Wiping/brushing Teeth Independently?

Hi Robyn my name is S. I have 3 kids, my little one is 5 years old and I just started letting him wipe. When they start Kindergarden the teachers will not take the time to wipe for them so it is important to start teaching them now. When he was 4 years old I would watch him wipe and them go behind him and teach him, he is 5 and he still put to much paper in the toliet. They learn as they grow.

Hi. I saw the same episode of Supernanny and started letting my 2 year-old brush her teeth w/ her electric toothbrush the day after seeing the show. She just holds the toothbrush on her tongue and smiles at me. I'm thinking Supernanny was concerned w/ the parents technique rather than the fact that the kids weren't brushing their own teeth. I'm going to continue brushing my kids teeth until I think they truly understand what they are doing. As far as the wiping goes...I'm just getting my 2 year-old started on that whole thing. I'm hoping I won't have to hear anything about wiping her booty though, even though that is hilarious. Good luck!

We still brush our 6 year old's teeth- same reasons as you. She flosses and brushes first then we do a final brush and rinse. As for wiping- I think she started doing her own bottom around 4 1/2, but she still can't remember to flush!!

Our daughter's dentist told us that kids should not really be brushing their own teeth w/out some help until age 7. He told us that he sees 5-7 yr olds come in to him with cavities & the parents will say "see, your not brushing enough/correctly" & he told us that a child that young should have some degree of parental help with brushing.

I let my 2 year old brush her teeth. I do watch her and my 6 year old to make sure that they actually brushing and not just bitting the toothbrush. My son does a great job, and my duahter has a tendency to bite her brush but I show her how to brush the front and back...which she does only sometimes on her own. I haven't had a problem with her teeth. The dentast say that her teeth look good.

As for wiping your child's behind...I have bought the Kandoo wipes that are flushable. I showed my son at 3 and by 4 years of age he was doing it himself with the wipes. My dauter is now learning to use those to wipe herself. When she goes, I tell her what she has to do and she does it herself. I do help with the butt right now, but hopefully in a couple of years she will have the hang of it!!! Good luck!!!

Our Pediatric dentist says to brush their teeth until at least 5 years old or when they are doing a thorough job on their own. I let both of my kids 2 & 5 brush first then I go in for a final sweep of any sugar bugs they may have missed.

As for wiping, I think you show them, let them do it, if they aren't doing a good job then help out. My daughter (5) does a good job but still asks for help at times. Usually though I notice that she asks because nothing was on the TP, so she thinks she is doing something wrong when really it was just a clean bm. (-: Yours are 2 and 3? And pooping on the toilet? If I read that right then, lucky you!! (-: I'd be checking them at that age and/or wiping them for sure. Again, until they are doing a good job on their own.

Hi Robyn, I agree with all the moms who said kids don't have the dexterity to really do thorough job on until their around 7 or 8, however I do want to add that it's also a very good idea for parents to use a power brush. You and the child can really benefit from one of these, for example; 1)most of them have a timer, this gives us some time guidance and also teaches kids from and early age to brush longer then 30 seconds, 2)using a power brush does a much better job cleaning their teeth then a regular brush, it's electric so it does all the work for you which assures more plaque removal, 3)this one is my favorite...for a young child who hasn't been to the dentist yet it can give them some familiarity, what I mean by that it, the cleaning tools the hygienist uses such as "Mr bumpy" aka their hand pieces is not a foreign feel in their mouth. The power brush has some of the same sensations in their mouth...bumpy, noisy, etc. This helps so they don't freak out when the pull that out. You can warn them ahead of time letting them know that their going to use something similar to clean their teeth. Also, this can help should they need a filling - same idea. I highly recommend an Oral B rechargeable brush, you can pick one up for about $20 (its not fancy but it gets the job done), you could also get and Oral B kids battery brush but I find that it could be like a novelty, once the battery dies we discard it and forget about it. But what it comes down to is, what ever motivates your child!

As for the wiping thing, my son is six and has been doing the "wipe" thing for about a year now - I do however check every now and then just to make sure he's got it down. Learning to have good hygienic habits is essential from and early age.

Good luck on both topics!!

In regards to your "odd" question at the end (no pun intended) - I don't remember how old my kids were when we stopped doing that for them (it's been a long time!), but my little five year old friend is starting to wipe himself more often, but still "presents" himself and asks if he got everything - so you probably have a while to go on that one - which is okay, bc you probably get them cleaner than they will themselves . . .

Hi Robyn,

I brush my 4 and a half year old son's teeth twice daily. I do let him brush by himself once in a while but I know he doesn't do a very good job on his own. My daughter started really brushing her teeth independently in kindergarten. Personally I think getting their teeth really clean is more important than encouraging them to be independant teeth brushers at a young age. Both my children have very healthy teeth with no cavities and I think good brushing habits have a lot to do with it.

As for wiping I recommend "KanDo" wipes. There's a drawing of a little frog on the cover of a box of wet wipes. These really helped my daughter with independant wiping. I'm still working on my son. I think he's just lazy.

See other entry! Sorry! Just learning the system here!

My kids started wiping themselves from day one of potty training....I then, of course wiped as well to make sure they were clean...eventually I didn't have to check. As far as their teeth are concerned...most Pediatric dentists will tell you that children's dexterity are not good enough until they are 6 to brush their own teeth! My two year old still needs help, but my older kids are fine on their own now. My advice would be to stop watching the supernanny and start relying on your gut or developmentally appropriate books.

Brushing - ask a dentist. My pediatric dentist said you should be watching/helping for a long time (I forgot the age she said, but it was definitely past age 8), because children are not as thorough. I insist on doing my son's teeth and he will be 8 in March. I remember having LOTS of fillings as a child and my mother NEVER brushing my teeth (being on top of it.) If it were up to him, he'd rush right through it, "I'm DONE!" Tush wipes... I think by 5-6 they can do it by themselves and my son can, but if I'm home he will call for me. That one is easy to stop doing.... I just haven't been firm enough. The Supernanny is hardly the last word on anything. A parent brushing their teeth and wiping their bottoms at ages 3 and 4 is fine.

My daughter is 3 and we just had her first dentist appointment recently. The dentist will recommend that you continue to assist you child with toothbrushing until the age of 7. Wiping on the other hand she does independently. Occasionally we still get the, "I need help!" yell from the bathroom after a poop but other than that they should be pretty independent by 4. Some children refuse though until about age 7 too. Like my nephews... I think that truly depends on the parent though... Or maybe its just a boy thing. If it helps to feel that they are more thorough, have them use flushable wipes. It helps my daughter feel more confident that she got everything.

Dear Robyn,

You are doing just fine with the teeth brushing, some children are more mature than others, so don't compare your children to others.

Also, That reminded me of when I was running a large day care for 2 to 5 year olds, and the twins always called me to wipe their booty.

One day they will just do it themselves, you could start explaining how to do it. and how to check is it is all clean. Also, the girls should wipe front to back. and the boys, well I guess they do too.

C. N.

My daughters Dr. said we should assist with brushing her teeth until she is eight years old. There is no way a 3 or 4 year old has the motor skills to properly brush teeth. Healthy teeth are too important to risk it. Does Super Nanny have her own kids?! As far as wiping-- we still help our 4 year old but are hoping she can do it herself before kindergarten.

I personally feel that this is one of those things where all kids are different. I too help my kids brush their teeth, they alone brush in the morning and then they brush and I get a turn too at night.

As far a booty wiping well. That is a judgement call and a team effort. My kids both wipe them selves and they are 5 and 3, but mind you they don't always do a good job and so I wish my 3 year old would still let me help. My best friends son refused to wipe his own bottom till he was 5 and a half. He would come up with any excuse from his arm not being long enough, to his back hurting hahaha what ever he could. So I think the wiping thing is really dependent on your child and just work with them and make sure they know how to get them selves clean before you leave them to it. OH and just so you know the first few times you leave them totally alone in the potty if they may do things like unroll the whole roll or play with a bottle of soap ect while their exploring their new found bathroom freedoms..

But all that to say your kids are probably a good age to start teaching them to wipe them selves and then just keep an eye on how well they do. You could even take turns, they do it and then you do the last wipe to make sure it;s really clean...

Robyn:

I'm sure you've received plenty of adivce already but, you have to remember that every child is different. My 3 1/2 year old may be a little behind other 3 1/2 year olds or ahead of them. So just follow the lead of your children. The biggest thing with the teeth is how much time does it really take to help out with the brushing to make sure you've gotten all of the hard to reach spots. I would rather help both my kids every day until age 20 if I have to to prevent them from having to have a filing. On the wipping I still have to help my daughter when she goes poop but if you notice most kids arms are not long enough to reach around and properly wipe. She tries really hard but as I've said how much time does it really take to help out and not have a mess. Hope you found the answers you were looking for.

Have a great new year!

I am a dentist and you are definitely doing the right thing brushing your children's teeth. Studies show children do not have the proper dexterity to brush their own teeth until about age 8. So do exactly as you are--you help them first to do an adequate job and then let them try (or vice versa). Sorry, no advice on the booty wiping :)

My dentist said my daughter should be able to brush independently by age 7 or 8. I let her brush in the morning and I would brush her teeth in the evening until about 6 months ago, when I allowed her to do both sessions alone. I told her if she got a bad report at the dentist, I was going to be brushing her teeth at night again, but she got an A+ checkup, so she is on her own. She is about 8 1/2 now.

She has been doing her own wiping since she learned to use the potty. We use the Kandoo wipes too, primarily for BMs.