It doesn't matter how fancy or colorful the tooth brushes are, or how flavorful or sparkly the toothpaste is, my kids have never been a fan of brushing their teeth and it's just another notch in my "Bad Parenting Belt". It doesn't matter how much I remind them, how often I try to put the fear of "little crawling things drilling wholes in your teeth" or just plain 'Go do it' but once a day is pretty much all they do and that's that.
Today is a dentist visit so I get to have our dentist, who I like very much by the way, try to give me the mommy-guilt speech about making sure they brush twice a day. But here's the thing, my girls are now 15 and 12 years old. That guilt trip isn't going to work on me. I've given up taking responsibility for a cleaning regime I've spent years trying to instill.
Since the beginning I bought all the fun gadgets to make the art of tooth brushing fun. Spinning bristles, musical handles, glittery tooth paste. (The glitter tooth paste worked, for a while, until they realized the "glitter" was made of solid pieces of mouthwash that dissolved not actual glitter that would stay on your teeth.) My husband Rob and I have shown by example, and when the girls stay with my mom they are reminded there as well. However, it just doesn't stick and that's that.
So today, at the Dentist I will hear the question "Are you brushing and flossing twice a day?" answered with a "um... no". A glance will come my way and I will not lie, not this time. This is on them. I'm handing over the reigns in this area of parenting.
How have you done in the teeth brushing area? Have you instilled a regime of twice-a-day and flossing? Or, when the Dentist looks at you do you give the "Um... yes. Yes, they do" nod too?