We had a similar issue with the fruity toothpaste—my son got hooked on the strawberry flavor and started squeezing extra onto the brush every time. It quickly became more about tasting toothpaste than actually cleaning teeth. Eventually, we decided to alternate flavors every few days. Mint one night, fruity another, even cinnamon occasionally. That way, brushing stayed interesting but didn't become a sugary obsession.
Another thing that helped was using an electric toothbrush with a timer. He got pretty into the buzzing and lights, so it shifted some of the excitement away from just the toothpaste flavor. Might be worth trying if you haven't already...
We did something similar with my grandkids—switching flavors definitely helped. Another trick was letting them pick out their own toothbrushes at the store. Sounds simple, but having their favorite character or color made brushing feel more like a fun choice than a chore...
"letting them pick out their own toothbrushes at the store"
This worked wonders for us too. Another thing we tried was making up silly brushing songs—nothing Grammy-worthy, but goofy enough to keep them giggling and brushing longer...worked like a charm most nights.
Haha, those goofy brushing songs are gold. We tried that too, but my singing voice is apparently too "cringey" now that my kids are getting older...ouch. Picking toothbrushes at the store was definitely a hit, though. Who knew a toothbrush shaped like a dinosaur or unicorn could be such a game changer?
Another thing that helped us was turning brushing into a little story or mission. Like, "Agent Toothbrush has to defeat the evil plaque monsters hiding in your teeth!" I'd narrate it like some epic adventure, and they'd brush extra carefully to make sure every "monster" was defeated. Sometimes we'd even pretend the toothpaste was special "monster-fighting potion." Ridiculous, I know, but hey...whatever works, right?
Also, not sure if anyone else has tried this, but we got one of those little sand timers from a board game and set it next to the sink. It became a mini-challenge to brush until all the sand ran out. They actually started reminding ME about it if I forgot to flip it over. Go figure.
Anyway, sounds like you're doing awesome already—keep up the good fight against cavities and boredom. Parenting win unlocked.
Haha, your storytelling approach is pretty creative—wish I'd thought of something like that when my own kids were little. I remember trying the singing thing too, but apparently my rendition of "Brush Your Teeth" wasn't exactly Grammy-worthy either...ouch indeed.
The sand timer idea sounds neat. Funny how kids latch onto stuff like that, isn't it? We had a similar experience using an egg timer from the kitchen, though it lost its charm pretty quickly when it accidentally got dunked in the sink (RIP egg timer).
It's cool that you're making brushing teeth into something fun and imaginative rather than just another chore. Honestly, those little tricks can stick with them longer than you'd think. My kids still joke about the silly toothbrushes we bought years ago—who knew a sparkly unicorn handle could leave such lasting memories?
