Cairo is already 2 years and 5 months old. His front teeth does not look too good right now and I feel so guilty for not having trained him to brush his teeth more often. There is no excuse there. We used to just wipe his teeth with a soft cloth and it worked just fine that time when he was exclusively breastfed but when he started eating solids, food particles would stick in between his teeth.
We tried all that we can to get him to like brushing. We brushed our teeth in front of him, showed him videos of other kids brushing their teeth, we sang him songs, praised him and gave him BIG smiles whenever he lets us brush his teeth. These are all tips and techniques I read somewhere online. We tried them all. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
There were also times we let Cairo hold the toothbrush so he can brush his teeth all on his own. He is a good kid and I am sure he wants to make us smile. He would stick the toothbrush in his mouth and follow what we are doing. This, unfortunately, does not always last.
We also purchased an electric toothbrush in the hope that it would make cleaning his teeth easier. We only have to position the rotating head on any tooth and we'd be able to get rid of any food bits stuck there. It worked for a while until he started grabbing the brush whenever we stick it in his mouth. What's worst, he now runs away from us and sometimes would hide when he sees us holding the toothbrush.
Just this morning, we let him hold the electric toothbrush on his own and surprisingly, we got him to brush his teeth without any fuss. BUT he cried when we 'borrowed' the toothbrush back. THAT is a good sign still. Little by little, he is starting to understand that brushing his teeth is an everyday thing.
One other technique we tried is the knee-to-knee method like the one demonstrated in the video below:
Sad to say, Cairo does not like being held like this. It makes him cry and I thought it might be traumatic for him so we stopped brushing his teeth this way. I am thinking of trying again this week but with songs this time to make it a fun experience. Hopefully, we can get him to calm down and then maybe, we can get some brushing and cleaning done.
I understand there are hundreds of websites and how-to videos on YouTube like the video I showed you. They all have very helpful tips that I can follow but you know, they don't work all the time. My point is, different methods work for different kids. We have to do a bit of trial and error to find one that will work with him. The key here I guess is...patience and repetition. You agree, mommies?
I hate that my going full time at work limits my time with Cairo, up to the point that he is spending more and more time with his father (not that I am complaining). I am happy that they are spending LOTS of quality time together. It's just that I should be there MORE for him. I would like to continue being hands-on as a mother, full time if possible. I want to be there to see him successfully brush his teeth. I want to be there to see him eat without having to be spoonfed. All moms do.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post today. This experience with Cairo is teaching me and my husband how to become better parents. It's tough but I think we are doing alright.
More posts soon! Thanks for dropping by my blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment