Sunday, January 26, 2014

Toothbrush

The very first word JT uttered was toothbrush.  That fact amuses me because his toothbrushing habits haven’t always been what I might hope.  When he had braces, I hounded him to brush and he mostly did so.  The removal of his braces and the addition of a retainer has also made brushing more desirable from his point of view.  That’s progress.  Naturally, he at once demanded a new toothbrush.

Santa obliged and put a pink toothbrush in his Christmas stocking.  Santa wasn’t being mean; JT’s manhood is not threatened by pink.  But I also have a pinkish toothbrush (it has the name of my dentist and looks different if one is paying attention…ahem).  And now you know where this story is headed.

One morning last week I realized that JT’s toothbrush was bone dry.  So I told him to brush.  “I already did,” he said.

“Then why is your toothbrush dry?” I asked.

He rolled into the bathroom, genuinely concerned, and I began to think that he had brushed.  He checked out the toothbrushes, realized he had used mine, and offered a thought, “Who is the super genius who got us toothbrushes that are the same color?”

As he attempted to spit out the rest of my germs into the sink, I reminded him of the manner in which he entered the world.  This wasn’t quite the comfort I had hoped it would be.  So later that week I scored a multipack of new toothbrushes in colors unlikely to be confusing.
The silver lining of this story is the fact that the boy is brushing before I nag him to do so.  Successful parenting, y’all!

2 comments:

  1. When my kiddos get grossed out by my germs or the germs of a sibling I like to mention that there is a good chance they drank and breathed their own urine while in utero.

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  2. I think it’s kind of weird that the first word he uttered is toothbrush, but thinking about how involved he is in keeping his teeth clean, it was bound to happen. Haha! That being said, a lot of children are aren’t that enthusiastic when it comes to brushing their teeth, even when already reinforced. Anyway, I hope JT doesn’t get confused with those toothbrush again. Thanks for sharing this with us. All the best!


    Benny Murray @ Dental Care of South Jersey

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