Confession: As this pregnancy has progressed, it’s been harder and harder to be a mom who cares about things like my children’s grooming and hygiene habits. Every now and then I’ll get a whiff of one and wonder aloud, “But when WAS the last time you bathed?” Whoops.
As much as I’m mostly okay letting things like showers and haircuts and “okay, you wore that 2 days ago, but it’s not THAT dirty” slide, I do put forth more of an effort to be sure they are on top of brushing their teeth. I guess that’s where I draw the line.
I’ve teamed up with Hello as an ambassador this year because we love to use their products, and they are sponsoring this post.
NOT that it’s easy. Every morning I remind them to brush before coming to the table for breakfast and every. morning. they are shocked – SHOCKED- that they have to do that AGAIN. Like, they forget this in their sleep.
“Again? YES! Don’t you feel the fuzz growing in your mouth? Yes, again!” It can really slow down our mornings.
I’ve mentioned before, but one of my secret weapons that helps keep the kids from revolting when it comes to brushing their teeth is making sure each one has their own tube of Hello toothpaste in their favorite flavor, and they do have favorites. Leyna loves bubblegum because it’s “not spicy.” Lowell loves watermelon because, well, he’s 3 and watermelon. Kendall’s palette is a little more mature, I think, because he’s down with any of the mint flavors (though he will definitely brush with some bubblegum, too).
This is part of the success equation- that the toothpaste actually tastes good to everyone. I’ve tried some “natural” toothpastes in the past that, um… well, I don’t have nice things to say about how they tasted. So we love that Hello toothpastes are naturally friendly, free of stuff like parabens, triclosan, and microbeads, and also happen to taste fantastic.
No sharing with brothers or sister is a small price to pay, and helps keep the brushing routine as smooth as I can hope for.
In addition to their own tubes of Hello toothpaste, they each get their own cup because GERMS and stuff.
And, in what may be one of my best moves yet, I recently moved Kendall’s toothbrushing supplies into a bathroom upstairs, away from his little brother and sister (who usually brush in our bathroom except for the sake of the video below) because somehow it’s possible to fight over a faucet of water, and I just can’t deal with it anymore.
It’s crazy that this is a thing I’ve had to put thought into, but that’s what having children will do to you- force you to try to come up with battle plans for oral hygiene.
So I guess that’s my Brushtime Confession- if I didn’t go out of my way to make this easy and fun, and also NAG THE HECK OUT OF THEM, my kids wouldn’t be brushing their teeth. I doubt that’s shocking to anyone with children or who was ever a child at some point in their life.
Tell me I’m not alone.