feel a whole lot better.” Kids can thus follow what we say as well as how
we feel after we’ve done it.
None of these kinds of comments can be too transparent for our
eavesdropping children. They feel the excitement of overhearing
something they think they shouldn’t be hearing, and they’re much more
likely to try it themselves than if we get in their faces about it. However,
as the “thrill” of brushing wears off, we may feel it necessary to get
results by linking our kids’ dental hygiene with things they want to do.
Here, thinking words are the way to go: “You’re welcome to go out to
play as soon as your teeth are brushed,” or “Feel free to watch television
as soon as you brush your teeth.”
One mom, before passing out cookies, prefaced the distribution with
these words: “I pass out things with sugar in them to the people in this
family who protect their teeth with brushing.” Then she read roll call:
“Noelle’s been brushing her teeth, and Makayla’s been brushing hers, and
Claudia ... well, Claudia, we’d better hold off on cookies until I don’t
have to worry so much about your teeth.”
Claudia was a regular at the sink from that day on.
lu
(lu)
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