Now the kids are back at school and learning lots of exciting new things, it’s a good time to brush up on their teeth cleaning techniques too. A shiny smile will complement those new school uniforms perfectly and give your children the confidence to get through a busy school day, not to mention helping them avoid unwelcome tooth decay.
But getting young ones to stay on top of their oral hygiene can be notoriously tricky. As a rule, children aren’t big fans of cleaning their teeth as they usually have much more interesting stuff to do. This urge to focus their attention on more enjoyable activities can dampen their enthusiasm for picking up a toothbrush and lead to nightly parental nagging. So take note of our top tooth brushing tips and make the daily wash and brush up of little pegs a lot more fun for them, and considerably less stressful for you.
- I wanna be like you – Clean your teeth at the same time as your little ones – children love copying grown-ups, so if they see you regularly doing the right thing, they’ll probably start doing the same.
- Tasty Teeth – Make the business of brushing oodles more fun by buying a yummy flavoured toothpaste and pair this with a tempting toothbrush (perhaps a whizzy electric one, or one that features your child’s favourite character or plays a chirpy tune).
- Well done! – Try rewarding brilliant brushing with a little treat to encourage your children to keep up the good work, or use a reward chart and add stickers each time they clean their teeth.
- Times up! – Employ a cute timer to make sure kids brush for long enough. These come in all shapes, sizes and guises, and are perfect for letting your child know how long to keep brushing.
- Helpful habit – Be sure to introduce teeth cleaning into your child’s bedtime and morning routine so it becomes a part of their everyday life.
- Start playing up – Add playtime fun to tooth cleaning by ‘brushing’ the ‘teeth’ of a fave teddy or soft toy, or make up a tooth related song – it could become a family classic!
- Make teeth cleaning ‘appy – Try out a little toothy technology – there are all sorts of apps designed to encourage children to brush their teeth. These include fab features such as songs, games and rewards for regular brushing.
Above all, make tooth brushing fun – if your child has plenty of laughs while polishing up their choppers, they’ll be far more likely to stick with it and grow up with healthy, cavity-free teeth.
