That’s a good point about rinsing—my youngest went through a phase where he’d just swish water around and call it a day. I tried showing him plaque with those disclosing tablets (the ones that turn your teeth purple), and he was horrified, which actually worked in my favor. Has anyone else used electric toothbrushes with built-in timers? I’m curious if the novelty lasts longer than the singing ones, or if that’s just wishful thinking...
We tried the electric toothbrush with a timer for my daughter—she loved it at first, but honestly, the excitement faded after a couple weeks. She went right back to rushing unless I supervised. Has anyone noticed if the reward charts or stickers actually help keep kids motivated?
We had a similar experience with the novelty wearing off pretty quickly. I tried a sticker chart—she was super into it at first, but after a few days, she just didn’t care if she got a sticker or not. I think for some kids, external rewards work better than others. It might depend on their age or personality? I read somewhere that mixing up the rewards helps, like surprise small toys or letting them pick a bedtime story. But honestly, most of the time, it still comes down to me supervising and reminding her why brushing matters... Not sure there’s a perfect solution, but you’re definitely not alone in this.
Mixing up the rewards definitely helped a bit for us too. My son got bored with stickers after about a week, but when I started letting him choose between a sticker, a special song, or picking his own toothpaste flavor, he perked up again. Still, I totally hear you—no matter what tricks I tried, it always came back to me standing there and making sure he actually brushed. Some mornings it felt like I was running a tiny dental bootcamp.
One thing that’s made a difference is letting him “brush” my teeth after I do his. He thinks it’s hilarious, and it gives him some control. Plus, I sneak in a quick check while he’s distracted. Not perfect, but it keeps things from turning into a battle every night. I guess it’s just about finding what works for your kid’s personality and being willing to switch things up when they get bored... which seems to happen constantly at this age.
Letting kids brush your teeth is a clever way to get them involved, but I’ve actually found that it can reinforce the idea that brushing is a game, which backfired for us. My daughter started thinking she could skip her own brushing if she “helped” me instead. We had to dial back on the silliness and get more structured—using a timer and talking about “sugar bugs” seemed to help her understand why we’re doing it in the first place. Every kid’s different, though... sometimes what works for one just doesn’t translate.