Kids are the future – we all know that. Ensuring that they develop the necessary skills and understanding of dental health is one of the key aspects of bringing up your children. If you can set about those thoughts into your kids from a young age, they’ll hold it with them for the rest of your life and avoid any unexpected dental surprises. Of course, this is all easier said than done. Getting your children to care enough about their teeth to look after them independently takes time, patience and a lot of determination. Finding subtle ways to motivate the little ones is one the most useful ways to get your kids thinking about their teeth.
Find fun toothbrushes
Preparing for the new school year with brand new pencils, pens and bags should be nowhere near as fun as it actually is. Why should it be any different for your dental gear? Get the kids involved and encourage them to pick out their favourite toothbrushes from the supermarket. Kids toothbrushes come in a huge variety of colours and designs in order to tempt them into the vaping world. You can do this with toothpaste too – children will get a lot of joy using toothpaste with branding of their favourite movie characters. It’s also important to ensure all that toothpaste tastes nice too, as kids will be easily put off by ones they dislike. The internet is home to a huge variety of different branded dental gear so have a long browse and find something that your kids get excited about too. You could even buy a wide variety of dental gear and switch it up throughout the week to make it that bit more exciting.
Enjoy it
The kids are right about certain things being boring. Unfortunately, for some children, if you don’t make their dental routine exciting it could all end in disaster. Putting in that little bit of effort to come up with some exciting games and songs to sing during the brushing process can really get your kids excited! Ultimately, kids learn a lot through playing and this is the best way to instil some passion for their teeth from the very beginning. There’s many ways you could do this, but coming up with rhymes is a great way of remembering not just to brush your teeth but where to brush your teeth. The older your kids are, the more complicated they can be – focusing on brushing the tongue and back molars. Brushing doesn’t have to be a chore and if it turns into one, your kids might be turned off brushing forever.
Find some apps
No matter how you feel about it, your kids are growing up in the digital age. Shielding them from technology isn’t the way to go about things, so embracing it is the way forward. Why not get it involved with brushing their teeth? There’s a massive array of fantastic apps out there to help kids learn and understand the importance of brushing, while making the entire process fun in itself. When your kids are feeling a bit more stubborn than usual, whipping the fun app out can be a great secret weapon. We’d recommend trying out a few to find the right one, while listening to your children’s reactions. Don’t forget – you’ve got to join in too.
Rewards system
Rewards systems are common ways of incentivising co-operation when it comes to childish behaviour. It’s simple – if you can behave for multiple days in a row, you get some treats. This system is absolutely perfect for teeth brushing. We’d suggest making up a calendar (sort of like an advent calendar) and decorate it with tooth related pictures. Make sure you make this with your kids to get them involved with the fun. After that, you can convince your children that if they brush a certain number of days in a row without causing a fuss, they can have a secret treat. This technique also works brilliantly for bedtime and dinner – the secret is just too much for them to resist. A star chart is another great one to employ as it hands you all the power to dish out the stars. As always, getting involved yourself can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of these methods.
Visit your dentist
This one isn’t just for the kids. Visiting the dentist on a regular basis really can’t be exaggerated enough. No matter how much you keep up a consistent dental regime, things can develop in your mouth before it’s way too late for anything to be done. Your dentist should be your family’s best friend and going in together can make all the difference. In reality, monthly check-ups should be the norm. You’ll be rewarded with healthy oral hygiene yourself, as well as putting it in your children’s brains that regular check-ups are the foundation for great teeth.
It’s also really important to ensure that your children don’t grow up with dental anxiety. This is something that plagues certain generations with bad teeth, simply because they have an innate fear of the dentist. Take your kids along to a dentist you trust and know to be super-friendly and we guarantee that you’ll be doing your child a huge favour. If you live in the London area, we’d recommend London City Smiles. This wonderful dentistry focuses on the types of slow and family dentistry that we were referring to, while having lots of experience dealing with younger patients. Some dentists also have their own reward systems with stickers and lollipops to keep the kids interested.
At the end of the day, ensuring that you have a proper plan when it comes to brushing can really shape your child’s dental life. Keep things consistent no matter what, always stay in regular contact with your dentist and come up with some fun ways to get your kids excited about brushing. Make sure you follow all of these steps to set your children up right for the future.
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