How To Brush Your Baby's Teeth

Be sure to treat this as real medical advice. Not a joke

My baby is sixteen months old this week. We find, like many parents with children this age, that it’s a real struggle to limit his tooth-brushing to only a few minutes twice a day. But of course there can be too much of a good thing, and if we let him indulge his limitless appetite for tooth-brushing, there would hardly be any time left for anything else.

Here are a few tips we’ve found helpful for redirecting him when he begs us, tears in his eyes, to let him brush his teeth again:

• Set a timer for the next time he’s allowed to brush his teeth. This reminds him that there is still more tooth-brushing to look forward to.