Opera Tooth Brushing

I have a Mary Poppins-ish approach to parenting things. The bottom line is that there are non-negotiable things that a little person has to deal with AND I like to make it playful whenever possible. So in the spirit of a "spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down" we are now having grand opera tooth brushing every night.

We've been through a few phases of toothbrushing. Animal faces worked for awhile recently (lion roar to get the back teeth, zebra smile for the front). Then we had a few weeks of struggle (you know, the two parent tooth brushing, where one of us is holding squirming child) until opera entered the routine.

So now after an opportunity to mess around with the toothbrush on her own for a bit, LP and I do a brief warm up (mi, mi, mi,mi, miiiiii) and then big, grand voice soaring "AaaaaaaaaHs" together while I simultaneously get a good brushing of the chompers done.

It is fun and evolving. A couple of nights ago, she initiated going up the scale with each "aaaah" and the following night we stumbled into some fun harmonies.

I'll enjoy it while it lasts....and who knows what "sugar" will come next.