Brushing a Toddler's Teeth

R.

My 22 month daughter is not a fan of brushing. I found the crayola spin brush for kids.I let her use that to start. It helped, but doesnt make her enjoy it. Most time i let her watch a show after her milk and brush while she is distracted. I do have a reg toothbrush that i use on her. Honestly, some nights she is very adament and we have to hold her hands while she cries. Pediasure is not the best for their teeth, so we need to really get every tooth. While she cries, it does make it easier for me to brush her teeth.She screams and the second its over she is fine.
Good Luck!

Hi R., I know what you mean. I brush my 20 mos. old teeth while he's taking his bath. He's busy with his squirty toys so he's not paying too much attention to me. He has to be sitting down with his back to me while I hold his head gently and brush, afterwards I give him the toothbrush so he can play with it. The bath is a distraction, good luck.

We let him pick from several flavors of toothpaste, one has elmo on the tube, one is colgate and there or others too. Having him roar like a lion helps to get him to open his mouth. We take turns. His turn to brush, then mommy's turn. We go pass the toothbrush back and forth whenever he wants. Sometimes I have to insist mommy's turn now. When it's my turn I ask him if he wants it fast or slow. When I say fast, I make funny noises and move the toothbrush in the air really crazy. When I say slow, I say sssss llll ooooooo wwwwwwww. After he picks his speed, I brush his teeth that way. He likes the game.

My sister is a dentist, so she scared me into brushing my 19 month old son's teeth early. He still protests, but I've found that using an Elmo/ Sesame St. toothbrush helps (we have him name the characters and tell him Elmo is brushing his teeth), and singing a silly song I make up about brushing seems to help too. It distracts him long enough for me to do it. If you have to hold them down to do it, you should. I have a few friends whose kids have had to be put under to have caps and fillings because their teeth weren't brushed. Hard as it might be, it's still the better option!

Good luck,
T.
www.ReadandGrow.com