All I ask is to Brush your teeth! | ADHD Information
Shew... I'm having a moment.... I just let into my 8 yr old for not brushing his teeth AGAIN! We have good times... he always gets what he wants and we do what he wants and all I ask is that he brush his teeth (before laying down to watch cartoons for a bit until lights out) and what do I get (again) a wet tooth brush with no paste on it!! This has been going on since he was 7!! His mouth has so much metal in it, it is unreal!!We have explained and explained how important brushing teeth is and he still does not get it. It's not like we ask for much more from him. I'm at wits end here!!
Anyone else have this type of problem? What can I do?
Brush his teeth for him. Tell him that when he acts responsibly he can have the privilege of brushing his own teeth like the big kids do.
Jessica N39728.8554513889[QUOTE=Jessica N]Brush his teeth for him. Tell him that when he acts responsibly he can have the privilege of brushing his own teeth like the big kids do.
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That's exactly what I was going to say. Also, if it's an issue of the meds wearing off, have him brush them before the meds wear off.
Parents of ALL 8 year old boys (and girls too) have this problem .I have the same problem with my 8 year old I do it for him and He hates it so I tell him if you don't want mom to do it then you need to do it and not do anything I do the smell test to on all of them but my youngest and oldest like brushing there teeth. Mine will brush his own teeth after experiencing me upleasantly brushing them for him several times. If he isn't using toothpaste but brushing that is still good. The toothpaste is good for your teeth but just brushing is fine. Does he like the flavor? Both mine hate mint. So I have to get unminty one.You mean kids still actually do that--wet their toothbrush so it looks like they brushed (but really didn't ) just like I did when I was a kid??!!
Keep up the good work parents, but wait a minute, no body's mention FLOSSING!
Don't your ADD kids floss too?!!
I'm in my 50s and my ADD 'n me are pretty settled in. And ya know what? I brush my teeth every day! No prob! Unfortunately, despite a full understanding and appreciation for the need to floss, I do that well, maybe, twice a week. Tops. For some reason only explicable by ADD I guess, I just never seem to have the time to brush and floss!
Hi,
I am such a cruel mom that I tell my kids they will never have a boyfriend/girlfriend or get married because no one wants to kiss someone who has bad teeth.
I am serious, I tell them that teeth are very important for your health and your looks. For some reason this has a bit of impact not as much as I might wish. I find that tying these things to real life helps them connect with the reason. Such as washing your hands after you go to the bathroom. I have to explain in detail why they need to wash their hands. Simply telling them to do so is not enough. I have to go into graphic detail of what happens if they don't.
example of what can happen. His father has never brushed his teeth, and
due to good genes and flouride in the water he made it to about 38
before the damage showed, and now he only has painful greenish nubs
for teeth, a huge dental bill, and he lives on antibiotics. He is bright,
outgoing, literate, and can't get a job because of how he looks, and his
love life is not doing to good either (we are long ago separated). We both
have told DS over and over the consequences of not brushing, but he
can't see two seconds into the future, or relate someone else's experience
to his own, so I brush his teeth for him. There have been times when I
had to sit on him and twist his ear to get him to open his mouth, but
things are better now. Once every few weeks he says yes to my
suggestion that he brush himself. Baby steps.
And yes, my ex definitely has ADHD.
for the Man who talked about Flossing I have my kids floss but not everyday my daughter went into the bathroom yesterday and brushed her teeth and flossed after she got home from school. so proud of her not even having to tell her. :-D
Wow, I'm so happy I'm not alone in this - unfortunately my son is 9 and it doesn't get any better. I do the "crud" test, scraping his front teeth with my fingernail and something ALWAYS comes off. I've threatened, begged, you name it and for some reason he just cannot - or will not - do this right. He will not let me brush his teeth for him - literally struggles and fights - so it remains an issue with us. Ugh!!We do brush his teeth for him "most" of the time, but he also has 2 little sisters that I am normally trying to get into be too and I would like for him to do this small task himself to save time. I do the breath smell test too but he has learn he can take tooth paste straight out of the tube, swish it in his mouth and pass the smell test. I just get soo mad b/c we have been working on this for over a year. It has pretty much become a game to him to see if he can get away without brushing his teeth and we not the wiser. Sometimes it works sometime it does not but he is always up for the challenge no matter what punishment maybe. Shew!!
Just a couple ideas either have him brush his teeth before his sisters go to bed or if his sisters are at brushing age have all three of them brush their teeth at the same time and you stand by the door. My daughter is getting into the Swishing the toothpaste in her mouth that is so irrateing especially when I'm trying to get her younger brother to brush his teeth.
My non-ADHD 9 yr old taught my ADHD 7 year old to do just that-wet the toothbrush and put it back. Fortunately my 7yr old is actually good about toothbrushing. I don't think that this is an ADHD thing, just a kid thing-made harder by the fact that he is coming off of his meds.
One thing to check-does he not like the taste of the toothpaste? This is a problem for ME! I hate the taste of most toothpaste and mint. I was afraid to tell my mom as a kid, so I would brush with just water. Now I use orange flavored toothpaste. You might get better compliance if you let him pick the flavor. My 7 yr old picked cinnimin (sp?) and is good about brushing with it.
I must be that age, but again I feel like I am not alone. My son is 7 and if he brushes for 30 seconds we are lucky. He gets his braces on in less than 1 month. That scares me. If he doesn't brush well with the braces it will leave marks. I guess I will be back to brushing his teeth for him.Oh, this is going to sound AWFUL, but there are some pretty ugle mouths running around family/friends. So, I just say, well you're smile will match (SO & SO's). I'm surprised this worked so well as a motivator. Now if I can just get DS to stop telling these people that they need to brush their teeth.....
