teeth brushing (ugh!)

[bstandlee]

I can't seem to get my 3 year old ds to brush his teeth. He either just sucks off all the tooth paste or holds his toothbrush between his teeth and makes faces in the mirror.

I explain to him the importance of clean teeth and how he needs to wash the sugar bugs off so he doesn't get owies. I give him a choice of either him brushing his teeth or me brushing his teeth (which always ends in him crying because he always fights me so I end up having to pin both his arms down while trying to brush one handed...needless to say it's not fun for either of us).

How do you take the power struggle out of something that HAS to be done? I've tried modeling it for him, brushing my teeth while he brushes his, singing a song. I'm out of ideas! Anybody else struggle with this and found something that works?

[Devaskyla]

3 year old really aren't old enough to brush their own teeth. You should be doing it until he's old enough to print, then you'll know he has the ability to do a good job. I had to fight with my kids to do it too. It really, really sucks, but ds2 had already had 4 teeth pulled by 2 1/2 (he had virtually no enamel on those teeth)