Children famously don’t like mundane acts of self-care, but you can do some things to make them look forward to brushing their teeth each morning and evening.

Sometimes, half the battle is just getting your kids to brush their teeth at all. After all, brushing is boring, many kids don’t like the taste of toothpaste, and long-term health isn’t on the mind of most children. Fortunately, there are more than a few strategies a parent can use to get kids not only to brush, but also to enjoy it.

Brush your teeth with them

When your kids brush your teeth, you can do it with them. Regardless of what many parents think, young children look up to them and see them as role models. If you are a positive role model who thinks tooth brushing is important, odds are you child will feel the same way. Bonus: you will also be brushing your teeth too.

Play a song they like during brushing

Kids love music, and playing a song can help with brushing in more ways than one. Not only will it get the kid used to tooth brushing while the song is playing, but it will also help ensure she/he brushes for a long enough time. The act of brushing teeth should take about 3 minutes, so play a song that is about that long, or even a little over — this allows time for putting toothpaste on the brush and mouth rinsing afterwards. Disney movies are rife with songs that kids love, so pick one and make it your kid’s special tooth brushing song.

Let the kid decide on some things

Personal agency is important to kids. As children grow up, they often feel that they don’t have enough control in their own lives, so letting them choose some things does wonders. It makes them feel more adult, and more in control of their own actions. Have your kid pick out the toothbrush and toothpaste he/she will use. This give the kid a sense of personal agency over the act of brushing their teeth each day. They might even choose a toothbrush with the likeness of a character they like. This is good because it provides another positive role model for brushing teeth.

Offer rewards

This may smack of bribing your child to do what you want, and to be fair, that is partially true. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to reward your kid without it being a straight up bribe.

• Make brushing a part of play time. On a Sunday or Saturday morning, brush your teeth together before you play. This gets the kid to associate tooth brushing with having fun, which positively reinforces the importance of brushing. Before bed, you can set a rule where the child has to brush teeth before you read him/her a bedtime story.
• Offer them a physical reward. Like gold and silver stars in school, you can have a little sheet where your child gets a star for every time he/she brushes. This is another form of positive reinforcement. It also gives the child something positive to have as evidence of their self-care. After a month of good brushing and enough stars/checks/stickers are accumulated, you could offer a more substantial reward, such as watching a new movie or a toy. It’s probably best not to offer candy as a reward though.

Read more here on why it’s important, and how to get kids to brush their teeth, especially in early childhood.

Keep your whole family’s smile bright

Josey Lane Dentistry has been a family dentistry office in the Carrollton Texas area for over 10 years. We focus on whole-family care, so we can treat everyone when you bring your children in. Even if you don’t need a check-up or procedure, you can contact us to learn about how best to take care of your – and your children’s – teeth. Your whole family will smile their brightest with us!