One skill that you can teach your child that will stick with them for their entire life is how to brush their teeth.. Having good expectations and teaching proper techniques is going to help set them up with habits that will maintain for a long time. Here are some tips and tricks for getting your child to brush their teeth and do it right. 

Use A Timer

Having a two-minute timer is going to set the expectation from a young age about how long your child should be brushing. It will help to get a fun timer that they can watch as they countdown until they are done brushing your teeth. For example, there are colorful bubble timers that you can flip over and watch colorful liquids travel to the bottom like an hourglass with sand. It's more fun than using a simple egg timer, which makes it easy to incorporate into a daily routine.

If you don't want to use a traditional timer, you can also time the brushing session with a song. Find a short two-minute song that you can use as the tooth brushing song, where your child is supposed to brush until the song is finished. Just make sure that they are brushing and not distracted by dancing or singing during it.

Create A Sticker Chart

Sometimes it takes an old fashioned reward to encourage a kid to brush their teeth. Once they know the basics of how to properly brush their teeth, create a sticker chart where they can earn a sticker each day when they do quality brushing on their own. The reward can be whatever works to motivate your child, which can range from a trip to the toy store to getting a special treat after dinner. 

Use Plaque Tablets

A fun activity to show a kid how well they are brushing is to use plaque tablets. They chew the tablets after brushing and the material sticks to the plaque on their teeth. It will show them just how well they did at brushing their teeth, and let them know what areas they are missing. 

Download A Tooth Brushing App

There are many apps out there that can help guide your kid through the process of brushing their teeth, and make it a fun experience to look forward to every night. Having their favorite cartoon character on the screen encouraging them to brush their teeth may be the extra push they need to get them in the daily habit of brushing.

For more tips on establishing good brushing habits with your kids, reach out to a family dentist near you.