Everyday its a fight b/w me and my 3 yr old to brush his teeth!?

i have tried to lure him with cute brushes..paste is also very tastety ...but i thnk what happens is ..as soon as i start brushing..he starts wriggling..or moving and it hurts him somewhere(mostly in the sides)..he yells...i have to hold him hold him very tight while he is yellnig away to glory before we finish brushing.i have tried to soothe him...told him good and bad stories..ntohing works..i brush after/before him to show him..but no use!

any ideas ?

also,is it as important to a 3yr old to brush in all sides and directions as a adult ?is it ok ..if i do it witj hand @least on the sides ?

i feel so bad to go through it every morning !

Everyday its a fight b/w me and my 3 yr old to brush his teeth!?
It will still be a fight for a while, but keep your ground. he will eventually let up a bit, but for years you will still have to hover over him to see that he does it. Mine is 9..I am still working on it. LOL There is a new item out called Listerine cool blue. It shows kids where the plaque is by turning their teeth blue. It may make it a bit more fun. Also, With my son I started a chart. if he did a good job he got a star. After so many stars he could get a prize. You can choose any kind of prize that will work for your child. Then he will help make the choice to "get it over with" instead of fighting with you. It may make it a bit easier on you. Oh, and YES it is important for them to brush well, even baby teeth and gums.Also those battery operated brushes make the job a bit faster. Kids seem to like the vibration. Good luck. Let me know if it helps you. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
Reply:my nephew went through the same thing, only his mom wasn't as good at making him do it anyway. So when I went to visit we did it my way and it worked. Make a game of it. "Like open up ohh look you have animals in your teeth, we need to get the animals out." and start naming animals you see in his teeth. He most likely will find it fun and will be glad to chime in with animals he sees. It worked on my stubborn nephew he not only hated to brush his teeth, but he also hated toothpaste; now he is over it! he will brush his teeth toothpaste and all. Just make sure that the brush head is sized smaller for kids that way you will have more control over where you are brushing. Yes it is important to make sure you brush his teeth in all directions. Good luck and happy brushing!
Reply:My daughter went through this too. Once I explained why we need to brush our teeth and what happens if we don't ( "monster" cavitities) she was good to go. I figured she does not know what cavities are, but does know hwat a monster is so I put the two together so she would understand that cavities are bad. We always let her brush them last so she can keep learning to do it herself( and feel independent), and we go first to make sure she gets all her teeth. We have no more power struggles!! :)
Reply:will he not brush his teeth on his own ?



tell your dentist what's going on , hope they have

some tips, sounds like you have done all you can



all I can say is tell your child that if he does not

brush his teeth they will fall out %26amp; he won't be able

to eat the tings he likes to eat



good luck
Reply:You may have started it the wrong way and let him experience unpleasantness in the process.

Try this:

1. Show him pictures of decayed teeth and ask whether he wants his teeth to become that way.

2. Then start by using a finger brush on him gently until he feels confident that it is not so unpleasant. Do not do it by force.

3. Then let him do it himself, again until he feels comfortable. You can brush together. Once he gets the habit, you can teach him the correct way to brush.

There is an oral mouth-wash you can use which will stain food particles left on the teeth. This will show that correct brushing will help. You can ask your dental surgeon about this wash.
Reply:what I do with my son, is have 2 brushes, 1 for me and 1 for him - he has his turn, and then I have a turn doing them for him - we have a egg timer - and its set for 1 min - after then, its my turn for 1 min.

Personally I wouldn't force the issue as it's only going to make it worse - is it that bad that he does his teeth himself for a few weeks??

Make sure his mouth hygiene is good and eats healthily, and it shouldnt be that much of an issue - only really if he eats alot of choc etc..
Reply:For starters paste up his brush so it remains there until the task is done. The tastey toothpaste is a good idea as well as YOU brushing YOUR teeth in front of him to show what a PLEASURABLE experience it IS.

Get HIM to start doing this himself. At this point ANYTHING is better than nothing so don't worry about the quality of the brushing--that'll come later. Perhaps take a different approach such as a GAME of doing it but don't continue to "fight" him. The key here is PLEASURABLE.



If this fails then the withholding of priveleges must be administered, timeout, no play time until it's done. I agree you must stand your ground on this one.
Reply:I tell my 2 year old that we need to brush her friends and then proceed to go through all her teachers and the children at daycare. Some days I may use characters on TV. If she is done before all her teeth are brushed, I can say wait your forgot Mrs. Smith way back there. So far so good. I also take turns with her.
Reply:You're not giving him a choice.. he's 3.. and he's GOT to be hating that. What we tried with my son, was one of those power brushes. They have ones for little kids, my son has a Spiderman one (cause he loves Spiderman). Also, let him try brushing his own teeth. The first couple of times, he's not going to get the back and the sides. He'll probably only brush the front and maybe the tops of the back ones.. but it's not going to hurt anything.



He needs to have the control, that's what being a 3 year old is all about. He's becoming more and more independent and he's going to want to do it himself or nothing at all.



After a few days, try to make a game out of it. Ask to see his beautiful teeth and tell him he missed a spot, but let HIM try to get it himself. He's never going to learn what it takes to brush his teeth if he doesn't do it. So let him.. and eventually.. he'll do it right.