Listerine Oral Care Challenge

Mom Central, Listerine and Reach sent my family a box full of products to participate in the "October Oral Care Challenge!"  The assortment was to help us all brush, floss and rinse our teeth twice a day.  While we have always tried to make it a habit, there are days when it is a struggle to keep the kids brushing. 

My kids were excited about receiving new toothbrushes and flossers -- and were especially excited to try the Listerine Agent Cool Blue.  They laughed at the blue on their teeth and brushed longer than usual to make sure that the blue all went away.  We were also sent teeth stickers and a chart to help keep track of brushings, which helped cement the habit more than before.  We filled each day with stickers for all 3 kids, and they had fun putting their stickers on each square.

Dr. Lott, a pediatric dentist working with Listerine, encourages parents to show, and not just tell kids what to do.  We don't share a bathroom with the boys, so I tried to talk about brushing my teeth more often than in the past, since we didn't stand in the bathroom brushing together. I also took the time to visit them in their bathroom while they brushed their teeth to make sure they brushed long enough -- and to help them learn to clean their mess up right away!  If nothing else, the 2 week challenge helped them learn not to spit toothpaste all over the counter, and also to rinse the sink when they were done!  You can read more of Dr. Lott's tips at the Listerine Kids website.

This is a great time to encourage good oral health habits. Halloween is Saturday, which starts a season full of treats and candy.  It's important to foster good habits in kids while they're young, so the habits are ingrained as they grow.  We had fun with this challenge, and encourage you to start your own!

Mom Central sent me a box of products from Listerine and Reach to prepare for this blog post.  In exchange for participating in this blog tour, I received oral care products from Listerine and Reach, a gift certificate to GlobalGiving.org and a donation was made on my behalf to the National Children's Oral Health Foundation (www.ncohf.org), an organization committed to delivering comprehensive oral healthcare to economically disadvantaged children.