Power toothbrushes: A mom's best friend
Since we're just starting to teach Kathrynne the importance of daily teeth brushing, I came up with a fun way to encourage her in this - buy her a power toothbrush! She loves it and asks often to brush her teeth. I love it because it has made something which could be a chore into something fun. Plus, because she enjoys brushing her teeth so much, I rarely have to remember to have her do it at night - she's asks me for her toothbrush so that she can brush her teeth!
I help her brush her teeth at the beginning, to make sure they are brushed well. While I'm brushing her teeth, I sing through the short vowel sounds with her. I got this idea from a creative mom and try to implement these little teaching things whenever possible. (Just as whenever she's finished pottying, we count "1-2-3" and then jump down from off the toilet. I know, I know, silly as it may be, incorporating simple things like these into tasks we perform daily is just a way I am teaching her and she is learning, without either of us really realizing it.)
After I finish brushing and singing, I set her loose with the toothbrush. She'll often spend quite a long time seriously working on those teeth of hers.
The result: Clean teeth, a happy momma, a happy daughter, and vowel practice thrown in there, too. Now that works for me!
Psst...
You probably know me well enough to know I don't usually recommend some expensive, unecessary gadget. Well, I'm not. I'm going to tell you how you can get this "expensive, unecessary gadget" for free. How? Well, the Oral B Cross Action Power toothbrushes we got are free at CVS through November 4 (well, free as in, you pay $5.97 for them, use your Extra Care card when you purchase, and get $5.97 back in Extra Care Bucks 2 days later.). These are unlimited and most stores have them on sale for $5.97. I bought multiples of these (paying with Bucks I'd earned previously, of course) and so we have more on hand as backups. I also used a few coupons I had available in addition, so I actually got paid to get these. If you don't have a CVS, you can also get a toothbrush free after rebate using this rebate form. Or, you can do both (get the free toothbrush from CVS and send in for the rebate on it!). For more information on how I find and take advantage of deals like these all the time, be sure to check out my brand-new ebook.
posted by Crystal Paine at 12:44 PM
5 Comments:
great ideas! actually, everyone in our family, adults and children alike use power toothbrushes b/c my dentist says they are the best for keeping plaque at bay...and along with a good flossing regimen you are almost guarenteed to be cavity free at your regular checkups! I wish I would have known this along time ago...and "umpteen" cavities ago...=)
I actually tried this for my kids. Neither one can stand them as they say they tickle too much. Maybe we'll try again down the road.
So glad this is working for you!! And great idea throwing in the fun little rhymes and songs with the activities! I think that's great!!!
I found some battery-powered toothbrushes at the dollar store for 99cents. However, we still use the manual kind - medium bristle.
Most important, do regular cleaning of the toothbrushes with peroxide.
One other big concern I have is with fluoride. For decades, consumer advocates kept it out of our Erie water; but it was recently added.
Note that I haven't used fluoride toothpaste, nor drank fluoridated water in over 10 years and my last dental checkup was free of cavities (after 5 years).
Please read about fluoride here:
http://www.drfarid. com/floride. html
*******
Prominent Researcher Apologizes for Pushing Fluoride
Love, Mary
PS - Crystal, Your Supermarket Savings book is great! Thank you!!!!!
Power toothbrushes are great though for young and old crowded-back-teeth mouths in our house we found that the small round head alone type worked best at navigating. Maybe the ones you suggest come in youth sizes? The ones available a few years ago were clunky/clumsy-sized and might be very different these days. They are definitely much better than the freebie standards from the dentist. :-)
Crystal, I once dressed as Phonics the Clown for a class a friend taught early readers. The kids loved when we sang the short and long vowel sounds to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm(we replaced animals with Vowel names), A(ah), E(eh), I(ih), O(aw), U(uh)!
Okay, I used to let Yehoshua (2.5) brush his own teeth... but he needs constant supervision, because he likes to brush the carpet and other such gross things if I turn my back for even a moment!! After he completely ruined an otherwise-nice toothbrush... that ended that! :)
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