7 Ways To Get Your Kids To Brush Their Teeth Daily

Getting their kids to brush their teeth is a hassle. It’s something that most parents can resonate with. 

As their guardian, it’s essential to help them keep their teeth clean because that’s when the base of oral health builds. 

Teaching kids how to take care of themselves is becoming important daily. Especially in the current era, when both parents are working. Also, as per a report, parents make their kids brush nine times per week on average.

Once they get in the habit of self-care, you can breathe a sigh of relief. 

In this blog, we have listed the top ways to get your children to love brushing. Let’s get started. 

Why Is Teaching Kids About Brushing Important?

Kids are kids. They aren’t born with the knowledge of self-care such as bathing, brushing, washing their hands, and many such tasks. 

That’s where parents play a critical role. As a parent, you need to teach them how to brush and why they should brush their teeth. 

Most children won’t cooperate at the start. But with some persistence, you can get them in the habit of brushing. 

Properly brushing teeth is an activity that needs to be taught for a few days.  It can help them learn effectively because having good oral health from the beginning can solve many upcoming problems. 

Making any activity fun is very important if you want your kids to do them. But do note one thing – only use a small amount of toothpaste. 

If you want to get your child in the habit of brushing, you are at the right place. 

Why Is It Important To Brush Daily?

Many doctors suggest brushing twice a day to prevent gum diseases. If you can’t have it twice a day, brushing once a day is necessary.

If you want sound oral health, you should make sure that you and your kid brush teeth once after waking up and another before going to bed. Brushing ensures the removal of plaque bad breath and keeps your mouth fresh. 

Some other reasons to brush daily are the following:

• Prevent from bacteria
• Helps in saliva production
• Prevention of tartar build-up

7 Effective Ways to Make Your Kids Brush Properly

#1. Start By Brushing Kids’ Teeth for Them

You can start by brushing their teeth by yourself. Since kids don’t have the motor skills to brush their teeth properly, you can make it easier for them by making the process known to them. 

You can also brush your teeth in front of them for some time as they will try to copy your actions and brush their teeth by themselves. 

Brushing their teeth is necessary for a few years until your kids are around 3-4 years. As a parent, you know the importance of oral health; therefore, you can take care of your kid’s oral health for a few years. 

Start by using a soft, infant-sized toothbrush and a small smear of fluoride toothpaste. Floss their teeth twice a day. Also, while brushing, tell the story to explain the process to them interestingly. This way, they would learn to brush in less time. 

#2. Demonstrate On Yourself

“Kids are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate.”

As we know, kids always try to do what their parents do. Whether it be walking, making fun expressions, or eating, kids are more likely to follow the steps of their parents. 

Therefore, if you demonstrate any activity by yourself first, it would be more effective on your kid. You can brush your teeth before your kid to show them how it’s correctly done. 

Sometimes, it may happen that even after brushing teeth for decades, parents don’t know the best and most effective method of brushing. Therefore first, you need to know the best method to brush your teeth. Only then can you teach your children the proper technique to clean their teeth. 

To help your kid learn faster, you can pretend like you love brushing. Pretending that would make them interested to do the same. Teach them about oral hygiene from time to time and get them to see the dentist regularly. 

#3. Reward Kids About Every Good Brushing Behaviours

Kids love rewards, don’t they? So, why not reward them with something after a successful brushing session? 

Giving kids rewards after good brushing behavior would encourage them to do it more. They would always be interested in brushing much more than anything. 

You may have noticed that whenever kids know that they would be given a bar of chocolate, they put all their energy into successfully completing the task.

The same applies here. The only difference is that you can’t reward them with chocolate because it would only ruin their teeth. 

Instead of chocolate, make a collection of some stickers. Reward them with something they love if they follow the brushing routine. This would keep them in the process of brushing regularly. 

Not only gifts, but kids also love appreciation. Therefore, sometimes you can also appreciate them with these lines: “I am so proud of you,” “You are the best kid in the world,” or “You always make me happy”..” These lines would make them extremely happy.

#4. Practice On Stuffed Animals Or DIY teeth

“Practice makes a man perfect”.

Kids like to do everything for stuffed animals, such as bathing, brushing, sleeping, and even their marriages. With practice, anyone eventually becomes perfect at something. Let your child practice brushing on stuffed animals or DIY teeth. They might have been fond of stuffed animals like teddy bears as a kid.. 

Therefore, you can make use of their stuffed animals. Show your kid how he can brush stuffed animals’ teeth. While doing so, you can also explain the benefits of brushing teeth on a daily basis. 

You can also perform other activities on these stuffed animals such as eating vegetables or other regular things that kids generally don’t like to do. 

In this way, your kid will get familiarised with the process of brushing teeth. As play-based parenting is always fruitful, this act of yours would definitely help your kid in brushing their teeth.

#5. Make Up a Story

Who doesn’t love stories? Everyone does, especially children.

Make some short and incredible stories about how kids brush their teeth and what happens when they don’t. You make some characters such as a child and a bad character who always comes when a kid doesn’t brush their teeth. 

Or you can make something like this: Once there was a child who didn’t brush his teeth daily. And there was another child who used to brush daily. Once there came a fairy with many gifts for children. The fairy asked who brushed their teeth daily and gave all the gifts to the second child as he regularly brushed. 

Or you can refer to your child as a superhero and cavities as some sort of bad element. The task of the superhero is to remove all the bad guys. Therefore, your child needs to kill all the cavities by brushing daily. 

Stories like these would make them more likely to brush their teeth every day. 

#6. Let Them Choose Their Oral Care Materials

Kids love to choose their stuff, whether it be clothes, toys, or anything else. Therefore take your kid to shop and let them shop for their dental accessories. 

All you need to do is take them to the dental care section in the store and ask them to choose the necessary items. If you let them choose their own oral care materials, they would be more than excited to try them. It would give them enough motivation to start brushing by themselves.  

There are toothbrushes with different designs on them. Buy it with some cartoon pictures on it. There are other products too that come in different designs.  You can look for personalized dental products. In this way, your kid would be excited to try those. You won’t have to push them to brush every day. 

#7. Educate Your Kid Why Oral Health Is So Important

While teaching them brushing, help them understand the importance of brushing. 

Children may know that oral health is vital for everyone, but they may not be aware of its impact on their whole body health.

Although doctors explain the importance of oral health to kids, kids listen to their parents more than anyone else. Therefore, you need to teach them regularly about their oral health.

Tell them how eating too many chocolates can ruin their teeth and what problems they would face due to bad dental health. While teaching them these things, just remember not to make these boring for them. Adding a fun element can go a long way. 

Make some fun stories and funny faces while telling these things to them so that they would be interested to know more.

In this way, they would come to know the importance of dental care. 

Frequently Asked Question

To Sum Up

Dental health is essential for everyone, especially for kids. This is because they are extra sensitive to dental issues than adults. 

But indulging in healthy oral hygiene, they would have good oral health as they grow up. 

Follow these steps to make them fall in love with brushing. 

Cheer to healthy teeth!