• Lately at our house, teeth brushing time has become a battle. I know it is expected, eventually two year olds make everything a battle. It’s a rite of passage for them. Just because they want to be all crazy though, doesn’t mean you can’t be a ridiculously prepared parent, ready for whatever nonsense they throw at you. On second thought, that’s impossible. You’re never really prepared, but you can pretend to be. After all, you’ve got at least 20 more years experience pretending. You are a pretending master compared to their feeble two year old minds. If only right? If your kids start fighting you on brushing your teeth, here are some things that worked with my kids.

    teeth brushing time has become a battle

    First, absolutely give them the chance to do it themselves. We let our kids brush while we sing a song of their choice. The song goes through twice and then it’s mommy and daddy’s turn. Then the kids sing the song while we brush. You can be sure that they are brushing long enough by singing your song, they get the opportunity to feel independent and brush their own teeth, and you get to make sure it’s done right. Everyone wins right? When they get older, say five or six, they can do a little more on their own.

    For example, my daughter is in charge of brushing herself in the morning before school. I watch to make sure it gets done, but she does it herself. At night I still help just because I’m anal like that. My son, who is infinitely more stubborn, still struggles. In order to show him that it’s no big deal to have his teeth brushed, he gets to “brush” mommy or daddy’s teeth if he is good and let’s us brush his. He gets a huge kick out of it, and has been rather peaceable about tooth brushing time since we starting allowing that. What other tricks do you have when it comes to polishing your kid’s pearly whites?