My 3 year old HATES brushing his teeth. How to change this, anybody?

Question

My 3 year old will not brush his teeth on his own, and if me or my husband try it, he goes berserk. We end up chasing him all over, and it still barely gets done. I have bought him a cool toothbrush, and he gets the bubblegum flavored paste. Anybody have any tips on changing this?

Answer 1

Talk to the mothers of his friends.  Perhaps plan an evening playdate or lunchtime playdate at one's house and get their kids to get excited about brushing their teeth after eating.  He'll see his peers are doing it and enjoying and hopefully want to join in.  Kids are competitive and will want to keep up with their friends/peers and older kids as well.  Perhaps make a way to make a game out of it...play his favorite song in the bathroom and all 3 of you brush your teeth together and dance, whoever does the best job of dancing and brushing gets a special reward (obviously not ice-cream or anything like that).  Also, talk to your dentist or pediatrician, they usually have some helpful tips to offer as well.  Best of luck!

Answer 2

Does your son have a favorite relative or cartoon character?  I know that my son adores his older cousins (my sister's sons) and whenever I want him to do something, I have them tell him it's "cool" to do.  For example, he used to HATE wearing his water shoes until I got his cousins to tell him his water shoes were AWESOME--I mean they really played it up!  And suddenly he wanted to wear them!

So I would let the tooth brushing thing go for a week--he's not going to get seriously ill from not brushing his teeth.  Then re-introduce it slowly, and try to do it in a positive, subtle way.  Enlist the help of people he likes as well.  

It'll be a process, so good luck!

Answer 3

At the same time you also brush your teeth by showing him the ways. He will like to brush.

Answer 4

I let my son pick one item while shopping for the week, never candy. He picked a lot of toothbrushes. We lined up 6 in his bathroom, where I found him brushing his teeth several times a day, or he just marveled at his "white" teeth in the mirror.

The question was: "Which toothbrush are we going to take?" Instead of: "You have to brush your teeth!"

It will be up to you to undo the traumatic impact of the forceful activity you introduced to him.

Answer 5

I know how you feel. I had the same issue with my 4-year old son. While brushing his teeth he would cry and scream. It even got to the point where I sometimes had to hold him down and brush his teeth. I finally worked on a solution. There are a few things I do.

First, I make a reward chart with stickers. Or, I have a glass jar and for each time he brushes his teeth I put a sticker on his chart or add a marble to his jar. I would buy some small toys from the dollar store and fill a box. At the end of the week if he brushed with no problems, he gets to pick his toy of choice from the box.

Next, I changed the name. Simple enough, it stopped being called brushing teeth and was changed to the "Tooth Scrubbing Game." If a child hears the word "game," their minds simply comprehend it as something fun. The game consists of this: After him putting the toothpaste on I would say, "Ready, Set...Go" and turn this loud noisemaker (you can get at any party store.) Music or a kitchen timer works well too. Mix it up. Keep it fresh. One day timer, one day music etc. Be inventive. After two minutes pass I either turn the noisemaker again or shut the music off and say, "Time's up." It's time to check his teeth. If he did a good job he "wins!" My son either gets a sticker or gets a marble. If he didn't get all his teeth, we play the game again. It's all about wording.

I switch between the charts and the glass jar of marbles from time to time so things stay new. Now, my son can't wait for the "Tooth Scrubbing Game." He's the one that reminds me it's time to play. You have to make it fun for them so that they look forward to brushing teeth time instead of dreading it.

Answer 6

I had the same problem with my son.  Try telling him if he will let you brush his teeth you will let him brush yours.  Or you could try to make some kind of game out of it.  Good luck!