One of the best things about being a kid is the lack of serious responsibility. For the most part, young children can do basically whatever they want—within reason, anyway.
That may be part of why it’s so hard to get kids to take their oral health seriously. As a parent, trying to convince children to brush thoroughly and floss their teeth can pose serious challenges. Here are some ways to make dental care a little more exciting for your child.
Brush With Your Child
Even if it doesn’t always seem like it, your child is constantly taking lessons and cues from you. If they see that you take your dental hygiene seriously, they’ll start to associate brushing their teeth with maturity and adulthood.
You need to brush your teeth just as much as your child, so why not make it something that you do together? That way you can not only show them that brushing is important, but also how to do it properly.
Use a Sticker Chart
Sticker charts are a great way to make building habits easy and fun for children, and they can be applied to just about anything that your child would do often. You can write out several rows on a sheet of paper, and for each row add a chore and a prize.
For this example, you could write “Brushing teeth” on one side and, for the reward, “New Toy” on the other. Then decide on how many stickers it’ll take to get the prize, and place one on the sheet each time they do the chore. They’ll be brushing their teeth on their own in no time!
Give Them The Right Tools
If your child has trouble brushing, it may be that they need a toothbrush that’ll make them want to! Electric toothbrushes designed for children come with all kinds of fun characters, and many of them play music for the recommended two minutes at a time. Some of these brushes even connect to games on the parent’s phone to make brushing as engaging as possible.
Ultimately, you know your child better than anyone else. Hopefully, you found something in this guide that you think they will enjoy!
About Our Practice
At Healthy Kids Dentistry, we believe that it’s our responsibility to offer children care that will not only keep them healthy but can also engage them enough to make them actually want to visit the dentist! Each of our dentists, and every member of our staff, try to make appointments both as fun and as easy for patients as possible.
If you have any questions about how to make dental care more fun for kids, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (301) 871-8880.