Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Aquafresh® through their partnership with POPSUGAR. While I was compensated by POPSUGAR to write a post about Aquafresh®, all opinions are my own.”

Dear Diary,

This August, my little girl is heading to preschool. I have yet to digest the fact that she’s growing up and leaving the nest—if only for a few hours a day. Each day, she steps out into the world of independence a little bit more. On Monday, she put on her first pair of panties as she transitioned to a fully potty trained status. By Friday, she put toothpaste on her toothbrush and brushed her teeth before bedtime.

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Pretty soon, she’ll be dating. Well, that won’t happen for another decade or so, but as most moms know, time flies! To ensure she doesn’t grow up too quickly, I work extra hard to make her big girl responsibilities enjoyable.

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One way I’m doing that is by making brushing fun. Caitlynn and I make up silly songs and accompanying dance moves while in the bathroom. I started brushing her baby teeth as soon as it pushed up through her itty bitty gums. I made sure to brush her teeth regularly, since the enamel on baby teeth is more susceptible to decay, and since my mother—who I could hear in my head when she wasn’t in the room—shared stories of children with cavities and mothers who let their babies go to bed with bottles of juice spiked with sugar. When my daughter was old enough to hold a toothbrush, I modeled how she must take special care of her new smile, which she flashes frequently. Recently, a photographer featured her in Humans of Asbury Park and captioned the photo 1,000-watt smile.

Humans of Asbury Park

My hope is to give her a great start to a lifetime of healthy teeth. Heck, it’s hereditary! I was voted best smile before. Years later, I’m still asked if I whiten my teeth as an adult or wore braces as a child. Now that I have my own little own, I’m turning to Aquafresh®, the little mouth experts™. Compared to your tooth enamel, your baby’s is 50 percent thinner. That’s why my daughter needs expert protection. Aquafresh’s dental experts developed special training toothpaste, which Caitlynn tried out this week. It’s fluoride-free with no artificial colors or preservatives, and safe to swallow when used as directed. The word safe stood out to me, because as a first time mom, I am a worrywart at times. The flavor, apple-banana, stood out to Caitlynn. But the best part of all to my mouthy toddler—the Aquafresh® activities. There’s an app, a learning to brush video and a make brushing fun page. Check out how Caitlynn brushed to the beat.

Please use product as directed on label.

Hey DFTM Fam—How do you making brushing fun for your little one? For more information, please visit: http://www.aquafresh.com/products/kids

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

5 Responses

  1. True Mom Moments

    That video is tooooooo cute! The dancing had me cracking up! I love it!

    Reply
  2. Janeane Davis

    It is important to make brushing fun while our children are little. If it is fun they will do it and continue to do it as they get older. Good oral health is the key to good health period.

    Reply
  3. MJ
    MJ

    Caitlynn is a star and a champion brusher. I need help for Zoe. She hates brushing time. Will download the song and turn brushing time into a party. There goes the neighborhood. LOL

    Reply

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