It’s essential to brush a toddler’s teeth from an early age. That way, they can learn how to protect and maintain their teeth.
By now, you know the importance of proper oral care to protect your teeth. You brush your teeth after every meal or morning and night. But how do you instill the same commitment in your child? What is the right age to brush a toddler’s teeth, and how can you make it into a fun activity?
The truth is trying to force them won’t go over so well. So the best step is to make it fun and have them engage willingly. Some parents even make it into a game or have a reward system for their kids. Below are some tips to help you teach your child about brushing their teeth.
6 Tips to Teach Toddlers about Brushing Teeth
1. Brush Together
It’s important to know when to teach a toddler to brush teeth. The right age is when they have a couple of milk teeth showing. At this stage, they start mimicking most of what you do. Or at least they try to.
When you notice your toddler trying to do things like you, it’s the right time to brush your toddler’s teeth. Get them a small baby brush and head to the bathroom together. Put some toothpaste on your brush and start cleaning your teeth.
If they mimic what you are doing, put a little child-friendly toothpaste on their brush and direct it to the mouth.
2. Make it a Regular Routine
Once you start to brush your toddler’s teeth, avoid skipping any day. Instead, make it a routine. For instance, you can brush together in the morning and evening. You notice the child starts gaining more confidence in the activity.
Another way of making it more engaging is doing it as a family. Gather everyone in a bathroom in the morning and evening and clean your teeth together.
3. Play Some Cartoons
At this age, your baby is enjoying a lot of cartoons. You can get them some toddler tooth brushing cartoons. Cartoons are fun and engaging, which helps kids learn different activities faster.
Frankly, they tend to mimic what the cartoons are doing, making it easier to teach them how to clean their teeth. Add to the fun by watching together and repeating what the educative cartoons are saying.
4. Play Brushing Games
Another option is engaging in toddler tooth-brushing activities. For instance, you can get them a tooth brushing set that they can play with at home. It can have simple dental equipment, including kids toothpaste and brushes.
Now sit together and play with the dental sets as a way of starting to brush a toddler’s teeth. You can even play a dental doctor to emphasize the importance of cleaning teeth regularly to prevent certain conditions. Just make sure you explain it so that the child can understand and want to keep playing. Refrain from any scare tactics.
5. Have a Variety
Children love making choices, and in this case, you can have more than one toothbrush to use. If you get two or three, you can make it fun to use a different one each morning or night. Doing so keeps the activity engaging and not a monotonous routine that they feel forced to participate in.
Having choices makes them feel more obligated to clean their teeth. You have to help them brush for some time then determine at what age to let the toddler brush their own teeth. When it’s fun, it won’t feel boring. Boring activities tend not to capture kids' imagination. Instead, you have to get creative by giving them choices.
6. Play Some Music
Music is engaging and makes even the most mundane task fun. So when starting to brush a toddler’s teeth, you can play their favorite song. Doing this helps the child associate the activity with something fun like dancing to their favorite music.
Additionally, you can help them brush teeth and water while dancing around. Just keep an eye on them to prevent any accidents.
Final Verdict
When you want to start to brush your toddler’s teeth, be ready to be as engaging as possible. Instead of forcing them, turn it into a fun activity. Start to learn how to brush a toddler’s teeth today.
Let us know if you have any questions by leaving comments below.
Author’s Bio: Rachel is the mother of two beautiful girls. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology.