I’ve shared a lot of our routines and day in the life videos on my YouTube channel, and you’ll see both of my kids happily brushing their teeth. So many mamas ask me “how do you get your toddlers to brush their teeth?” I’m excited to tell you some tips and ideas that I have, but also some of the incredible ideas you shared with me over on instagram (I’m @bitsofbri over there).
If you’re new here- welcome! Hope you say hi in the comments, sign up for the newsletter and hang out with us here. My son Landon is four and my daughter Presley is about to turn two, and both of them seriously love brushing their teeth. They fight over who gets toothpaste on their brush first, sibling rivalry at its finest. (Any tips on how to deal with sibling rivalry, you can comment those below for me too!)
So the first reason I think my toddlers love to brush their teeth is I started early. Even just brushing their gums before their teeth officially cut. This got them very use to having to open up and having their teeth brushed. Start as early as you can so it becomes second nature.
The second reason is I let them pick out their toothbrushes. Currently, Presley has a Belle toothbrush and Landon has Avengers. We’ve had everything from Elmo, to Spiderman, to Star Wars, but ultimately, letting them have a choice creates ownership and pride.
The third reason I think my kids enjoy brushing their teeth is I act excited about it when it’s time to brush teeth in our routine. I’ll sing a song, and be really positive when they try to brush on their own after I do the initial brushing. This way, they feel encouraged and happy during this part of the routine.
Here are some of the awesome tips for how to get your toddlers to brush their teeth from our community on instagram:
@heymamaofficial “We use the Oral-B app. It is seriously life changing. Each child is so excited to have their own profile and earn their own stickers and awards every time they brush.”
@bre0811 “We brush all the ‘sugar bugs’ off! And he likes to be able to see himself brush in the mirror.”
@abibaxter85 “The Elmo song on YouTube helped! We also stared giving her a brush to play with as soon as she started teething and let her brush our teeth too.”
@theclassywife “My son likes choices. We have an electric and regular toothbrush. He then gets to choose which brush we will use. We also brush first, then let him.”
@katiegoots “My daughter is HIGHLY competitive. So we play the ‘clean mouth game.’ Whoever brushes their teeth the longest wins.”
@brookewalkr “The Blippio song helped us out a lot when my son was going through a ‘stage.’ But consistency is honestly key.”
@jessicabinxo “A few things I did were letting him pick his own brush, having a good tasting tooth paste with a character he liked on the packaging, and just leading by example and brushing my teeth at the same time to show that it’s fun and easy.”
Head on over to Instagram, and you can check out more tips for how to get your toddler to brush his teeth on the post!
Hope this post helps give you some ideas and strategies for how to get your kids to brush their teeth. If you have any other tips or suggestions for getting strong-willed little ones to brush their teeth, please let us know in the comments!
Thank you so much for reading and for being here!
Love,
Brianna 🙂
xoxo
enjoying bits of life as a mama + homemaker 
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Hi my name is Jessica.
I watch your and Tiffany. Channel on YouTube. I was thinking about starting one up. I just love watching your videos. I help when I watch them so I have someone clean with me.
Hey, love your channel, first time reading your blog!
I’m with you on the keep it positive. I try to do that too. I tell my kids that their teeth have monsters (sugar bugs would probably be better but they have a fascination with monsters) and the only way to get rid of them is to brush their teeth. As they brush their teeth we say, “Oh, they’re running away, the monsters are running away” over and over. They laugh and think that is the best.
As far as sibling rivalry, the book/audiobook, “Siblings without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish has been a game changer for me. Using just a few of the techniques from that book has really helped my kids love each other more and be kinder to each other. It also helped me feel better as a mom.