Teethbrushing - Teaching how to spit toothpaste

[Giorgina]

Not sure where to post this but how do you teach your LO how to spit the toothpaste out?  David (2y 10 mo) is constantly swallowing it.  I can't beleive I am asking how to teach him to spit, LOL.

[ireneee]

Hi Giorgina,
I have no idea. I was wondering that myself.
Have you tried to do it yourself and trying to get David to copy you? Maybe make it a competition - who can spit out the most toothpaste?
I'm going to keep an eye on this one as I'll need to know soon. At the moment, I just use the tiniest amount of toothpaste but it does get swallowed!

[Texomamama]

I, too, am having this problem with my 28 mo.  She simulates spitting, but I have never seen anything come out.  Perhaps it is because I am still using a pea sized bit of toothpaste.  I know she knows how to spit, because she enjoys making little spit bubbles a lot (Oh, joy), but I can never seem to translate that to the teeth brushing thing.  So, I suspect this is a common problem.  It's kind of a weird use of muscles for them to master.

[RachelC]

We practiced with water in the bath tub for a long time.  Until she was able to spit, we used a fluoride free toothpaste which was safe to swallow.