In order to grow up into healthy and successful adults, children need to remain persistent on tasks that they might not consider exciting or fun – things like studying, exercising, cleaning, or even personal hygiene, such as brushing and flossing. But when it comes to oral hygiene, it might take a little extra encouragement to ensure that they’re doing things properly! Here are some helpful tips you can use to praise and motivate your child to stay the course when it comes to dental hygiene.
A Little Motivation Can Go a Long Way
A recent study published in Child Development by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the Santa Fe Institute analyzed data from toothbrushing behaviors in toddlers, examining the relationship between their persistence on the task and the amount of praise received from their parents.
The evidence found that children’s persistence seemed to fluctuate from day to day while being heavily linked to parent talk. Children tended to brush longer on days when their parents used more praise and less instruction. Even though every child’s adeptness varies when it comes to dental hygiene, for the most part, children are more likely to commit to their smiles if they have support from their parents.
Tips for Instilling Lifelong Dental Hygiene Habits
You can follow these tips to help your child commit to their dental hygiene with a positive attitude:
#1. Verbal Praise and Confirmation
Positive affirmation is one of the best strategies for getting your child on board with their dental hygiene. This praise can be categorized into a few different types: process praise and person praise. Process praise involves commenting on and commending their actual brushing, while person praise refers to praising them directly. Both can be effective, but you should lean toward whichever seems to have the more profound impact on your child.
#2. Show, Don’t Tell
Children often require thorough instructions when they’re learning how to do something new, and when it comes to oral hygiene, at times their memories might be a little unreliable. However, repeating instructions over and over isn’t always going to help things stick – so instead, you should demonstrate for them! Show them using your toothbrush how to thoroughly brush their teeth; if they see how easy it is for you, they’ll want to try it themselves.
#3. Implement a Rewards System
It’s sometimes tough for children to differentiate brushing their teeth from some of their other responsibilities, but a rewards system is a great way to show them that this isn’t just any typical chore – it’s one that will greatly benefit their health! One idea is setting up a sticker chart and placing a gold star in a box for every day in a row that they brush, and once they’ve reached an impressive streak, reward them with one of their favorite activities or surprises. Even though brushing is fundamentally necessary, if it’s viewed negatively, your child could have a hard time adopting good habits.
Even though there are several other factors that influence your child’s dental habits, showing them praise for keeping up with their brushing can go a long way toward protecting their developing smile. With that in mind, don’t hesitate to let your little one know what a good job they’re doing!
About the Practice
Our team here at Simply Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics has proudly served families in Nashua and the surrounding community for several years, offering a wide variety of dental and orthodontic services for children of all ages. If you have any questions about the blog or you’d like to get in touch with our team to set up an appointment, please contact us online or call today for more information or assistance. Telephone: (603) 880-5002.