Brushing, Flossing & Spitting as a Family! #healthyhabits

A few weeks ago my family and began the “Listerine Healthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge.”  After learning some scary statistics, I knew we had to work on instilling some healthy oral care habits with our kids as well as improve our own.

Scary Statistics:

• Brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth, leaving missions of germs behind.
• Nearly 75% of American adults suffer from various forms of (gum) disease and don’t know it.
• 50% of children will have a cavity or filling between ages of 5 and 9.

Since my boys are only 3 and 5 years old I knew the Oral Care Challenge would mean we’d have to work with them daily.  I decided that even though they boys have their bathroom we’d put their oral care items in our bathroom until they get the hang of it without watching us.

First we brush our teeth as a family (well during the week its me and the kids since my husband leaves for work before we wake up.)  While it may be silly to have your kids watch you brush, floss, and rinse, seeing is doing.  Kids love to imitate too so watching me doing it the right way encourages them to do it the right way!  I opened up brand new REACH toothbrushes for all of us.  My husband got the REACH Total Care Multi-Action Toothbrush, I got the REACH Total Care + Whitening Toothbrush.  My boys instantly loved and felt grown up with the REACH Toothbrushes featuring Batman and Phineas & Ferb!

Next up is Flossing Time.  Since my boys are under 9 (the recommended age for flossing) I figured I would hold the floss for them and work on it with them.  I think they could hurt themselves if they did it alone and I’m not sure they could even reach in where they need to.  My husband chose the REACH CleanPaste Icy Mint Floss and I got the REACH Total Care Whitening Floss.  I am terrible at flossing every day but I am working on it since I know how important it is and it really does feel better getting everything out.

Rinsing is the last step in our Oral Care Healthy Habit Routine.  My boys think this is the silliest part because they get to drink silly colored liquid and then spit it out!  LISTERINE Smart Rinse is great because it comes in a variety of fun flavors for kids, some feature their favorite characters (Phineas & Ferb, Batman, and Barbie) and it is easy to use (just squeeze some rinse and drink from the top.)

Overall, I think brushing as a family has really brought us together these last few weeks and taught my boys some great habits.  I want them to grow up with a healthy mouth so that is one less thing for them to worry about and have some silly memories of us brushing and spitting together!  Oh and I think it has helped that we have been using a Reward Calendar.

VISIT:  Learn how to establish better oral care habits by visiting www.walmart.com/AHA/Listerine/Reach to access to tips from leading dental experts and great values and prices on oral care products.

Mom and More Disclosure:  I received products and compensation from Johnson & Johnson and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the Oral Care Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.  Please see my Disclosure Policy.