I have a really hard time getting Jake to brush his teeth at night. I have to stand there and stare at him while he does it because if I don’t, he fakes it. I actually hid outside the bathroom one night and spied on him. He turned on his battery-operated toothbrush, placed it on the sink, fiddled with some stuff in the bathroom for a minute, then made spitting sounds. Oh, and for good measure, he squirted a little toothpaste in the sink. He likes to use mouthwash, but he hates actually brushing his teeth. When I saw the chance to be part of the Listerine Oral Care Challenge come up through Mom Central, I jumped on it and crossed my fingers that we got in.

Well, we did get in, and now we’re preparing to start our challenge. It’s a new month, so tonight seems like the perfect night to get started. Every morning and night for the next three weeks, we will make a commitment to brushing, flossing, and using mouthwash together. Our package arrived with some great products to help us during the challenge. Jake loves the Batman and Phineas and Ferb toothbrush and mouthwash, and the Reach flossers (the kind with the long handle). I have a new toothbrush too and am looking forward to trying out the new Listerine Total Care Zero because it doesn’t have alcohol, so there’s no burning sensation.

I’m hoping that by turning this into a challenge, Jacob will be more likely to follow through. Once I get him into a better routine, I think it will stick. He’s highly competitive, and I told him if he completes the challenge, I’ll get him a surprise. I think it will go really well. Listerine gave us a handy little calender to mark off the days that we succeed, so we’ll have a visual reminder as well. I think this is going to really help get him into a better routine, and hopefully by the time we’re done, he’ll brush his teeth without needing me to spy on him the whole time.

 

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate