbrush and he does a really good job. I always joke with him to stop brushing because they are so shiny I need sunglasses to see.

as a pediatric hygienist we recommend between 7-9 transistion her let her do it on her own in the morning and at night you just double check her at night only

if she has long her i would say she could do it during one shower you do it the next to make sure she is scrubbing it good