How do you teach a toddler to spit?

[bluebirdiemama]

We try to brush teeth a few times a day. My dd is 1.5 years. We didn't start using toothpaste with her until she learned how to spit properly, but gradually she has decided she wants to swallow it. How do I correct this?

[NiteNicole]

We switched to Thoms strawberry toothpaste for children, which doesn't taste nearly as as nice as the other children's toothpaste but it doesn't burn either. I think my daughter lost all desire to eat it when it stopped tasting like candy. We also say "rinse and spit" and let her use a cup...so she will rinse and spit it all out at once.

It probably just takes practice. My daughter took FOREVER to master "spit" and "BLOW your nose."

[alia]

We're working on this, too. Not easy!

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

probably totally out of the relm of "normal" on these boards, but I use the oragel flouride free "safe to swallow" toothpaste for now.

My older son is almost 3, and can understand brushing and spitting, so I will start using our brand toothepaste on him. The little guy will stick with the "safe" stuff until prolly the same age, or unless it starts getting easier to brush his teeth.

[sunshinegal]

Great question~

Our 4th is having the hardest time learning it and she is almost 4. Rinse and spit doesn't work either, since she just swallows or she sort of bubbles it out her mouth down the front of her shirt. It isn't just spitting she has trouble with either. She is just getting comfortable drinking straight from a regular cup and her speech is "delayed". I say "delayed" because the 3 before her didn't have these issues at all. For her, I think it is going to take time and practice with a whole lot of patience on our part. Besides, I have a feeling that once she learns how to spit, it isn't going to be just toothpaste she spits out!
Good luck.

[liliaceae]

Just don't use toothpaste, you don't really need to at that age.

[Mama Mko]

Our dentist said they just get it at some point. I encourage my five year old to spit but he has a hard time. My three year old can spit.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

My two year old uses Weleda tooth gel and Spry xylitol gel, both of which are all natural and safe to swallow. I just don't worry about spitting yet.

[dividedsky]

i hoist my kids up to the sink, let them rinse their brushes and put them away. then i cup my hand and kind of... squish water in their mouths? that sounds awful, but they actually love it! they've got the spitting pretty much down now, i guess it's just instinctual. if they were using a cup though, they would definitely just drink it.

anyway, that's what i do. my kids are ~20mos

[ellemenope]

wish I knew...

[Polliwog]

DS didn't master it until he was about 4 1/2. His pediatrician told me to keep using fluoride free toothpaste until he was able to spit reliably. STBAD figured out spitting before she was two. Mostly by watching us.

[nukuspot]

DD can spit (she spits her peas across the room) but won't spit toothpaste, she swallows it. I try to get her to spit in the sink but she will swallow it THEN spit. We started using toothpaste just this week and are using the Earths Best toddler toothpaste, and it says safe to swallow, so I am sure we are OK?

[Aufilia]

We just used the non-flouride toddler toothpaste until DD learned to spit at about age 3. She taught herself in the bathtub.