Last month we covered everything you need to know about flossing your children’s teeth in our post Kid’s Tooth Flossing 101. Teaching your child to floss takes patience and creativity. If you show them that this activity can be fun, they’ll be likely to carry that idea with them throughout the years. Here are four fun tips that will take the monotony out of tooth flossing!
Use Visuals
This is a fun one. Try sinking your teeth into some chocolate. Then, get the strand of floss and start flossing your teeth in front of your child to show them how well flossing removes the chocolate (leftover food particles) between your teeth. Then, allow your child to do the same and help them brush and floss away all that mess. Pro tip: a flossing stick might be easier for your little one to handle based on their age.
Give Rewards
Try a little positive reinforcement with your child. If there is something fun waiting for them at the end of the task, they will be more willing and excited to complete it. This could be a flossing sticker chart, where the reward comes at the end of the week. Or maybe it’s an extra book at bed, 10 more minutes of screen time, or anything really. You know best what type of reward will motivate your child.
Play-Doh Fun
This one is especially fun for younger flossers. Dig out the play-doh, and a large Duplo block. Press the play-doh between the ridges of the block and show your child how to remove the play-doh (plaque) with a piece of floss. If your child is older, leave them with the floss and no instruction so they can problem-solve. This simple little activity creates hours of fun; hopefully sparking excitement for when it’s time to actually floss!
Sing A Song
Sing this to the tune of “Row, row, row your boat”
Floss, floss, floss your teeth
Every single day
Gently, gently, gently, gently,
Whisking plaque away
Your child will be flossing like a champ in no time. If you need any more ideas on how to jazz up your child’s oral hygiene routine, we have you covered there too. Let us know if you tried out any of these ideas at your next visit.
