When it comes to taking care of toddlers, they can be a handful. Doing basic tasks such as brushing their hair or brushing their teeth can feel like a war. Brushing their hair or teeth might feel like a breeze when it comes to attempting to floss a toddler’s teeth. It’s hard enough to floss our own teeth as adults, much less trying to accomplish the task on a wiggly toddler. However, it doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems as long as you use these flossing tips for toddlers!
Make it a Game
One of the best ways to tackle getting any task completed with a toddler is by making it fun. If you turn flossing time into a game, it makes things a wee bit easier on you, the parent. There are fun phone apps, songs, or little games you can find online that not only turn flossing time into a game, but also a learning moment for the toddler.
Make it a Teaching Moment
Most kids love doing things on their own. Depending on how well your child is capable of something like flossing, you can teach them how to floss on their own. Of course, at this age, they should always be supervised and guided along their flossing attempts. Show the child how to wrap the floss around their fingers, how to slip it in between their teeth, and then tell them why flossing is important and what happens when they floss.
Be Sure to Use a Kid-Safe Floss
Even we as adults dread the cleanings at the dentist because that floss gets jammed into our gums causing a lot of pain and bleeding. This is not how it should be conducted with a child. Flossing should be relatively pain free and done in a gentle manner, with a kid-safe floss. The floss should be soft and a good size for slipping in between children’s teeth without a ton of effort. This will not only make it easier for parents to execute the flossing method, but it will make it less scary and more comfortable for the child.
Be an Example
Kids are more likely to be comfortable with something they have seen their parents do as well. Be sure your toddler sees you flossing and you can even let them practice on you if you’re brave enough. When kids see something, like flossing, as normal and a constant in their life, it’s accepted more easily, which makes it much nicer when it comes time to introduce them to it. This goes for the way you talk about flossing as well. If you whine or complain about flossing, children pick up on this and will mirror that negative attitude as well. In other words, be an example to your child when it comes to flossing so they’ll mirror the positive image you would like them to have about flossing.
