How I Finally Got Yuri to Brush his Teeth (Without Manhandling Him)

While many advice mothers to start brushing their children's teeth as early as 6 months old, I didn't start shopping for a toothbrush and a toothpaste until Yuri turned 1.

Well, because he got his first tooth a week before that.

He refused the finger-brush flatly and wouldn't open his mouth at all. It was a good thing I discovered this chew-brush from Tiny Buds because Yuri took a liking to it. It became a teether-slash-brush of some sort. I didn't care. It did the job.

Yuri was just 18 months old here

Until he finally outgrew the chew-brush.

It wasn't as if he didn't like it anymore. It also wasn't as if the chew-brush wasn't usable anymore. In fact, since it was entirely made up of silicon, it didn't "dull out" like a regular toothbrush does and I didn't see the need for a replacement.

It's just Yuri was getting his teeth too fast. From being a toothless baby for so long, he was now a toddler with an almost complete set of chompers. I think he was around 20 months then.

And so began the search for a "toddler-brush." I first got something like this:

Photo: www.coroflot.com

I made the mistake of sterilizing it (because I did the same with the chew-brush). The result? Its bristles became very brittle.

I didn't realize it at first, though, and tried to get Yuri to use it. He obediently did until he spat out what I think were three bristles. Poor kid!

I think that sparked his passionate hatred of tooth-brushing. After that, he began resisting the toothbrush.