My son is 5 years old and he's sneaky. Whenever he told me he brushed his teeth, he wasn't lying, but he was only brushing for maybe 10 seconds. I would go check the toothbrush and it was wet and his breath was minty so I never questioned it.
This happened long enough that when he had his visit with the dentist, he had a cavity. That's when he broke down and confessed he doesn't brush long.
Let's just say he's not exactly a fan of the dentist. To put it into perspective, I'm going to have to use a pediatric anesthesiologist in order to get his cavity filled. That's the level of 'not a fan' he is of the dentist office.
So, you can imagine how desperate I was to find something to make him realize how long he needs to brush for. Just telling him to brush for two minutes would not make sense to a 5 year old. How long is two minutes?
I randomly bought this timer off Amazon and made it a fun thing. It's a 2-minute hourglass sand timer but it's big and fun and blue. (Not breakable and UNDER $10! I told him he has to brush his teeth until the sand timer goes from one glass to the other.
He LOVES IT! He actually loves the challenge of doing it for the whole time and there's no numbers to have to read like with other timers. It's simple. When the sand runs out. That's it! HERE'S THE LINK TO BUY IT
THIS IS NOT and ad by the way. I get no money if you buy it or not. I just wanted to share because it has been a lifesaver. He hasn't gotten bored of it either. It's been a few weeks now. He actually gets really proud when he brushes the whole two minutes. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Laura Diaz