Toothbrushing with Tunes

Tooth brushing isn't a bad thing in our house, but it isn't necessarily a good thing either.

My almost four year old has about 8 toothbrushes (of course one is a ToothTunes Indiana Jones' theme song brush) and has become pretty good at tooth brushing. But my husband and I do like to do a little brushing of our own to make sure we "get rid of the cavity creeps." And he doesn't always like relinquishing the control of the toothbrush.

However, we have deployed a silly and effective way around this. We sing a tune while brushing his teeth. Sometimes it is as easy as singing the ABC's a few times to get his teeth sufficiently cleaned. Other times we sing more complex tunes like the Go Diego Go theme song. By singing one of his favorite songs, he suddenly forgets that he is giving up control and just has fun brushing his teeth.

This technique has even started working on my 16 month old. She is as feisty as they come, and she even thinks a song while brushing her teeth is fun. More importantly, she cooperates and lets us brush her teeth.

If you are having trouble getting your kids to brush their teeth, try singing a song. If nothing else, it makes this pre-bedtime ritual a little more fun!

Image courtesy of eHow.com