As every mom knows, it can be a battle to brush your toddler’s teeth. There are usually tears involved. (Mine.) And there’s a 100% probability that approximately 23% of said toddler’s teeth will actually get brushed.
I’ve so been there.
Every morning and night, the bathroom was a dreaded war zone as we struggled to clean those pearly whites. I tried consequences, time-out, loss of privileges, coaxing, singing songs, and more. All of the great advice about how to brush your toddler’s teeth just fell flat. Nothing worked!
It was a mental block that my little guy just couldn’t overcome. To him, brushing his teeth was equivalent to walking over hot coals. I needed a toddler teeth brushing tip, fast! So, I kept trying new strategies, sure that one day he would finally let me brush his teeth without a tantrum.
Now I’m a firm believer in authoritative parenting. Setting loving rules and maintaining boundaries goes a long way toward a more peaceful home. But sometimes, when nothing seems to work, I think it’s OK to try a more creative strategy!
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Related Reading:
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- One Simple Question to Ask Your Disobedient Child to Transform Their Behavior
How I (Finally) Learned to Brush My Toddler’s Teeth without Tears
If you’ve tried everything, give this trick a go. It just might work!
Here’s the plan. Your job is to be so incredibly silly that your toddler doesn’t even notice that you’re brushing his teeth! It’s really simple, and REALLY silly. But your toddler will really, really love it.
I call it the “Animal Hunt Game.”
You: Hey sweetie, it’s time to brush your teeth! Are you ready to play Animal Hunt?
Toddler: A’mal Hunt! yay! *literally runs to the sink* (Just days ago, he would have been running in the opposite direction.)
You: “OK, you’re ready. Now which animal should we find first?”
Toddler: “I find… al’gator!” *opens up his mouth wide*
You: *in your funniest and downright silliest voice* “Chomp, chomp. I think I see one! Let’s wash him clean!”
Toddler: “There’s a snake in there too, mommy!” *grinning like a fool*
While your little one is distracted, get in there with that toothbrush and clean those teeth!
Repeat as necessary with different animals until your toddler’s teeth are all clean. I’m telling you, I’ve used this strategy for a while now. My son’s teeth haven’t been this clean since the day that first tooth popped through!
The key here is to be so incredibly silly that your toddler is just hooked on your every word. Change it up and go on a dragon hunt, or search for butterflies. You know your toddler best. What would bring on a fit of giggles?
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Give this toddler teeth brushing trick a try!
What I love about this creative strategy is that it does double duty. We can get a chore done and finally have a toddler with clean teeth. But the bonus is that I also get to fill my child’s bucket. Silliness is the love language of toddlers around the world. So as I play this silly game with him, I’m also building connection, trust, and being a bucket-filler.
Want more strategies for winning at life in the toddler years? I know you’ll love this post about how to rock a toddler schedule (even on the weekends)!
Have you tried this toddler teeth brushing tip yet? Let us know your favorite creative ways to get those teeth clean!
I do the same thing! It really does work! We have a Snoopy toothbrush and we haven take him to the zoo, the farm, and surfing to look for animals and also to the grocery store to look for different foods.
Love it! Whatever it takes, right? 🙂
When my daughter was little she really hated tooth brushing time. Then one day I said I saw Tinkerbell fly in there and I had to try to catch her with my toothbrush. It worked wonders!
Works like a charm! Great job Lori 🙂
We did it by sound when she was little. We would sing AHHH EEEEE ERRRR. That way it helps to open mouth in different ways to get to different parts of the teeth.
What a great idea! Teeth brushing + phonological awareness. Yes please 🙂
I got so excited when I saw this! Super cute idea! I have to try that and maybe use it also to put the toothbrush away. Lol that’s where my problem is. She won’t let me put the toothbrush away! I brush her teeth and then she gets upset that I took the toothbrush away. I even incorporated spitting in the sink but the toothbrush is like a 5 minute meltdown. Sigh… Love her bunches
Kristina,
I had the same problem with my daughter. Now I have her dry her mouth off with a hand towel afterwards. I always do it and once she saw me doing it, she wanted to also. I now make it really exciting and she is happy to put her toothbrush away so that she can get the towel. And if she wants to keep the towel afterwards (although for some reason she’s normally happy to give it up) I don’t mind her carrying the towel around for a few minutes instead of her toothbrush.
I got so excited when I saw this! Super cute idea! I have to try that and maybe use it also to put the toothbrush away. Lol that’s where my problem is. She won’t let me put the toothbrush away! I brush her teeth and then she gets upset that I took the toothbrush away. I even incorporated spitting in the sink but the toothbrush is like a 5 minute meltdown. Sigh… Love her bunches
Lol Kristina! Too much of a good thing I guess! Have you tried using one of those cheap kitchen timers? Set it for like three or four minutes and when the timer goes up you have to be all done and put the toothbrush away. I use this for my son a lot to help with transitions. Or you could set the timer on your phone and choose a cute tune to ring when the time is up!
Luckily, my 9 month old only has 2 teeth right now but my husband and I used to have a hard time brushing them. I found that when I consistently brush in the morning and evening, she is more open to it. Also, she knows that after I’m done brushing her teeth she gets to play with the toothbrush. I don’t know if this is a good habit or not, but it works. 🙂 I give her the toothbrush and she chews on it for a few minutes, then when she puts it down I take it away.
You’re so right Tiffany. Teeth brushing is a discipline, just like any other good habit. If we are consistent, our kids will eventually get the hang of it for sure!
Same here. We do Elmo or Cookie Monster. Which is weird because she’s never really watched Sesame Street. Works like a charm though.
That’s wonderful! I think the key is to really get to know your child and find that one thing that motivates them. Great job!
What a great idea! Can’t wait to try this!
Thought I would give this a try last night. My 2 year old LOVED it. How do I know? He ASKED me if we could brush teeth this morning!
thank you for sharing. Made life a little easier for the both of us.
Oh my word, this makes my heart happy Lorea! Thanks for sharing!
You are a GENIUS. We did a slightly modified version. I asked him (2y3m) if he had an alligator in his mouth and he said yes, so I asked him if I could see and he said yes. He opens his mouth and he laughed as we looked for the alligator in there. Best brushing we have had in months! Thank you thank you thank you!
Love it Aly! So glad this helped make your day a little easier!
I do something similar when I clean my toddlers ears after having a bath. I say “Let’s see what animal is in this ear…” and I proceed to clean it with a Q-tip, as my toddler gets to make any animal sound he decides on. I’ll have to try the tooth brush one, great idea!
Or you can just be a parent and tell your child what they need to do instead of playing games to bribe them. Our kids need structure and directions. They need to learn how to listen, not play games.
Thanks for your comment, I completely agree with you. Structure and discipline are so important in our house. We’re certainly not perfect but we do try to be consistent with discipline and expectations. However, I think I can speak for a lot of moms out there when I say that a little creativity and a little grace go a long way in certain situations. Blessings to you! – Julie
For us, we use Kangaroo. My son got a Kangaroo toothbrush from the dentist and I start in the bathroom (we brush his teeth while he’s in the highchair in the dining room) and loudly say “boingy boingy boingy. It’s Kanga, kanga,kangaroo and she’s bouncing right over to you. She’ll brush your teeth until they’re through, here, comes kanga, kanga, kangaroo. Then I sit down and give him his kangaroo toothbrush while I use his boring, run of the mill toothbrush to sing a couple songs while he looks at his toothbrush intently. Then when we’re done I say super loudly and excitedly. “Kangaroo, had fun with you. She brushed with all her might, to get your teeth pearly white. Thanks for not putting up a fight, now it’s time to say good night. Boingy, boingy.” as I take his toothbrushes back to the bathroom. He loves it and gets so excited when I’m boinging in. My husband and mother try to do it, but they just don’t match my enthusiasm. 🙂
You, my friend, are awesome. Pure genius 😉
As a 3 child mom and as a dentist, I have to say that when I first read your post I thougt to myself it just cant be. Anyway, I decided to give it a try with my 2-year old-very stubborn girl and it was FANTASTIC. What was an every day war became a peaceful game, so fun, my older sons started playing too. Just had to love it
Thanks for sharing Sofia! Dental health is so important, and I’m glad this silly little trick worked for you too!
I am a dental assistant and mother of 2. I’ve also used this trick, it works great for stubborn nights. I do have to say though I really haven’t had much trouble with my children allowing me to brush. Somewhere around 6 months or once they could sit in a high chair, I’d drag it to the living room, plop them I front of the TV and let them chew on a tooth brush. They were strapped in so no worry for falls. (And I got my house picked up 😉 ) but now they let me brush anytime I suggest because they’re so used to it 🙂 and they’ve never had a cavity.
We do the same only, we ‘wash’ away the food we have eaten that day! Works as Well!
Great, thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for this great tip! I will have to try this with my almost 2 year old daughter. Right now, I have invented a silly teeth brushing song that mimics the tune of “Row Row Row Your Boat”. This usually gets me into her mouth but I struggle to have any real brushing time because she clamps down on the tooth brush pretty quickly. I will have to try this tactic to get her to open her mouth wide for me.
One tactic that has worked for me is having about 10 little toothbrushes available for my daughter to use. She likes to get them all wet and line all the brushes up across the counter in front of the sink. She then likes to chew on each one before putting them away in the cup. It is not really brushing but better than nothing:)
Totally agree Bernadette 🙂 Toddlers love options, and I love your idea of making more than one toothbrush available!
AMAZING!!!!
I love this, will be trying it tomorrow.
We currently hold him upside down to make him giggle and brush upside down. The downside is it takes two of us, one to hold, one to brush.
I LOVE that idea Susan! Pure genius 🙂
Hey Julie! I’ve been trying this for the past few weeks after reading your article and I just want to say, thank you! My son’s teeth are saved!…lol…I was getting worried and desperate to end the battle with him. Keep the good stuff coming!
Yay! I’m so glad this worked for you 🙂
Hello, I tried this with my very stubborn little girl and it worked wonder for a few weeks, but then suddenly she decided there was a hedgehog stuck in the brush and she doesn’t want to brush anymore. I had to buy a new brush but still struggling with her. Nothing seems to work anymore.
OMG I thought this was silly and wouldn’t work but out of frustration i gave it a try and I swear we have had an entire week with no tears. She is excited to get those animals with the toothbrush!!! Thank You!
Yay! Sometimes getting silly is all it takes 🙂 good for you Christie!
Oh my goodness. I read this last night and was so skeptical about this game. My 2 year old would run, cry, yell, snap his mouth shut with considerable strength and determination (honestly I was kinda impressed). I would beg and yell and pin him down to brush his teeth. HOLY CRAP THIS WORKED! I tried it this morning and my child OPENED HIS MOUTH AND LET ME BRUSH HIS TEETH! I almost wept for joy. No longer will I have the stinky kid! No longer shall I be concerned that his teeth will rot out of his head and CPS will bang down my door. I cannot believe how well this silly game worked but thank you thank you thank you for sharing! We’ll try again tonight and see how well it sticks but I think maybe just maybe I can count this in the parenting win column.
My toddler loves to wear her Skye dog cape towel when it’s time to brush. A battery operated toothbrush has also been beneficial. Even if she’s doing the majority of the brushing, I am more confident that she’s getting the job done with the bristles moving around. Lately, she has insisted I brush my teeth at the same time – even if I JUST brushed my teeth seconds ago but I just have to suck it up and do what is necessary.
I do something similar with my 15-month-old daughter, and it really helped at first, but we’ve been struggling again lately. I think I need to up my silliness 🙂
Thank you! It’s been a fight for so long and I just tried this and she loved it.