Toothbrushing, we're toothbrushing

For those of you who are wondering how we got on with toothbrushing a few months back, or who have their own little tikes refusing to partake in dental hygiene and are looking for ideas, here's a quick update.

We introduced a new element to her bedtime routine: Peppa Pig. Phoebe loves Peppa, who she calls simply "Pig" and we'd shown her the odd episode on YouTube. I bought a triple disc DVD and we let her watch one episode before bed (which often turns into three as she loudly demands "more" as soon as the credits roll). But she's not allowed to watch Peppa until she is fully ready for bed, which involves putting on a nappy, and a vest or pyjamas, and, of course, brushing teeth. Peppa is much better bedtime viewing than our previous choice of The Night Garden as each episode is only 5 minutes long. Night Garden is half an hour and we just aren't organised enough to have dinner and bath done and dusted with a good half an hour to go before bed.

As for the actual tooth brushing, we tend to do that in the front room these days so Phoebe doesn't get distracted pulling faces in the bathroom mirror. She gets given the opportunity to brush her own teeth first, and generally she's much better at doing that now, as opposed to just chewing the brush. We coach her, reminding her to brush the sides, top and backs rather than just the front. If she refuses, or just chews the brush then we do it for her. If I don't think she's done a good enough job then I do it for her. Every now and then, simply because I know she's not that good at it, I do it for her.

Now onto my technique. Well, I had to employ some tough love and take the risk that I might put her off brushing her teeth for a few years. Which doesn't seem to have happened, thankfully. I suppose doing it herself is preferable to having Mammy do it for her.

Basically I sit her on my knee and cradle her in my left arm with her right arm behind my back. She's slightly reclining so I can see into her mouth. I then hold her left arm with my left hand. I use my right hand to brush. She sometimes tries to clamp her mouth shut but she hates being restrained so much that she usually can't help but yell and scream in protest. And that's when I dive in with the brush. I clean all her teeth as quickly as I can, although I don't always manage to get them all done. As soon as I'm done I free her and sit her on my knee and tell her she's a good girl, even though she isn't. It stops her from crying and she pretty much cheers up straight away. Then we watch Peppa Pig. Ten times.

Written with BlogPress Lite for iPhone