My kids teeth brushing styles are completely opposite – Charlie rushes through it as fast as he can, always less than two minutes. Olive holds the toothbrush in her mouth, often not moving it at all, slowly brushing while reading a book and taking 5+ minutes. So on our recent trip to the US, I knew that I wanted to get them electric toothbrushes. I’d tried an inexpensive one when Olive was much younger, and she wasn’t a fan, but now my kids are definitely old enough (8 and 10) to make the switch.
I didn’t want to spend a lot on electric toothbrushes, and after researching decided on the waterproof YTS toothbrush for $9.95. My kids love using them because they can brush with one hand and read with the other. It’s much less work than a regular toothbrush! And I love that they are brushing for two full minutes and getting their teeth cleaner than regular brushing would. I wanted an electric toothbrush for myself too, and I’ve had a Sonicare in the past, but I wanted sometime much more inexpensive this time around. I purchased the Fairywill electric toothbrush for $29.95 because of its excellent reviews. It offers five different modes, and I honestly can’t tell the difference between this and my Sonicare! Plus one 4-hour USB charge lasts 30 days! I also bought this water flosser because our dental care hasn’t been as good since we moved abroad.
I also wanted to mention the Chompers podcast that my friend recently introduced me to. It’s a 3-4 minute, twice daily podcast that shares riddles, jokes, trivia, silly songs, etc. while kids brush their teeth. The podcast reminds kids to switch to another part of the mouth. We’re always in a rush in the mornings so we don’t always time to play this, but now that they’re using electric toothbrushes that make them switch areas every 30 seconds for 2 minutes, we don’t need it as much. But it’s a great way to keep kids brushing for the entire two minutes. We just tell Alexa to play the Chompers podcast so it’s easy peasy!
How do you keep your kids motivated to do a good job brushing their teeth?
pomelo / 5621 posts
DS got an inexpensive electric toothbrush at Christmas. It definitely keeps him brushing longer.
guest
My kids both got the kids sonicare for Christmas. They LOVE the interaction with the Phillips app. Similarly, they are now brushing for a full two minutes and can’t wait for their little creature to get a present after brushing. Could be food, dress up items, etc. it’s been a wonderful surprise. And the app guides them on where they should be placing the toothbrush in their mouth. So it’s teaching them that too. Can’t say enough about it. My kids are 6 and 4.
grape / 75 posts
We are loving the Chompers podcast – thanks for the suggestion!
pear / 1565 posts
Love the podcast idea! We sometimes put on a song and just say they have to brush for the whole song; mine are still young though so we still brush for them in the end. They are also currently in a “I’m scared of electric toothbrush” phase