I see it. The kids are long gone to school. The gleaming stripe looks glossy but a little hard. The stripe of toothpaste is almost touching the sink. I sigh. My son yet again forgot to brush his teeth. Sigh.
My son’s morning routine is different to his sisters. His sisters wake or more correctly are awoken and told in no uncertain terms “Don’t go back to sleep!” They brush their teeth. Shower. Dress. Fuss about with makeup and all sorts of unnecessary processes. Honestly, the time wasted on makeup should be spent eating breakfast and getting out the door to the bus. But, I’m not a teen so what do I know?
In the case of teeth brushing though, both are regimented. Neither would get up and go without brushing. One has braces. One just got out of braces. Both have had it drummed in to them by dentist, orthodontist, mom, and dad, that teeth brushing is not optional. In fact, at the orthodontist, the patients are awarded for excellent brushing.
Must be an age and maturity thing. Perhaps it is a boy v. girl thing. Or, more likely it is my son’s routine on weekday mornings. He wakes, he sits up in the bed, and in one movement he bolts downstairs. He has no time for teeth, screens await! TV. PC, DS. iTouch. He’s not picky as long as it is a screen. I can’t blame him really. His bus arrives over an hour after his sister’s bus. He has time to kill.
Because he bolts downstairs, he does not pass go. He does not collect $200. And…he does not brush his teeth. Cue…heavy sighing and tut tutting from me. Usually, I ask when he comes downstairs “Did you brush your teeth?” If he is dressed in school clothes, there is a good chance he did brush his teeth. If I have any doubts, I send him back upstairs to “check.” This is my code word for “I think you didn’t brush your teeth, but why don’t you head back upstairs and brush them.” If he is wearing pajamas, there is absolutely no chance that he brushed his teeth. Go back to where I wrote about the way he “bolts” out of bed. There’s no stop for tooth brushing when games playing and Lego building are ahead of us.
I found that we needed a system to ensure that he brushed his teeth on a regular basis. I was very excited to be asked to join the Listerine Oral Care Challenge. With this challenge, I knew that I could get my son on a plan of twice daily brushing, flossing, and mouth rinsing. How would I make this happen with a young child? Simple! I asked the entire family to take the challenge.
Kids love when mom, dad, and siblings — older and younger — join them. I placed a chart on the wall outside the kids’ bathroom. The chart shows the month of December. I made copies of the chart for all the months in 2012. I want to get the Musings from Me family on the road to good dental health. It was recently suggested to me that I should use a water flossing device. I could use encouragement to add this new process to my daily routines.
So, far the Listerine Oral Care Challenge is working for all of us. I see the chart and head straight to my bathroom. My son reminds is that he put another sticker on the chart for brushing. In just over a week, I have seen none of the telltale glistening, but slightly hardened globs of toothpaste on top of his brush. Added bonus less toothpaste mess to clean up in the sink!
Be sure to come back to see how we are doing with the Listerine Oral Care Challenge.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
