Do you brush your child’s teeth?

Learning how to take care of herself – from washing hands to brushing teeth –will make your child feel confident and capable.

Many of the skills your child needs to be able to look after herself are learned in the bathroom. Look carefully at your bathroom and make any changes needed to ensure this is a safe and comfortable place for your child to try the following activities.

Turning the facet on and off

This is a hard task for a toddler. It requires a small platform (or a step or a stool), in front of the sink your child uses, allowing her to get up high enough to use the faucet. I use a simple plastic stool from Ikea. Be sure a small hand towel is close by for her to use to dry hands.

Show your child how to open the drain, and explain that it is very important not to allow the water to overflow from the sink, which is why we keep the drain open for now.  Show her the cold-water faucet, and tell her “This is the facet for cold water”. Now show her the faucet for hot water and tell her “This is the faucet for hot water”. Tell her, “This tap turns on the hot water. You have to be very careful! The water is so hot that it can hurt you.”

Now slowly turn on the cold-water faucet, part way. Turn it back off. Invite your child to turn it on. If she turns it on too fast, say “You have to be careful not to turn the water on too fast, because I twill splash everywhere and get on the floor.” Now ask your child to turn off the faucet carefully. Don’t be surprises if your child either turns the water on full force, or turns it on faster, when she means to turn it off. The point of the lesson is to teach young children how to control the flow of water in a sink. Repeat the lesson as needed, emphasizing which is the cold-water faucet and which is the hot, and how to turn the flow on and off.

Once your child can correctly turn the water on and off, controlling the rat of flow, have her carefully try the same thing with the hot water. Now both dry your hands, and you’re done! Don’t be surprised if your child wants to practice this expertise over and over for a while.

 

Brushing teeth

Once your child knows how to use the sink, brushing her teeth just requires a small toothbrush, pleasant-tasting toothpaste, a mirror, a small stool, and some instructions.
Ask your dentist for advice about the best toothbrush and toothpaste to use, as well as the best way to brush, then teach your child to do it in the way your dentist recommends.

My dentist recommends that children teeth must be brushed by an adult. It’s me every day not only to remind them about the rule of tooth brushing, but to brush their teeth. My son started to do this on his own at the age of 6,5 and I knew he is capable to do it the right way. My daughter wants to do on her own and I let her do, but she’s more likely to play with the toothbrush than clean them properly, so after she is done, I am redoing the whole process from the start.
The general rule is to teach your children to brush after every meal. My children brush their teeth twice a day, in the morning and before sleeping.

Don’t forget to explain why brushing is so important!

SETTING UP THE BATHROOM FOR A CHILD’S USE

Not every so space in our homes to be child-sized. However, it is definitely possible to have a space in each area of our home that is setup for our child to enjoy and feel comfortable.

Some tips for setting up Montessori-style bathroom

• Low step or a stool for them to reach the bathroom’s ink and to climb into the bath
• A small bar of soap or a soap pump they can manage by themselves to wash hands
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush within the child’s reach
• Mirror at the child’s height or accessible to them
• A basket for dirty clothing
• Low hook or towel rail for the child to have access to their towel
• Small travel-sized bottles for body wash, shampoo and conditioner that the child can learn to use – refill each day with small amount if they like to squeeze bottles
• A change area = if the child is wearing diapers or nappies, once they are standing they often don’t like to be laid down to change them. Instead, we can change them standing up in the bathroom to introduce them to the idea that this is where they will use the toilet. We can also start to offer the putty or toilet as a part of the changing routine (more on toileting in the next post).