Sometimes the simplest things become the biggest struggles
and occasionally the biggest victories. It has always been a struggle to get Little
Pickle to brush her teeth. The second that cute, Winnie the pooh baby toothbrush
came near her mouth as a little one she would scream. Don’t get me wrong, the
kid loves putting stuff in her mouth. From my hairbrush, the bottom of her
shoes any and all electronics with cords, she is ready to gobble them all up.
The second something useful, hygienic and helpful comes along suddenly it is “abort
everything.” She either squirms away from me screaming as I jab the brush into
her mouth or she grabs the brush, sucks all the toothpaste off, and then
proceeds to throw it across the bathroom.
Most of the time I have ignored this behavior. In a classic,
“this is my second kid” syndrome, I am more relaxed about everything and also
hold a genuine belief that she will grow out of it. The brain fuzz that occurs
between two children separated by 4 ½ years makes me vaguely remember Sweetpea
also throwing fits about tooth brushing. Now the girl is a wiz at it. All I
have to do is sing the “brush your teeth” song and she happily runs to the
bathroom, sets her timer, brushes away then flosses and rinses with mouth wash.
Yeah for Virgo kids!
Once a week I had been holding my dear toddler down and scrubbing
her teeth while she screams bloody murder. I only did this once a week because
I really didn’t want her to get cavities. Feeling guilty for forcing the tooth
brushing, I remember what the pediatrician said to me about not pushing things
on her so as not to create a bad memory of the experience. I decided to consult
the Internet for tips. I was instructed to brush my teeth in front of my child
to model the healthy habit, not a bad idea but Little Pickle had a lot more fun
watching me brush then doing it to her teeth.
Having an electric toothbrush was endlessly fascinating to her.
I tried the let’s make this one big game idea. She says “tee”
for the front teeth while I brush and then “aww” for the back teeth so she
opens her mouth really wide. Little pickle loved making the sounds but not with
the toothbrush anywhere near her.
I also tried the “there’s a tiger in your mouth and I am
going to get it” technique. This
definitely made her laugh but did not lead to an easier time for brushing.
I tried the mediation method, this involved taking deep
relaxing breaths before having her brush her teeth, then silently witnessing
the act instead of instructing. Yeah, this did not really work. However, this exercise prompted me to realize how
I needed to capitalize on what my daughter did like to do, stick things in her
mouth.
As we left the bathroom heading to our next transition,
books and bedtime I noticed she would pop just about anything in her mouth
while we were reading. If it was a small toy, her banana teether or just her fingers,
as we read Little Pickle was enjoying the oral stimulation. A new idea was
formed. The next evening when tooth brushing struggle time came near I went
into the bathroom, grabbed her brush with a pea of toddler toothpaste on it and
led her right to the bedroom. Out of context the toothbrush became a glorified
teether! She would start the brushing on the changing table. At book time the
toothbrush stayed in her mouth, working her way around each tooth several times
as I read. Suddenly my fussy, hate to brush toddler was brushing for 5 minutes
straight, no big deal like the boss lady she is.
I am sure that this “Out of Context” strategy will not work
for the rest of her life but for now the no pressure, we brush as we go works
well for us. Little Pickle is keeping up the good habits and I am not stressed
about her associating tooth brushing with power struggle. Victory!
