Some days raising kids can seem to be a very difficult and unrewarding job. One of the most difficult things to do when raising a child is to help them develop a culture of good hygiene. Generally, children fight taking baths, showers and even brushing their teeth. These are not only bad hygiene behaviors but they may also lead to health related issues. Premature tooth decay, for example, is a condition that affects most kids who have poor oral hygiene. Even though hygiene is important in the life of your kids, these tasks can appear to be tiresome and pointless to them. In addition to semi-annual visits to the kids dentist, to ensure that they develop good hygiene, it is important to make these tasks fun to do. This way, the kids will want to do them more often and in the process maintain good hygiene.
Tips to make teeth brushing fun to kids
Dentists recommend brushing teeth at least twice a day with toothpaste and a good toothbrush. To instill this in your kids, it is therefore important to come up with activities that make teeth brushing fun it becomes a habit. Here are the top 5 tips to make teeth brushing fun to your kids.
1.Start training them early to brush their teeth
At two years of age, you should start instilling individual kids brushing habits. Of course it is important that you monitor their teeth brushing sessions to prevent them from hurting themselves and swallowing too much toothpaste. Studies have also shown that the culture of brushing teeth develops earlier in children whose parents began gently brushing emerging teeth of their children.
2.Let brushing be a family activity
In most cases, children imitate the actions of their parents. When you bush alongside your children, they will feel the importance of oral hygiene because you yourself are doing it. They may also feel like brushing is a family bonding time which they should not miss and they therefore make a point of brushing teeth with you every time.
3.Make adjustments to your brushing routine
You may notice that your kid is struggling during teeth brushing time. In this case, you may want to try changing the tooth brush texture, the flavor of the toothpaste, the temperature of the water and even try using an electric toothbrush. All these factors can increase the comfort of your kid during brushing and they end up developing good brushing habits.
4.Role playing while brushing
During or before brushing your teeth, you can take their stuffed animal and show them how to properly brush teeth. At that time, they should have their brush so they can follow closely what you do. Repeat the right procedure until they get it and encourage them to use these tricks during their next teeth brushing session.
5.Play a song to keep them brushing
Sometimes, the time your kids spend brushing their teeth may be too little, and they may miss many areas. We encourage the use of a two minute sand timer, which we include in our youth’s preventative care dental visits. To ensure that they brush for the recommended two minutes, you can play their favorite song, sing it to them or even get a musical tooth brush. They should not stop brushing until the music is over and this will make brushing fun and encourage good oral hygiene.
Conclusion
Raising kids to develop good oral hygiene is very important. Teeth brushing is a habit that is quite difficult to instill in kids regardless of how importance it is. These five fun tips will ensure your kids enjoy the activity and develop the habit to ensure oral hygiene.
