Have you ever heard of a Germ Monster?

Oliver has; they live in his mouth just waiting to eat his food. For about a year now we have struggled with tooth brushing every single day. Oliver has his own tooth brush and loves to brush his own teeth, but as soon as it became time for Mommy or Daddy to finish the job, it was a nightmare. We would eventually have to hold his mouth open which lately has just led to huge tantrums. I was almost to the point of giving up brushing all together (not really :), when I received an e-mail from Babycenter.com touting that they could end tooth brushing battles. Baby Center has been a great resource for me since I was pregnant. After Oliver was in bed that night, I rushed in to read the e-mail and sure enough they had several suggestions we already tried (i.e. let him have his own toothbrush, let him brush in front of the mirror, let him brush your teeth, sing a song, etc.), but they also had some suggestions we had not tried before. The next night I told Oliver that he had Germ Monsters living in his mouth and asked him if he knew what color they were and he instantly responded "blue" (his favorite). I told him they were hiding between and behind his teeth and that he needed to use his toothbrush to brush them away so they wouldn't eat all the leftover food in his sleep. After he finished brushing, I checked his teeth and it turned out he left some behind and when I told him I could still see some, he instantly opened his mouth and let me brush. I was so impressed. Germ Monsters along with the privilege of spitting into the sink after brushing has been our greatest help with the teeth brushing battle. We have been using this technique for a week now and I am proud to announce that we have not had one teeth brushing battle since we began. I love that the Internet is so accessible and that we live in a day and age where we can find the answers to our questions by the click of a mouse. Here is a video Daddy brushing away Oliver's Germ Monster:

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