Here are some of our favorite examples of games you can play with your toddler while brushing their teeth.
When it comes to the health of your children, there is nothing you wouldn’t do to keep them protected and safe from disease, injury and harming factors. When your child is stubborn and rejects treatment or prevention, you have to do the right thing and insist on what is best for them. Sometimes it doesn’t go very smoothly, but a parent knows that there are some tricks that can make unpleasant tasks a little more acceptable for the little ones.
The best way to convince a toddler to do something he would normally reject is to combine play with that task. And when it comes to brushing their teeth, the possibilities are endless. There are so many games you can try that surely your toddler will come to like brushing his teeth.
Here are some of our favorite examples of games you can play with your toddler while brushing their teeth.
Sing a Song
Singing makes everything more fun, relaxed and joyful. There are plenty of songs about brushing your teeth that you and your toddler might love, but if you are more of an improv duo, you can invent your own rhymes and tune to brush your teeth. Use a simple song that lasts about 2 minutes because that is how long brushing should be.
Pretend to Be at the Dentist
Pretend play is always a good way to determine toddlers to do things that they would normally wouldn’t like. Imagining a scenario around a simple task can make that moment fun and easygoing. If your toddler has already been to a St. Louis pediatric dentist and it was a successful experience, you can use this scenario to get him to open his mouth, look at his teeth in the mirror and brush.
Brush Everyone’s Teeth
It always helps to be with a friend in times of hardship. If your toddler is not a big fan of brushing his teeth, bringing one of his favorite toys to the bathroom while you are brushing teeth might help him overcome his fear. Pretend that you are brushing your teeth or even let your toddler do it, brush the toy’s teeth and then move on to your toddler’s teeth.
Invent a Story
If your child is excited when it’s story time, you can use that opportunity to invent a story related to brushing. Create fun characters, like bacteria villains and superhero toothbrush and toothpaste, or anything that you think might spark your child’s imagination and make him enjoy these moments.
Red Light/ Green Light
A really good idea for bigger children is to adopt the red light/green light game to brushing your teeth. When he is opening his mouth, you can make silly noises or moves, then freeze when his mouth is closed. This can mean at least 2 minutes of fun, which will allow you to properly clean his teeth and make brushing fun.
Contributing to your child’s lifelong healthy habits is very important, and tooth brushing is one of the more challenging tasks at hand, but putting an effort into making it fun is going to impact your child’s perception for many years to come. Make it fun and stay healthy!