Wednesday: Challenges

Challenges force us to come up with creative solutions -- or else! I'd love to hear about your challenges and see what we as a group can do to tackle them. Do you have a particular chore you abhor? (so much so that you ignore...) Is there a favorite food you'd love to make but have never found a recipe that works? Is there something your child is doing that is driving you up the wall yet you haven't found another way? Well, Wednesdays are for you! Submit your challenge either in the comments section or directly via email: slieberface@gmail.com 

If there's one thing I HATE HATE HATE it's made up letters to the editor, or fake "Dear Abby" kind of stuff. Did I say I  hate that?  Well, you won't find that here. Your challenge. My challenge. Any challenge written on this blog will be true and submitted for this purpose. 

So first time round I thought I'd do my own. After all, who's going to give me a challenge 4 days into this blog but I was wrong. I forgot my friends IRL (in real life) who are so awesome.  Bambi, my pseudonymous, best friend issued the following challenge:

My daughter, age 8, brushes her teeth I'd say every other day. I've tried bribing her, making charts, yelling (yes, real moms do that once in a while!), reminding her, but it's all helped only short term. Yes, she'll get serious about it for a week, two weeks if I'm lucky, and then we're back to square one. Why is she doing this and how can I get her to brush every single morning and evening?

My Response:

Well, well, well! This one hits really close to home. Below are things that have worked for me. I'll share them and you'll have to tell us if they work for you too.

•               Firstly, does your child know why she's brushing her teeth?I know this may sound ridiculous, but many kids equate teeth brushing with one of the million and one other things we ask them to do 'because I said so'.  This might be a great time to sit down with your child and tell them about the beauty of having shiny white teeth and about the germs that eat at them. I love when other people can do the lecturing for me. I found two books that convey the message 'you better brush your teeth or else' without having to say so.

http://www.judaicapress.com/Uri-s-Dream-Educating-Children-for-Dental-Health.html

My kids have this one. It even comes with an audio CD which they've heard too many times for me to count. Written by a pediatric dentist, you bet he has an agenda! But since that's exactly what I want I'm happy to host the book in my children's library. $16.95 for book and CD

http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Gets-Her-Smile-Back/dp/0882823140/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326937654&sr=1-2

This book is one I recall reading to a first grade class I was substituting. While I don't recall exactly what the content was like, it did have cute pictures and a good message about oral hygiene. Price: $8.95

•               Next, make sure you have fun toothbrushes. This is obviously a chore she dislikes (don't we all?) and she's not at the stage where she'll do it "just because." So make it fun! Get toothbrushes in her favorite colors, with her favorite character, or one of those annoying ones that make a whole lot of noise. There's a rule in my house: toothbrushes may only be touched during the time you brush your teeth. I made that rule because they love their toothbrushes so much that they wanted to play with them all day!

•               Lastly, there's got to be a set time. My 6 year old, Pinky, can get forgetful about things like this, so I built it into the schedule. After breakfast ever morning and after PJ's every night we do the tooth brushing ritual. In the beginning I used my favorite friend (more on that a different time), the timer, to show her just how quick it takes. The first week I had to be there every time or it didn't happen, but over the next 2-3 weeks my presence was needed less and less.  The truth: I still have to nag sometimes but for the most part --  it's far more pleasant than it ever was. And more consistent too.

OK now it's your turn: Do your kids consistently brush your teeth? How have you motivated and enforced this? Leave your comments below. 

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