Hi everyone,
I am a SAHM of two boys. I have an odd situation. My 4 year old is addicted to the fluoride-free kids toothpaste (the kind that comes in the Thomas box or the Little Bear box). Unfortunately we have made a big deal out of this and now it's become a power struggle. He has started sneaking into the bathroom to brush his teeth (he wants to brush them every hour or so), and then tells us he's "curious" about the toothpaste so he uses it 3 or 4 times in a brushing. Does anyone have any experience with this? We've noticed that he sometimes does things very obsessively (washing hands, brushing his teeth, etc). Is this normal for a 4 year old or is it something we need to worry about? Anyone have any suggestions for how to curb the toothpaste addiction? I did pick up some of the flouride free Toms of Maine toothpaste which I'm guessing won't be quite as sweet as the other stuff so we'll see how that goes. Any suggestions (or reassurance that we don't have a larger behavioral issue on our hands) is much appreciated! Thanks!
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice. I put the toothpaste up and we told him that Mommy or Daddy have to be there when he puts the toothpaste on. We also bought some of the Tom's of Maine Fluoride Free toothpaste. He doesn't like the taste as much so he's not nearly as interested in brushing his teeth. So far this seems to be solving the problem. Thanks for your help!
I would put the toothpaste up and only let him have it at teethbrushing times.
The easy answer is to lock up the toothpaste, and you are in charge of it, he must ask you and on ly have it when it is "tothbrushing time" (once after each meal) and only put it on for him once at the beginning of brushing, maybe even set a timer for how long to brush (2 minutes is plenty). Sounds to me like he is using this a something to "control" in his life/have power over. You will probably have some meltdowns about this at first, but if he likes it so much, he will get over it and take the 3 times brushing with it a day, otherwise, I would have him brush with no toothpaste....it is the brushing that really does the cleaning, not the paste, BTW, ask your hygienist or dentist.
Maybe he needs more choices in other areas, so he doens't feel he has to control this so much??? Like give him two choices for outfits for the day, or two choices of what to eat for breakfast????
Good Luck!
Jessie
Repetition or doing things over and over again a certain number of times could be a compulsive disorder. I'd lock the tooth paste up so it breaks the habit.
J.,
This is probably a normal quirk of a 4 year old boy. Don't feel like he is going to be diagnosed with OCD. If it makes you feel any better, my 3 1/2 year old is weird about his fashion statements. First, polos needed to be buttoned all the way up, then he wanted to leave his fly down. Now he likes to mismatch his socks.
If it was me, I would put the toothpaste where he couldn't get to it and put his toothpaste on for him three times a day when he is supposed to brush his teeth. He will probably give you grief about it for several weeks until he becomes accustomed, but should eventually get over it.
Good luck,
S.
It sounds to me like he is testing you, and he is doing it to get attention.
Let him brush his teeth 3x/day, after each meal. Put the toothpaste up where he can not reach it. Tell him that the toothpaste is expensive, and we can't be wasting it. When it is time to brush his teeth, stand there while he uses it, so he's only putting one squirt of toothpaste on his brush.
If he really has OCD, it will manifest itself beyond a quirk or two (hand washing and brushing teeth). You could just have a clean freak on your hands!
Your child does not have OCD, I know, I do, and I have a degree in psychology. My 4 year old girl loves to brush her teeth and wash her hands because she gets to play in the water and it makes her feel like she's a big girl. We have to watch her everytime she goes to the bathroom because she'll get sneeky and close the door and brush her teeth and wash her hands for as long as she can. Take the toothpaste out of the bathroom, put a child lock on the doorknob and make sure you are in charge of him going in and coming out of the bathroom. We also told our daughter how brushing your teeth is very good for you, but ttoo much brushing can be bad because you will brush off the enamel, the part of the tooth that protects it from everything and then your teeth will be nasty and rotten if they aren't protected. To her, the thought of having black teeth was enough to make her cut back since what she is most proud of and says everytime she brushes is how white and shiney they are. I really would suggest a doorknob child lock tho, it's a pain in the butt to have to get up everytime some needs to go to the bathroom, but for safety's sake it's worth it. Good luck and don't stress. It's not obsessive, it's childhood :)
Our daughter (will be 4 in March) LOVES that kind of toothpaste as well. She wants it on her brush multiple times a brushing as well. We actually don't buy it anymore. We haven't bought it for over a year but she found an old tube.
So, we now purchase organice (floride free) toothpaste and she does NOT like that taste much so she is way better about only using a tiny bit on her brush.
Try that. (We could find NO REGULAR toothpaste free of floride in the regular store.) Try the oganic and all natural sections of your grocery store.
