Now that summer vacations are over and school has started, your nightly ritual before tucking your kids into bed must be a hectic one. With the rush to get all the homework done, uniforms ironed and laid out and getting everything ready for a good start to the next day, activities like brushing well and flossing are often neglected. Add to that the fact that kids are hardly ever excited about the act and try to weasel out of it as much as possible.
It goes without saying that it is crucial to cultivate good oral care habits in kids from a very young age for the proper development of your child. But getting kids to brush and floss is a task in itself. Add to that the fact that younger kids don’t have the necessary motor skills for this mundane activity. So you as a parent have to guide them till age of 5 to 6 until they can go through the motions of daily oral care themselves.
So why not make the act fun and exciting; something that kids would look forward to every night. Here are 5 creative ideas and tactics that you might want to try to get your kids thrilled about brushing and flossing daily.
1. Rock n Roll and Brush to the Music:
Who doesn’t love to dance to their favourite tunes? So how about combining music and dancing with your two minutes of brushing and add a lot of fun to it. The best way to get your kids to brush their teeth is to play music and add a bit of RockNRoll while they swish and swirl. You can even get a toothbrush that plays music while brushing.
Oral Care’s Kids Musical Automatic Toothbrush is one such product that makes brushing immensely fun for kids. Sound vibrations stream from the oscillating bristles through your kids teeth, so that it seems like the music is actually playing in the head. Also 2 whole minutes of a musical-timer ensures the dentist recommended time for brushing. The longer you brush, the more fun you have!
2. Make it Family Activity:
Healthy habits start at home, with every member. Kids often look at their parents and adults for inspiration and imitate them. Remember how you loved to put on your mother’s lipstick or your father’s tie and pretend to go to office? It’s similar with habits. If you are brushing your teeth, the chances are your little one would also want to do the same. You are their hero so inculcate good habits in them by doing it yourself. Make oral health care a family affair. This way you might also notice any issues your children may have with brushing and flossing techniques and help them out.
3. Try A Different Way To Floss:
Flossing with a traditional string floss is a tedious and complicated affair even for adults. So imagine how difficult and painful it can be for kids. Can you still blame them for hating to floss their teeth? So what can you do about it? Get creative and bring home a water flosser!
Water flossers are clinically proven to be five times more effective in removing plaque and bacteria than any other ordinary string or manual floss. Oracura's range of water flossers come with a contemporary design that can be easily be used by kids. Also since a water flosser looks and feels like a water-gun, kids simply love to use it!
4. Tell a tale of fighting the cavity monster:
Your kid might not want to brush in normal circumstances but a superman cape or a batman mask or their favourite superhero figurine might help them get rid of the ugly monsters lurking in their mouth. Create stories or magical worlds where they are fighting a battle against cavity monsters with their favourite toothbrush.
5. Friendly competition:
Brushing and flossing can be even more fun if you make a game out of it. Turn your bathroom into a friendly battle ground where siblings can compete with each other to see who brushes for whole two minutes. They can even complete with you as parents to see who kills the most sugar bugs by flossing properly.
Most of all don’t forget to compliment your kid for a job done well. Try all the above methods or finds some new tip or trick to get your kids to indulge in oral health care daily. See which trick works the best and stick to it or use a combination of few tricks alternately to keep the funfair going on. If it encourages your kids to brush and floss regularly, it’s worth a try!
