Just Showing kids how to brush their teeth helps by example

Source: ADA

Dental health is an essential aspect of a child’s life. Most of us do not take dental hygiene seriously until our children begin having issues with their teeth. Inculcating good dental habits and routines helps the children to take dental hygiene as a fun part of their lives. Good strategies help the children to look forward to taking care of their teeth even when parents are not around.

Fifty-one million school hours get wasted in dental-related illnesses in the U.S. The statistics are as a result of the report released by the U.S Surgeon General Report. Such facts bring about the need for parents to teach their children about dental health. The education can help avoid dental illnesses later in their children’s lives.

It is important to make sure you make regular visits to a dentist for checkups. Professionals such as dentist Wagga will help detect problems early enough to fix them. Strategies that parents can use to cultivate positive habits of taking of their children’s teeth include:

1. Make brushing Teeth a Family Activity

Children are not able to brush teeth on their own. It is crucial that they have an adult to supervise what they do. It is only until the children are about eight years old that they can brush their teeth alone. You can take advantage of the situation and make the best out of it. Instead of standing in the bathroom instructing the kids, why not make it fun?

Dance, hum, sing, make faces on the mirror while demonstrating to your kids how to brush their teeth. Take the time to bond and make the exercise fun for the children. Such memorable activities will help the children treasure taking care of their teeth. It will no longer become stressful or boring for children to brush teeth.

2. Show Your Kids How It’s Done!

Unlike adults who can learn through receiving instructions, children cannot. Kids learn through what they observe their parents do. It is critical at this point to be the best example for your children with regards to brushing teeth. Make sure you brush your teeth together, help them be able to brush their teeth using different techniques. Kids will mimic what they see you doing.

Sometimes you can even let them help you brush your teeth. The activity will allow you to determine how best they are learning the skill. You can equally brush their teeth to show them how it is done. Another way to teach them is to show them YouTube videos of other kids doing it. The videos will motivate the kids to brush their teeth more often and encourage them.

3. Make Teeth Brushing Time A Story Time

The good thing with kids is that they love stories. Creating micro stories can create an incentive for kids to brush their teeth. It can make them look forward to brushing their teeth and they can even remind you when you forget. You can tell half a story each day to create the suspense in children. In that way, they will not forget to brush their teeth.

You can become creative and tell stories of the importance of brushing teeth. You can use characters such as the knights to represent the toothbrush, the goblin to represent the plaque, and a kingdom to serve as the mouth. In that way, children can learn the importance of taking care of their teeth. They can also learn about the consequences of poor dental hygiene. The children’s learning will sustain the practice into their adulthood.

4. Give the Children a Little Control

Kids love when they are involved in activities around the house. To make the process of brushing teeth engaging and fun, give up some control. Allow the children to select their toothbrush and toothpaste. You can make the process fun by going out on a special day for toothpaste and toothbrush hunting.

Take the opportunity availed to teach them about how best to select a good toothbrush and toothpaste. You can then leave them to make the selection so that you can see whether they have learned. Allowing the children to have some control improves their ability to take part in brushing their teeth. It trains them on how to take care of their teeth when they grow older.

5. Provide Varieties

Kids can be excellent when it comes to taking up new activities such as brushing their teeth. However, the downside is that they quickly get bored. It is essential to keep the activity fun and exciting. One way is by regularly changing and replacing the toothpaste and toothbrush. Allow the kids to choose from various types of toothpaste available.

You can decide to buy them fruit-flavored toothpaste such as strawberry to make brushing teeth interesting. Keep changing flavors to prevent them from getting bored. Find toothbrushes with different shapes and designs that are intriguing. Providing varieties will help make the activity sustainable.

6. Time your Kids

What better way to make the act of brushing teeth fun than to time the children. The activity provides a method for you as a parent to teach your kids about time value aspect. You can get them to brush their teeth within a stipulated time limit properly.

The timing helps to keep them focused on brushing their teeth as it reduces distractions. The kids get to learn about managing and valuing their time. You can choose to reward the kid who performs best.

7. Create A Reward System

Kids need the motivation to do a lot of things. Rewarding them for their efforts can help encourage kids to develop positive habits towards brushing their teeth. Depending on how well you know your children, you can either choose the instant or delayed reward system.

At the end of the period, i.e., a year, you can buy gifts for the children, take them on tour, or buy toys. With time as the children grow, you can let them decide the kind of gifts they want for their reward.
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