Ah! Brushing teeth! That long-awaited moment of the day. A mental warm-up to get my brain ready for anything. A physical warm-up to face the challenge. A glance at the clock: the second hand taunts me. I accept my fate, take a deep breath, and go for it: “Kids! It’s time to brush your teeth!”
Here we go! There’s shouting and running. The noisy train of kids, thrilled to brush their teeth, pulls into the boarding platform. The first one to arrive taunts the others from his IKEA wooden step stool, leading him to the precious minty treasure wrapped in silk that tickles the palate.
Making up a song to brush all the teeth while making the little one laugh with her mouth full of toothpaste, and having to start over with the next one because memory is a faculty that forgets. Getting spit on my hands because some of my two-legged models still need to work on their depth perception. Getting blown in the face to confirm that the mouth is indeed clean (because everyone knows that a minty smell is a sign of a well-cleaned mouth...).
Warning! Don’t forget to floss! It’s sure to cause an uproar if those little floss picks are left off the menu for even one night—even if the dentist made a point of saying it was just once in a while to help establish the habit. Yeah, right : It's right there! I can't forget it, and they won't forget it either!
My partner and I are lucky. Aside from a few (rare) evenings when it’s a little harder because the kids are tired, we never have to fight about brushing their teeth. And to have the dentist tell us that we’re doing a good job, it really warms the heart. I hope my little pirates will always remember just how important their oral health is.
I’m not writing this to brag or to condemn all the parents who are doing their best with kids who are less cooperative than mine. I’m writing to tell you that you’re all doing a great job, your children are bound to thank you one day.
In the meantime, brush, brush, brush—let's brush our teeth.