Teaching kids to brush their teeth

[littlebitrusty]

Hi All,

I was wondering how any of you out there went about teaching your toddlers how to brush their teeth? We have an almost 2 year old and we are slowly getting there by just offering her the toothbrush with a tiny bit of toothpaste and trying to show her the motions. When she lets us we will do a little brushing but she doesn't like it for more than a few seconds. It's obviously an important thing and I'd appreciate some suggestions from anyone else who has managed it successfully! :)

[sweetseven]

I generally went with:

at first it is my turn (to brush her teeth) then her turn (to have a go).
When she gets older, its swaps order - she gets to go first, then I finish up.

And when it is my turn, I talk through what I am doing.

[Daydream Believer]

Let her brush your teeth...
Face her to the mirror so she can watch...
If she does a particularly good job, reward her with a sticker...
Encourage her to brush her Favorite toys teeth (unless it's a truck... Most trucks don't have teeth...normally...) do this in a way that she will think it was her idea... ('oh, let's get dolly ready for bed... Tell me, what's the first thing we do to get ready?' etc)

Maybe also let her pick her own at the shops? They have some cute ones. Then, cos you will have two, she can hold one while you hold the other...