Hellobee Boards

When my oldest was about that age, I ended up getting two toothbrushes - one that she could chew on and "brush" with while I tried to squeeze the other one in to brush at the same time.

My younger daughter is about one and a half now and she just started really pushing back about brushing teeth in the last week. She flips out if I come anywhere near her mouth. She's cutting some molars from what I can tell, and she really likes to be in charge of where the toothbrush goes.

We play a ridiculous game where the toothbrush is their superhero of choice and inside their mouths is a villain or two so the superhero has to go all around their mouth to fight and capture the villain. We started this when the twins were going through this phase and now they prefer for us to brush so they get new capture stories.

So it worked at the time but man it's a pain now - full disclosure.

My DD has good and bad days, she's 1-1/2 also. I lay her down on the floor between my legs, she wraps her arms around my ankles, and her head is stuck between them, and I brush that way while usually singing the ABC's. Most days she actually lays down for me now, but somedays she's not having it, which is okay too because if she's crying, her mouth is open!
My DS, almost 4, wants me to do his teeth his way now too.

@Sixpinetrees: I let my two year old chew on the toothbrush for a few minutes (he usually just sucks all the toothpaste off, good way to get the fluoride). Then if he doesn't want to cooperate I just force it. I have really bad teeth and not brushing just isn't an option in our house.

@snowjewelz: I'm the same way! They are getting their teeth brushed whether they want to or not.

We did the same with my almost 7 year old and now he is really good about brushing his teeth morning and night. And confession - I still brush his teeth at night. I just don't trust him to do a thorough job yet.