As parents, many of us have experienced this moment: You say cheerfully to your toddler or young child, “it is time to brush your teeth!” and reach for the brush and toothpaste.

“Noooo….” she howls, running out of the bathroom. Or you are greeted with a tightly closed mouth and a sullen face. Nothing you say or do seems to matter. This kid just does not want to brush her teeth. So what do you do?

Maybe you get frustrated and begin the battle. You try to coerce and convince. You chase them around the house, brush in hand. Maybe you get so frustrated (and attached to your idea that it has to happen now) that you pry their little mouth open and brush them anyway, fighting against their resistance.

If you have done any of those things, you probably know it doesn’t feel very good!

You care about your children’s health. You want them to have strong teeth and minimal dental procedures. Brushing their teeth is an act of love, so of course you want it to be loving. Also, you don’t want them to have negative associations with an activity (oral hygiene) that they need to take care of their whole lives.

I recently chatted with some other moms who, like me, are committed to having a respectful, cooperative relationship with their children. Here are some ideas that came out of the conversation about working with kids when they do not want to brush their teeth:

1. Be playful! Find a fun puppet who enjoys brushing teeth and make it a game. Consider buying several toothbrushes with different themes and let your child choose. Use funny voices or songs to make it more interesting. Invite your child to brush your teeth first and then switch and brush theirs!


2. Offer options. Ask your child where he would like to brush his teeth, sometimes changing rooms can be helpful. We sometimes bush our toddler's teeth in bed. If the child is really resisting using the toothbrush, wipe their teeth with a washcloth. Often you can get them just as clean and the change makes it more agreeable. Xylitol toothpastes are another option that can work really well.


3. Share information. By age two, many children can understand some of the reasons behind teeth brushing. Saying simply “we need to get your teeth clean,” might be enough. Or, if you want to give more details, you can explain how little bugs (bacteria) get on teeth and eat tiny holes into them, causing pain. They may want to clean off the bugs! Don't share this if you feel it might scare your more sensitive child.


4. Be flexible! Realize that skipping one night of brushing is not going to be the end of the world. If your little one really needs to say “no” then let it go for a night. You might find much more resistance the next night if you force the issue! If you do skip a brushing, invite your child to rinse their mouth with water or teach them to swish water around in their mouths. They will probably love spitting it out in the bathtub! The most important thing is to put more attention into what they are telling you through their resistance rather than focusing on "getting it done."


5. Create a routine. Many children do not resist toothbrushing if it is part of the nightly ritual from early on when the first teeth appear. Be casual about it, like it’s just one of the things done each night, like putting on pajamas and reading a book. This has been a successful approach in our home.


What works in your home to make teeth brushing easier?

On Christmas Eve this year, my whole family woke up with a terrible case of pink eye. While we had a good laugh that at least we were wearing red, it was not a very cheery experience for the holidays!

We called our doctor (who amazingly answered her cell phone on Christmas Eve) and she prescribed some antibiotic eye drops. I was sure that we had the bacterial variety because it came on so fast and our eyes were so swollen and painful. We were also worried about being contagious on Christmas Day for the visiting family.

But I was wrong. And over the next five months, I would learn more than anyone should ever know about conjunctivitis, aka pink eye.

Why?

Because we got it again and again and again. And from this experience, I have three lessons to share with you.

Lesson #1: Pink eye is almost always viral.

Five months into my battle with pink eye, I saw an ophthalmologist. She said about 90% of cases are caused by a virus and the antibiotics will not help it get better. As a matter of fact, they may aid in the recurrence of pink eye. Antibiotics kill off the good bacteria in your eye that helps it to be healthy and fight infection, making you more susceptible to viral conjunctivitis after using the eye drops.

We almost always had cold-like symptoms with the pink eye. When you have a bacterial infection in your eye, you typically don’t have other symptoms. Also, the bacterial variety will have lots of green and yellow pus. Viral conjunctivitis is characterized by watery, sticky discharge.

Lesson #2: Natural remedies do work!

While you might think that nothing but time and your immune system will get rid of viral conjunctivitis, we found some cures that really helped.

1. Breast milk: Breast milk contains infection fighting white blood cells, Bifidus Factor to help good bacteria grow and Oligosaccharides, which bind to harmful bacteria and keep it from attaching to mucosal surfaces. All of these are great for an infected eye! If you have some, just pump or hand express into a sterile cup, keep it refrigerated and use a sterile dropper to apply to the eye at least four times per day.


2. Green or chamomile tea bag compresses: This is a folk remedy that many swear by and is very soothing for the swollen, red eye.


3. Herb Pharm Herbal Eye Wash. This was the treatment that worked the best for us. It contains rue, fennel, goldenseal and eyebright, all great herbs for clearing infection and inflammation. Within one day of using this formula, our eyes felt and looked better. Within three days, we were symptom-free! We also took immune boosters to help our bodies fight off the virus: Vitamin C, zinc and Oregano Oil.

Lesson # 3: In order for the first two lessons to make a difference, throw out all your eye makeup and wash everything in your house.

So, after learning about how our pink eye was viral and taking lots of great herbal remedies, why did we keep getting it again and again? Simple: This bug is very contagious!

We passed it from one person to the next. By the time my pink eye cleared up, our toddler would have it and then give it to his dad. And then, a couple of weeks later, I would get it again!

It is important to wash your hands constantly (just warm soap and water, folks), wash all hand towels, pillow cases, door knobs, cell phones, eye glasses, computer keyboards…daily. You get the drift! And eye makeup? Throw it away.

Most importantly: Don’t touch your eyes! It is hard to do when they are itchy and drippy. But believe me, you don’t want to pass this germ to your worst enemy, much less your best friend.

Which, by the way, I did. And guess what? She gave it right back to me a couple of weeks later!

So, I hope these three simple lessons make a difference for you the next time someone in your family wakes up with the eye goop or the “stink eye” as we lovingly call it in our household.

And as always, consult your health practitioner if you have a concern about an eye infection that is getting worse or not clearing up. We aren't doctors here, just passing on some advice that may be helpful to you. Also, occasionally pink eye be more serious and need medical attention, so don't be afraid to make an appointment - just remember these warnings and ask a few questions before starting on any antibiotics, and make sure you're taking the steps to help reduce sources of contagion.

I've been flummoxed by the challenge of buying vitamins - for myself and for Z - for a long time. However many brands I tried, I always either ended up with horse pills or got home and discovered that I have to take eight pills to get the levels of vitamins on the label. Things get even more complicated when you're a vegetarian household - we aren't interested in fish oils or gelatin or other sorts of animal byproducts. After months of trial and error, however, I recently found not one but two brands of kids' vitamins that make it easy for Z. Now we just have to choose which one to stick with!

New Chapter Organics' Everykid vitamins are organic and don't contain any dyes, artificial ingredients, or refined sugars. They come in individually wrapped packets and, at least psychologically speaking, are the whole-food equivalent of Pixie Sticks. Just rip open a packet and let your kid pour it in their mouth - Z loves it and thinks it's a treat. I love it because it's easy to dispense and it's all vegetarian.

Emergen-C just released a new line of kids' multivitamins for kids ages four and up (two- and three-year-olds can use a 1/2 packet). They do not use GMO ingredients or contain artificial dyes. These are easy to take, too, but different - you mix them with water.

We are big fans of Emergen-C Vitamin C packets when we feel colds coming on and were excited to try out their kids' mutlivitamin formula.

Z calls their kids' vitamins "fizzy drinks" and likes to pretend that they are soda. Her preference would be to have several of these a day but we limit her to one!

The prices can vary, so it's nice to buy this stuff when and where it's on sale. We find good prices on Amazon - Emergen-C's kids' multivitamins list at $18 for 36 (50 cents a day) but are on sale on Amazon now (and often) for $13 a package. EveryKid mutivitamins run a bit more - they list for around $33 for 28 packets, and are on sale for $20. The big difference in price stems from the fact that Everykid's multivitamins are organic.

There is a lot of debate about whether vitamins in liquid or powdered form are more easily absorbed by the body. There's also the legitimate question of whether you or your child needs a daily vitamin at all if your diet is healthful and balanced enough. We don't worry much about the former and use vitamins semi-regularly to give us peace of mind, despite the fact that we are healthy eaters. Sometimes Z will refuse to eat anything but beans and rice for days, so this is one way we know that she's still getting a baseline level of the nutrients we know she needs, especially as vegetarians. For us, it's definitely worth it - and since Z already takes pills and liquid medicines on a daily basis for breathing issues, it's valuable to us to have this "fun" option instead of another pill.

The only shortcoming I see in each of these options different vitamins is the single-serving packaging. I wish there were a way to buy a bulk package with a scoop or something so I didn't have to throw out packaging every day. (I believe that the powder makes them prone to absorbtion which would make bulk packaging near to impossible but still, a girl can hope.)

Now all I need is for one of these companies to make a vitamin pack like this for adults.