You know how important it is to floss your teeth. You’ve gone through your own struggles with it growing up, which taught you why flossing is necessary. Although, you’re also familiar with how much you disliked doing so as a child as well.
You remember the endless fights with your parents as they struggled to get you to floss. You might even have memories of getting held down while your parents flossed and brushed your teeth for you. Well, now it’s your turn.
Your child refuses to floss his or her teeth, but there are a few flossing tips that you can keep in mind to make the experience more enjoyable for him or her. Doing so will ensure that your child begins to want to floss on his or her own without problems!
Continue reading below to discover all of the different ways to help encourage your child to floss!
1. Make It a Game Rather than a Chore
The more negativity you place on flossing, the more of a chore it’ll become for your little one. Rather than making your little one feel like flossing is a necessity that they’ll get in trouble for if it’s not done, make it a game. By turning flossing into something fun, your little one will want to do it because he or she enjoys doing it.
This works much better than making him or her floss because you said it needs to be done. How can you make it fun? There are a few ways to do this.
- Put on a favorite song while your little one brushes and flosses
- Come up with a silly dance to do while flossing and brushing
- Create a flossing-point system for competing siblings
In the end, turning flossing into a game or a fun activity makes you a winner every time!
2. Show Them How by Flossing with Them
Think of all the times when you noticed your child either repeating something you said or doing something that you tend to do. Our children watch our every move. That’s why it’s so important for you to show them how to floss by flossing with them.
Your children will feel more tempted to floss their own teeth if they see you flossing yours on a regular basis. When you’re ready to brush and floss your own teeth, have them join you. You can make this a family event each morning and evening.
Let them learn from you and show them how you floss your own teeth. This also helps them learn the correct ways of doing so.
3. Show Them the Possible Outcome of Not Flossing
Even though their little, our children are still human beings who are as curious as everyone else if not more. Think about yourself in different daily situations. Before doing something that someone asks of you, don’t you want to know why you’re doing it and the importance of it?
In some cases, knowing this information is vital before you can even start a task. The same is true for your children. They want to know why it’s important to do certain things before doing them as well.
Help them understand why we floss every day by showing them the possible outcome of not flossing. You can search for images online or have your family dentist show images and explain the dangers. It only takes a few icky images to have your children shouting, “GROSS!”
4. Allow Them to Choose the Floss
Children love independence when allowed it. Unfortunately, our children aren’t always given opportunities to show their independence. Flossing, however, is a time where independence can be given.
Allowing them to choose their own floss and toothbrush helps make your children feel like it’s their own special item. Floss and toothbrushes also come in a variety of colors. Floss even has some fun flavors for children.
Let them pick out what they want to use so that they’re more willing to use the items.
5. Reward Them for Doing Well
Rewarding good behavior goes further than punishing bad behavior. The more you reward them for their good deeds, the more good deeds they’ll want to do. For example, if one child refuses to floss while another decided to give it a try, reward the child who gives it a try.
This might lead to your other child wanting to try as well and reap the same rewards. You can create a chart system with stars. Each time a child flosses, he or she moves up on the board or receives another star. Once your children reach a certain star count or point, you can then treat them to something nice.
Your children will want to floss multiple times a day if this means moving up on the chart and getting closer to winning the prize. The prize offered can be a night out for ice cream, a stop at a favorite store where they can pick out their own toy, or something else. Think about different things that you know your children enjoy, but you can’t do with them all the time.
These make for excellent prizes for both you and your children.
Which Flossing Tips Will You Try?
Flossing doesn’t have to be a chore when following these helpful flossing tips! Make flossing fun by keeping this guide handy.
Which flossing tips will you try with your own children?
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