3-year-old not ready to brush his teeth

anugamit · Jan 10, 2012

Hi Ladies,

My son will soon turn three now..He never wants to brush his teeth...i tried so many ideas but he will just run away whenever i want to bathe him and brush his teeth...its tough to handle him at that time resulting in spanking him and shouting at him. This has become a daily routine. I tried to speak softly, even brushing my own teeth, teaching him the importance of brushing and even showing him the TV ads...but no use. He just throws tantrum while i try to brush his teeth, throws away the brush. Please ladies suggest some ideas to make him brush his teeth. I dont want to make him cry anymore. When i hear other mothers telling how their kids do such activities smoothly i feel jealous..why not my kid. He even hates bathing and doing poo in toilet (starts running here and there).

Ladies i am a working mom, so always short of time. I often feel that i am not giving enough time to teach him these things.

sivaranjaniadi · Jan 10, 2012

hi,

use spiderman brush r teddy bear brush r colour brushes and give a light brushing to ur child. initially put water on his mouth and ask him to split out, make a play time like this. after tat he will do by his own, then next after 2 r 3 days brush him slowly.
ok take care .
i did like this to my child.

siva

teacher · Jan 25, 2012

Also massage his jaw and if possible his gums...that will take care of any sensitivity issue. Have you tried a different toothpaste-in case he doesn't like the taste of the current one?

yvonnemommy · Feb 1, 2012

Maybe your boy dosen't like the taste of toothpaste. Do you have a try with cute brush?

bhuvnidhi · Feb 1, 2012

You can try fancy tooth brushes.Also , there are kid friendly tooth paste too.Try these and make brushing fun.When we are short of time, we tend to force things on kids to make it fast.Try to give him ample time for his brushing and make it fun.Once he gets used to it , he will stick to his routine.

anugamit · Feb 1, 2012

friends,

He has four fancy soft brushes right now..but he does not like to brush...He often complains of burning in mouth with toothpaste so i changed it now...

bhuvnidhi,

Ya i need to give him more time but time is main constraint for me. I think it will take time for him to get used to it.
,

teacher,
Yes i massage his gums.

Now i have changed the toothpaste.

qwarentine · Feb 17, 2012

he should learn with time

swaran · Feb 17, 2012

DEar Anugamit,

You can refer these links for my response..
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/toddlers/132746-toddler-dental-care.html#post1786537

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/toddlers/132746-toddler-dental-care-2.html#post2111714

sometimes she would be fussy to brush and would say that she would brush when she takes bath(escape techniques!!!!)...i at that time(not on all days when she would ask this) would just allow her to wash her mouth and i would do a small brushing with my fingers and then allow her to go

Other than these,this is one another method i followed to make my DD brush ..this i did today morning when she was trying to escape from brushing :bonk

asusual i started telling about germs and how they ll affect her teeth...she was not happy with my story..then i said "hey i see the germ running inyour mouth..open..i ll remove with the brush..."she dint accept...i gave her reactions like i could really see the germ crawling..atlast she opened her mouth,not sure whether its because of fear or excitement..hehehe..then too i dint stop...i kept talking to the germ(the unseen) asking it to get out of her mouth and asking DD to spit the germ(the toothpaste foam) and scolded/warned the germ not to enter DD's mouth...and ofcourse DD too gave her part of scoldings to the germ :rotfl
uffff what all do we need to do to make these kids brush...:bonk
i too am a working mom and def need to spend some 15 min to make her brush...cant help!!!!!!...sometimes she ll come out in 5 min but worst case,we have spent 20 min :bonk

SudhaManimaran · Feb 17, 2012

Dear Swaran,
I am in the same situation.Its very tough for me to brush hers.
I will make all stories what u said but initailly she opened her mouth on hearing those stories. But now even if i tell germs is running she wont mind that and keeps her mouth very tight.dont know what to do ...;-(

anugamit · Feb 17, 2012

Dear Swaran,

Are you not talking about me???? I tried the same-to-same technique.

Still he wasnt ready to brush. He do find escape techniques like let me bring my toy car or crane or ball etc..etc. in the bathroom, i want to do chee chee (we have separate bathroom and toilet) so he can escape from bathroom. I end up forcing him to do and shouting at him, then he does but with crying...sometimes i do feel i am very strict to him and then i just let him gargle with drinking water and massage his gums.

Ladies, i changed his toothpaste but he still has same problem. I dont know which one to use....please suggest a nice kid's toothpaste available in India.