Getting your toddler to brush his teeth can be a huge feat in and of itself. It’ll probably take them until they’re 4 or 5 to truly master it to the point where you don’t have to supervise. Even if they manage to not eat and swallow the toothpaste like it was candy, you’ll still need to make sure they get everywhere they need to.

That said, different techniques work for different kids’ personalities. Here are some of the basics to set yourself up for success, and some tips to encourage this essential habit.

• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush designed for kids
• Use non-fluoridated toothpaste that’s got a flavor your kid enjoys
• Make brushing part of a routine. My son brushes in the morning after breakfast and at night after his bedtime snack
• If they fight at first, don’t worry. Try to make it fun and if they put up a huge fuss, leave it for another night. They’ll get used to it.
• Brush with them. Brush your own teeth with your toothbrush or theirs.
• Use two toothbrushes. One for them to use and one for you to do the real cleaning.
• Make funny noises and open your mouth wide. When they crack a grin whoosh in with the toothbrush.
• Brush in small circles. Get the tops, bottoms, fronts and backs of their teeth and gums.
• Don’t force it. The second they stop having fun (at least in the beginning), the more they’ll fight it.

Do it Every Day
The most important thing you can do for your baby early on is getting him into a teeth cleaning routine. It’s especially important to do it at night, so try to work it into the pre- bedtime schedule.

Use a Soft Bristled Brush
There are plenty of kid’s toothbrushes out there. Our dentist recommended the Oral-B Stages Stage 2 Toothbrush for Little Kids because it’s extra gentle on his gums and mouth. Our son seems to love the tickling sensation of the bristles. He loves to grab on and gnaw the end of the brush. We can sometimes get a giggle or two when we brush his teeth.

Use Toothpaste Without Flouride
Your dentist might say different, but ours recommended not using a toothpaste with flouride in it. You can usually find tubes of kids’ toothpaste with the other toothpaste or in the baby aisle of a drug or grocery store.

Brush Teeth and Gums
Even though your kid might only have a few teeth, be sure to brush the gums. Plaque and bacteria can build up back there too. Brush in small circles on the front and back of any teeth that have come in, and be sure to give the chewing surfaces TLC as well.

Eat Well
The daily diet is just as important as the way you take care of your baby’s teeth. Don’t put your baby to bed with a bottle. And if they’re drinking anything but water in a sippy cup, make sure it’s gone within 30 minutes.

Sweets are O.K. in moderation, but try to keep them reserved for mealtimes. Your baby should be getting plenty of calcium anyway, but this mineral is extra important for healthy teeth.

We fell behind on the first dentist appointment because we moved from Detroit to Chicago while my son was approaching the 1 year mark, but today we finally got him in for his first dentist appointment.

Even though your kid might have only three or four teeth, they should get into the dentist around their first birthday. They won’t get a cleaning, but they’ll get a “lap-to-lap” check-up. This means you’ll hold your baby on their back while the dentist inspects the teeth they do have and the rest of their jaw to make sure everything is developing correctly.

Your baby’s first set of teeth, even though they aren’t fully developed, are all in their jawbone at birth. Most babies get their first teeth around six months old, but some don’t get them until 12 or 14 months. The full set should be there by the time they are three years old.

The teeth typically come in from the center and then outward, which makes the molars the last teeth to make an appearance. These are also usually the worst from a teething perspective, and can come in with a low-grade fever and diarhea.

To help soothe your baby’s gums while their teeth come in, you can give them a bag of frozen veggies or fruits to gnaw on. We use the Fresh Food Feeder with some frozen bananas or strawberries and our son loves it.

The dentist will probably also recommend you use a non-flouride toothpaste with a nightly brushing routine. I’ll cover brushing, flossing and dental care the next tip.

They’ll also check for bottle mouth and other signs up decay. Bottle mouth can be caused by putting your baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice. Something I didn’t know was that it can also be caused by letting your baby drink from a sippy cup of juice or milk all day as well.

Just like putting them to bed with a bottle, it keeps their teeth continually bathed in sugary liquid, which can eat away at their enamel. If you do give your baby milk or juice in a cup, make sure it’s gone in thirty minutes. Or you can give your baby a glass of water and let them suck away to their heart’s content.

Remember the 72-hour diet I blogged about for when your baby has the stomach flu? The first 24-hours involve giving your baby Pedialyte or Gatorade exclusively to help them stay hydrated while they get through the worst of the vomiting/diarhea.

An important thing to remember if your baby is vomiting - anything you put in will probably come back out. More than likely, on your carpet, furniture and clothes.

Pedialyte makes a clear, unflavored versions of their products. See where I’m going with this?

You can make things easier on yourself if you buy the clear version of Pedialyte. Sure, there will still be a sticky, disgusting mess, but you won’t have to be reminded of it for another few years by a big stain in the middle of your floor.

We gave my son purple Pedialyte and red Gatorade while he was vomiting, and we’ve got the stains on our floor to prove it. Just another thing to keep in mind when you’re out shopping for your baby’s diet while he’s sick.

Our son couldn’t keep any kind of solid food down and had diarrhea. We had no idea what to do, so we called the doctor.

The diagnosis was a stomach virus. According to the pediatrician, it has to run its course naturally while feeding our son a special diet over 72 hours. We were a bit skeptical, since he wasn’t keeping anything down.

But the menu she gave us has worked pretty well and our son was feeling great today.

Here’s a suggested diet for a infant with a stomach virus - assuming they’ve been fully introduced to solid foods and are off breastmilk and formula and on to whole milk.

If your baby is still vomiting in the 24 - 48 hour stage, call your pediatrician and get some more advice.

0 - 24 hours - Pedialyte or Gatorade, exclusively. They’re geared specifically to replace fluids lost from vomiting or diarrhea, and your baby will probably be able to keep them down better.

24 - 48 hours - A diet of bananas, rice, applesauce and wheat toast or bread. These bland foods will sit better in your baby’s stomach.

48 - 72 hours - Back to the normal diet, but no dairy just yet. What you can give them that’s dairy is Activia yogurt by Danon because of its bifidobacteria. The active culture bacteria is meant to augment the body’s natural mechanisms for regulating the digestive system.

At this stage, our son was feeling a lot better and he was ready to chow down. We gave him green beans, which he usually picks at. Instead, he wolfed them down. Then he ate a whole container of the Activia yogurt with a gusto. He was probably just glad to get some real food in his belly.

72 hours + - Introduce dairy back into their diet. The diarrhea can take up to two weeks to finally go away, so keep lots of spare clothes on hand.