A MUM has shared how she made some simple changes and tweaks to help make her toddler brush his teeth without a fuss.
And she said that introducing a simple song to their routine meant that she’s gone from pinning him down to make sure his teeth were clean to him looking forward to it each day.
Hayley Maria, who shares mum hacks on her TikTok account @hayleymariec, shared her tips to help other parents facing the same tricky situation.
She said: “If you have a hard time brushing your toddler’s teeth, this is the best hack you could possibly come across.
“I thought nothing could make brushing his teeth easier, and we were at the point where I was pinning him down to brush his teeth, which I felt horrible about.
Going on to say that she learnt the hack from another parent, Hayley said her eyes had been opened.
She continued: “The main reason that they don’t like having their teeth brushed, according to the source that I saw, is that they don’t like the lack of control over when it’s going to start and end.
“So therefore it’s like some unknown amount of time where you’re going to be doing something weird in their mouth.”
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Bearing this in mind, Hayley said it was important to flip this on its head and incorporate some new methods to help your toddler.
Hayley explained: “The first thing that’s really important is to give them control – give them the toothbrush.
“I take my toothbrush, and then I give my son his toothbrush and say, ‘Ok, let’s brush our teeth.’
Hayley said she then sings a song about brushing their teeth, before asking if mummy can have a turn at brushing his teeth.
She went on to say: “He lets me have a turn because he knows that I’m having a turn and it’s not just me grabbing it from him.
“And then this is really important – you have to start with either a song, or a countdown, that lets them know how long you’re going to be in and out of your mouth.”
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To do this, Hayley said you can either use a countdown and say “1, 2, 3 – away” and take the toothbrush out as you say the last word.
Alternatively, you can sing ‘Happy Birthday’ – or a song your toddler loves – and choose a word that’s repeated several times to remove the brush.
Hayley said: “After each ‘to you’, the toothbrush comes out of the mouth and he’s dancing to the song and he knows that each time I sing ‘to you’, the toothbrush comes out.”
The mum said she couldn’t speak more highly of the hack, as she credited it with being a total game changer in her home.
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She concluded: “Not only did it work straight away as soon as we tried this, but it has worked every single time.
“I feel like he not only enjoys it, but he looks forward to tooth brushing time now.”
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