Teaching Your Toddler To Brush Their Teeth

We’ve been struggling when it comes to brushing the Little Monkey’s teeth. Have you tried teaching a toddler to brush their teeth? EESH! We started wiping her gums at the tender age of 2 months but then soon gave that up. Once the teeth sprouted at the 6 month mark we tried occasionally and then switched to the rubber tooth brush that really was more of a teether than anything else. She enjoyed chomping on it during bath time but I really wasn’t too concerned about the cleaning at that stage.

Fast forward to 11 months and her teeth were definitely sprouting, she was eating everything under the sun by this time and transitioning to whole milk. I knew we had to ensure that we cleaned those tiny pearly whites and attempted to bring out a real tooth brush and some non fluoride toothpaste. What ensued was her grabbing the brush and wanting to do it on her own. Aeh… these teeth are going to fall off anyway so what’s the harm. I let her do as she wish.

Well now at 18 months she loves her sweets, biscuits and fruits. Lots of sugar. She also has an insane obsession with milk and would always go to bed with a bottle. Again I didn’t think much of it. I recall my parents letting me go to bed with a bottle of milk till I was atleast five. I have great teeth if I do say so myself. This bubble of not caring too much about the health of the Little Monkey’s teeth was burst about a month ago when a dentist informed me that 18 month olds are coming in with decayed teeth. EGAD! Apparently milk was the main concern because these kids were going to bed with the sugar milk on their teeth.

We decided it was time to make a change. The Little Monkey had been watching the cute Elmo Video where he.. she? .. it? would sing along and encourage the kids to brush their teeth. So I knew all it would take is some distraction to ensure a new routine was in place.She now bathes, gets in her pjs and then has a bottle of milk on the couch. Next up we brush our teeth and then go to bed with a bottle of water. She needs that bottle and I enjoy the comfort of knowing that we can be out and about and when she’s tired, all I need to do is give her the bottle and she’ll soother herself to sleep. So I’m keeping the bottle for now, though I know that isn’t really encouraged either.

For the first few weeks we played Elmo’s brushing song on the iPad as we brushed our teeth, now a few weeks in we just sing it ourselves. There’s still an occasional struggle and wanting to do the brushing herself, but for the most part I feel better that I can get a decent clean before she goes to bed. Our next challenge will be trying to brush twice a day and improving the technique a bit! Ignore our Pjs but I hope the video helps some parents out as they battle with their own brushing regime. Between the song, the switching of the milk timing and the brushing of the teeth at the sink vs the tub really helped us. Some nights if I don’t feel like I got a good brushing in, I will wipe her teeth down with a soft damp cloth. Something better than nothing, right?