Here’s a few of the strategies that have worked with my children as I’ve
found this topic comes up a lot at baby and toddler groups
Defusion
· Chewable toothbrushes
· Novelty toothbrushes – ones with character heads
or ones that vibrate or light up
· Changing the flavour of toothpaste
· Make a game out of their resistance – my baby
son enjoys pretend arm wrestling to persuade him to brush his teeth
· Singing their favourite song or making up your
own toothbrushing song together
Mindfulness
· Try and focus on brushing each tooth
individually – that might be you brushing your baby’s teeth individual my or
your older child doing their own
· Brushing in front of a mirror to increase
awareness of what they’re doing
Distraction
· Watching a YouTube clip of a favourite character
brushing or using a toothbrushing phone game
Modelling
· Brush your teeth at the same time and encourage
them to copy you
· Get the older one to show the younger one how to
brush
Positive associations
· If they’re not keen on brushing, pair tooth brushing
with another activity they do like – for example music or a story after – and
give lots of praise!
Mummy ACT 