Now that my oldest children are 6 and 8 years old, I have been giving them a little more independence in the dental hygiene department. It was a struggle at first. I would announce it was tooth brushing time and the boys would happily go to their bathroom and brush their teeth. 30 seconds later, they would return claiming they had brushed their teeth. After many fights over the amount of time and the proper techniques being used, I began searching for a solution that would all my children to be independent but still ensure a good job was done.

Now that Sam is getting older, I'm working with him to become more self-sufficient when it comes to hygiene. Since I know busy mornings are in store with back to school around the corner, I've been working with him to get in a good routine. School success includes both our bedtime and morning routines.