11 Jul Dental Care and Childhood: Make Oral Care Both Fun and Relevant
Any adult who remembers back to their childhood can probably remember hearing an adult say, “Do it because I said so”. Another ubiquitous adult phrase, used especially to answer the equally ubiquitous childhood question of “Why?”, is, “Because…that’s just the way it is”. But the problem with those responses in answer to questions about quality dental health is that oftentimes it’s not going to be a sustaining lesson as to why dental health, both the daily routine of it and the practice of regular dental checkups, are an absolutely important part of living a healthy life. Here’s a few tips to making dental health both fun and relevant for kids…
Turn the Two-Minute-Rule into an Event
Oftentimes we teach children the importance of brushing for at least two minutes by placing a timer on the counter and supervising them while they brush through the required time. But there are ways to make that two minutes of time more fun and enjoyable: consider playing music during that time, use apps on your phone (There are several apps that make that two minute-tooth-brushing time fun), tell a short story, etc. Whatever you choose to do to make tooth brushing important and fun, and remember to be creative. Make that time enjoyable, a twice-daily routine that your child looks forward to doing each day.
Routine
Usually, as adults, we have a way of doing things each and every day—i.e. a routine. And our children shouldn’t be any different. A child, too, should have several things in his or her day that are done in almost the same manner. Routines make an event such as teeth cleaning second nature.
Relevancy
There are many ways to make teeth cleaning relevant, but one of the simplest is to allow him or her to be involved in the process of buying a toothbrush. Allow them to pick out a favorite character or a color, and as long as the toothbrush is built for children and comes with the ADA Seal of Approval, you can’t go wrong.
No Comments