Teaching Kids Healthy Brushing Habits

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the American Dental Association. Thanks for helping us spread the word about kids' oral health!

How many times do you have to tell your kids to brush their teeth before they actually do it?

Depending on the age, most of the parents I know end up having to walk their kids into the bathroom and make them do it.

What is it about kids not wanting to brush their teeth!?

To combat teeth brushing troubles, we are partnering with the American Dental Association to share our tips on how to teach your kids healthy oral hygiene habits.

Teaching Kids Healthy Brushing Habits

The truth is, teaching kids how to keep up with their oral hygiene is not always the easiest. Especially during the holiday season where it seems like candy, sweets, and chocolate are everywhere!

The ADA even agrees, teaching kids moderation this time of year is key to helping them keep their teeth clean.

We like to say that candy is okay, but you have to brush your teeth twice a day.

Sweet treats are okay, as long as you floss and visit your dentist regularly.

See what I mean? Taking care of your teeth doesn't mean kids have to give up everything they love.

Tips for Teaching Kids Healthy Habits

As parents, we are the ones who are responsible for teaching our kids proper hygiene.

It sounds way easier than it actually is, so here are some tips that we use in our home that might help you out in yours!

Make it Fun

This will probably look different for each family and the ages of your kids, but if you can figure out how to make brushing and flossing fun, do it!

• Take a family trip to the store where everyone gets to pick out their favorite toothpaste and a special toothbrush. Just be sure to look for products with the ADA Seal of Acceptance to make sure that you are getting quality products!
• If your children are younger maybe you can find a song on YouTube about brushing teeth and play that while they are brushing.
• You could even take younger kids to the bookstore where they can get a book about the importance of brushing their teeth.
• Use our printable sticker charts to make tracking the amount of times kids have brushed their teeth a game! When they fill up their sticker chart, you can reward them with an inexpensive prize or a trip to the park!

Create a Routine

Every night we follow a routine to get ready for bed. First is dinner, play/TV time, bath time, brush teeth, read a book, and then bed. We do this every single night, so not only is bedtime a lot easier for us, but there is no protesting when it comes to brushing her teeth because she already knows it is coming.

I finally figured out the power of a good routine and I don't think I'll ever go back to not using one!

Start Young

This tip goes right along with having a routine. If you start enforcing teeth brushing twice per day as soon as they are able to brush (and even before then you can brush for them and wipe their gums!), your kids will be used to brushing their teeth as a part of their routine.

Use Challenges

If you have more than one kiddo, using challenges could be super fun. Make it a competition and any two siblings won't be able to resist the competitiveness to win!

Print out our fun teeth brushing sticker charts (they even come with printable stickers!) and have siblings race to the finish! If you have an only child, then you could create a challenge like I mentioned above where they can fill the sticker chart for a fun prize.

There are many different ways to get kids more involved with positive oral hygiene, but the key is to try it all until you find out what works best for your family. What works with one of our children might not work with yours, and that is okay, but don't give up!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the American Dental Association.

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