Tips for Helping Your Toddler Bruth Their Teeth

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You’d have to be living under a rug to not notice the shift towards more “natural” products. Organic produce wasn’t even a thing 10 years ago, everyone bought bleach and oddly flourescent colored cleaners and thought nothing of it. We swiped our pits with whatever chem lab created smell we liked best and called it a day.

Even two years ago I was still doing a lot of those things.I think having a baby has made my hyper-aware of all the “yuck” stuff that is out there! I am buying more and more organic produce and dairy and meat because I don’t want her dealing with all the hormones and pesticides in standard groceries. I’m also moving more and more of our personal hygiene products to more natural ones.

But now I am leaning into a more unprocessed and “natural” life, but I also don’t want to look like a cavewoman. I want to use natural cleaning products and my house still sparkles and smells “clean”. I want my hair to be sulfate-free AND pretty! I want my toothpaste to taste decent and my mouth to feel fresh afterwards without a million and twenty-five wacked out ingredients.

Enter Toms of Maine, one of the most recognized names in all natural hygienic care.All their products are made with no artificial colors, flavors, fragrances, or preservatives. To celebrate Earth Month in April they invited us to swap out some of our conventional products for their all natural mint toothpaste (both whitening and whole care), Silly Strawberry kids toothpaste, and unisex apricot deodorant!

So we went to Wal-Mart and picked up the goodies in the toothpaste and deodorant aisle.I decided this was a good time to get serious about brushing Layla’s teeth! (Yes, we did document the occasion and yes, I did ask a random stranger to take a picture of us buying her first toothpaste and toothbrush.)

Brushing a toddler’s teeth is incredibly difficult; Layla is full of wiggles and is currently testing (and re-testing) the limits of her independence so if teeth need brushed SHE wants to do herself.  *sigh* I decided to poll some of my mom friends via Facebook for some tips for helping your toddler brush their teeth here’s what they suggested:

• Get a fun toothbrush! Kids love picking out their own toothbrush–Layla got an Elmo one (her favorite Sesame Street character). They also have some that play music or light up for how long your child needs to brush their teeth.
• Get age-appropriate toothpaste. Adult toothpaste with its strong mint, spearmint, and cinnamon flavors is often to “spicy” for kids. Look for a toothpaste specific to your toddlers age  and use just a tiny amount (the size of a grain of rice). I caught Nate using the Silly Strawberry Tom’s one a few times because it tastes so good!
• Make it fun! One of my friends says she sings the ABCs while brushing her little man’s teeth. Do whatever goofy thing necessary to make it entertaining for them.
• Make it a routine. The overall vote I heard from most of my mom friends is that you just have to do it. People brush their teeth. The end. Brushing your tots teeth will probably not be the highlight of your day, but it needs done and is just one of those suck it buttercup, parenting moments.
• Let them do it themselves. Once you’ve brushed their teeth (sing Happy Birthday or Row-Row-Row Your Boat or another song to make sure you’ve gone long enough and keep it entertaining) let them brush their teeth themselves. Layla loves to brush/chew on her toothbrush and normally cries when I take it away from her!
• Count their teeth. A great way to keep tooth-brushing light-hearted and still educational is to count yours and your childs teeth during your brushing time.
• Explain why. Even though your toddler might not get it yet, explain what you’re doing and why as you’re doing it in simple terms. “We need to brush your teeth to get the yuckies, leftover food, plaque monsters off them. Mama will help you and then you can do it yourself.” They will get it soon and everyone likes to know “why”!
• Praise them! Cheer and do a dance afterwards, give high fives or if their older you can add this to a chore chart with stickers. Promote the behaviour you want them to keep up!

I’m trying to implement these tips to keep Layla’s little teeth all clean and healthy! Overall switching to Tom’s all natural products was such an incredibly simple switch for us as a family. Just one more thing I can feel better about us using and NOT have to worry about us ingesting or having chemical-laden products on our skin. To celebrate Earth Month Toms is offering a $1 off coupon for any of their products! Happy Earth Month!

What all-natural products do you use at home? 

Do you have any tips for helping your toddler brush their teeth?