₦airaland Forum

Hello all, pls I am very desperate for good advice. I am a stay at home mum for now(still looking for job). My 1year 10 month old son doesn't like brushing his mouth at all. Anytime I try to brush his mouth, he puts up a struggle. He pushes and struggles badly. Infact, his dad or my cousin always hold him for me,we pin his hands and legs down,all to no avail. It's even worse when they aren't around and I have to do it alone. We brush most times for over an hour,and at the end of the whole struggle, I barely succeed. Everyday because of the struggle he ends up bleeding in his mouth. Right now,he has blister all over his mouth due to struggle.I have begged him,talked to him, smacked him,threatened him that i wont give him things he likes ,all to no avail. He did the same with my sister when she tried to help.I have used small face towel,cotton wool, small rubber finger brush they use for babies, all to no avail. Am at a loss for what to do. His mouth is smelling badly now. Pls I need advice. I actually asked my family doctor. They said they can't do anything about the situation. Thanks

Have you tried crying for him??

For most toddlers,it's that way.You just have to keep trying.
One thing about toddlers is engaging their interests.Does he like songs?Sing those favourite songs to him and it helps get their cooperation.Another thing you can try is doing it in front of his favourite cartoon on television.

hold a cane in one hand, and the brush in another, and tell him to choose one, no matter how stubborn he is, he will pick the brush...

PUT PASTE ON THE BRUSH AND HAND IT OVER TO HIM....DONT FORCE HIM...JUST HAND IT TO HIM AND PUT UP A TOPIC OR SING HIM A SONG..DO IT FOR A WEEK...IF IT DOSNT WORK.....TRY *SPANKING *

Give him the toothbrush to do the job himself. Pretend it's no longer an issue.excuse him and ask him to come for inspection when he's done.please don't force him again.pinning him will make him want to resist you the more.success will not be immediate,but allow him.make sure you brush in his presence.I don't like the bleeding part.
Also get him those children's movies that have songs like "this is the way we brush our teeth". That song helped my baby as well

Stop the beatings as it's not helping. They have to see bathtime as fun, with lots of fun activities. Are you using children's toothpaste, some adult toothpaste can have really unpleasant taste to children who are used to sweet stuff. Apart from singing, try positive reinforcement: clap and cheer for him if he does any small thing for his teeth. Also try brushing with him (get some toys that have teeth showing and encourage him to play with them so as to make his favorite toys. Then he and the toys should all head to the bathroom to brush together).

zinachidi:
hold a cane in one hand, and the brush in another, and tell him to choose one, no matter how stubborn he is, he will pick the brush...

You never jam pikin wey go pick cane

rheether:
Have you tried crying for him??

Really??

My toddler of almost three years does exactly the same thing. We get to struggle always and he bleeds in between. Sometimes he ends up with mouth ulcer that we have to treat for days before we continue brushing. Try get a soft brush maybe the brush is too hard on him then get a paste that he will like. Some paste have chocolate taste. Always try to sing in between brushing. Finally if these doesn't work, try put his two hands behind him and use your leg to mask his legs so that he won't be able to struggle. I wish you all the best.

zinachidi:
hold a cane in one hand, and the brush in another, and tell him to choose one, no matter how stubborn he is, he will pick the brush...

It won't work. Ask my toddler

I will ask you this. Do you brush while he watches you when growing? Because children tend to copy what they see adults do especially regularly. That is what I did so my children will always ask for their brush once the are to have their bath, let them be patt of you when you do house chores whenever they are around , it will help a lot

It's a matter of engagement. If you make a chore fun, kids will gladly do it. My little jewel hates...I mean HATES anything touching any part of her head. Brushing, combing, washing her face, feeding, wearing hairbands.... anything to do with the head. So we've had to get her to see the fun in these things.

For brushing time, we do a lot of singing and games with the toothbrush even letting her chew on it herself. As at 8mths, she was already mimicking the motions of brushing herself with the toothbrush. So we just put a bit of baby toothpaste on it and leave her to knock herself out. She's just over a year old and she brushes her 5 teeth herself. Happily. She would chew on the brush, do the brushing motions with the songs over and over. We just add a little more toothpaste every now and then. May take 30mins but it gets the job done

flawlesRebirth:
PUT PASTE ON THE BRUSH AND HAND IT OVER TO HIM....DONT FORCE HIM...JUST HAND IT TO HIM AND PUT UP A TOPIC OR SING HIM A SONG..DO IT FOR A WEEK...IF IT DOSNT WORK.....TRY *SPANKING *

Spanking a 22 months old baby, what is the world turning to.

LisaEkene:
Hello all, pls I am very desperate for good advice. I am a stay at home mum for now(still looking for job). My 1year 10 month old son doesn't like brushing his mouth at all. Anytime I try to brush his mouth, he puts up a struggle. He pushes and struggles badly. Infact, his dad or my cousin always hold him for me,we pin his hands and legs down,all to no avail. It's even worse when they aren't around and I have to do it alone. We brush most times for over an hour,and at the end of the whole struggle, I barely succeed. Everyday because of the struggle he ends up bleeding in his mouth. Right now,he has blister all over his mouth due to struggle.I have begged him,talked to him, smacked him,threatened him that i wont give him things he likes ,all to no avail. He did the same with my sister when she tried to help.I have used small face towel,cotton wool, small rubber finger brush they use for babies, all to no avail. Am at a loss for what to do. His mouth is smelling badly now. Pls I need advice. I actually asked my family doctor. They said they can't do anything about the situation. Thanks

hi dear my son does same I decided to clean his mouth with towel nd a sweet toothpaste for children if he bites I spank him on de bumbum so he tries not to bite so instead of brushing him use a clean towel nd clean him God bless you peace

Did you start cleaning out his mouth from infancy? I feel not starting early affected him, you have to keep brushing him. I doubt if he can struggle forever, he will get used to it I guess. Kids that used to their mums probing their mouth won't have much problem with brushing.

My 19month old ton does the same thing.We sing,clap,dance before inserting the brush in his teeth,once he sees the brush coming towards his mouth,wahala don start.He will shout,scream and cry but that does not stop me from brushing his teeth.

Don't use a brush use either cloth or cotton wool on your finger