How to tell if your child is pretend brushing

Kids need to learn to clean their teeth because oral hygiene is extremely important to avoid tooth decay from a very early age. They follow the brushing routine when the parents force them to do so. But many kids are found to indulge in pretend brushing.

The children are found to dislike the activity of cleaning teeth regularly. This results in fake brushing by the kids every day. They adopt numerous practices to make believe their parents that they have actually brushed their teeth.

Rubbing the toothbrush bristles on plastic objects to create the sound of brushing or running the toothbrush under water from time to time are some tricks followed by kids to misdirect their parents. So, the dentists stress that parents should be involved with the kids while they are brushing.

It is the duty of the parents to teach oral hygiene lessons to the kids because they are the kid’s first teacher. The parents can instill the habit of keeping the molars healthy by making their children more enthusiastic about cleaning them. This way the teeth will remain germ-free till they grow as adults.

Some useful tips that can be followed by the parents to check whether the kids were involved in actual brushing:

1. Keeping the bathroom door ajar when the kid is brushing the pearly whites. This makes fake brushing difficult. Hence, the brushing will be supervised in between by the parents. Also, they may be taught the right technique if required.

2. Brushing along with your child. This tip is useful when applied as the kid will have the same brushing routine as the parent. The kids will take proper care of the gums and teeth when he/she will share the enthusiasm with you. Also, the child will not be able to skip the brushing routine without letting you know. And surely it will avoid all cases of fake brushing.

3. Setting examples before the children. Parents are unable to monitor the brushing of teenagers and adolescents. They are fussy eaters as well as gorge on sweets and chocolates. You may have fun activities with the toddlers and have chat with the teenagers while brushing.

Parents can set an example before them by brushing twice a day and for at least 3 minutes in their presence in the bathroom. This will encourage them to follow their footsteps to get healthy teeth. This will result in a together time also.

4. The child may be asked to sing along with brushing. This is a simple tip as the kids fail to fake brushing while belting out a melody. The kids will sing with muffled words which will be fun to listen to. Sometimes, a favorite song may be played along brushing which will ensure that the scrubbing of teeth is carried on till the song gets finished.

We can help to make brush time easy and fun with these simple tips. Once the kids learn the value of cleaning the teeth, they will never pretend to brush.

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