Brushing can be a boring task for kids so parents often have to be creative to encourage children to brush, let alone brush longer! Perhaps the solution is to sing as you brush!
Some children are quite happy to brush while watching a timer count down two minutes- others find this isn’t enough to hold their attention.
One way to turn the task of brushing into a fun one is to have children brush along to a favourite song or piece of music. This can be done in many ways: the song can be sung in their head, or an adult or sibling can hum or sing while the child brushes. Siblings might play a two minute game of ‘Guess the tune’, with one child humming while the other brushes, listens and guesses. (It’s good to have clear rules around not spraying toothpaste foam in the excitement of shouting the answer!)
The radio, CD player or MP3 player could also come in handy. Select a song that has a two minute playing time, and get the kids to brush along. Help them to develop a toothbrushing ‘dance’: “we’ll clean the top right first, the lower right next, and spend the chorus doing the insides”. Participating in a choreographed brushing dance can be great fun!
If your young child is more visual, and you happy to take an internet-ready device into the bathroom, try playing the Sesame Street video, “Brushy Brush”.
