I swear, picking out toothpaste for my 4-year-old is like negotiating a peace treaty. Last week, she decided her old strawberry one was "too spicy" (??), so now we're on a quest for the perfect flavor. We stood in the aisle for ages, her sniffing the boxes and me trying not to laugh. She finally settled on this blue bubblegum one, but now she only wants to brush if she can squeeze the tube herself.
Is this just a phase, or do all kids get weirdly picky about toothpaste? I don't remember caring at all when I was little, but maybe my parents just didn't give me options. Anyone else have a kid who treats toothpaste like it's a gourmet dessert menu? Any tricks for getting them to actually stick with one?
Toothpaste drama is real. My niece went through a phase where she demanded “sparkly” toothpaste and would literally refuse to brush if it wasn’t the right color. I remember thinking, how did brushing teeth turn into a hostage negotiation? I honestly don’t remember even having a choice as a kid either—pretty sure my parents just plopped whatever was cheapest in the cart and that was that.
Do you notice if she changes her mind after a couple weeks, or is she loyal to a flavor for a while? I’ve always wondered if giving kids too many choices makes them pickier, or if they’d be like this no matter what. The “too spicy” thing cracks me up though—my nephew once said watermelon toothpaste “tasted like fire.” Kids are wild.
Have you tried letting her pick two flavors and then alternate? Or does that just make it worse? I’m curious if anyone’s kid ever just stuck with one flavor for more than a month.
