How long is 2 minutes, really, when you’re just two years old?

Finding it hard to get your child to brush his or her teeth for the full two minutes that the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends? How do children tell time anyway?

The classic 1972 study by Dr. Yvonne Brackbill and Dr. Hiram Fitzgerald, found that infants as young as one month old had the ability tell time. The two researchers placed infants in a dark room where a light was switched on every twenty seconds for four-second intervals. After this period of conditioned learning, the pupils of these infants were found to have constricted based on this time pattern, even though the lights weren’t actually turning on anymore—demonstrating these infants having a sense of what the passage of time is like.

However, our internal clocks can often be skewed by other external stimuli.

In 2016, Professor Sylvie Droit-Volet found that certain emotions have a powerful effect on how we perceive what time feels like. For instance, fear makes time stretch, making a period of time feel much longer than it actually is. Other psychological studies have shown that three-year-olds are similarly likely to overestimate a period of time when they feel threatened. But even without elaborate research, we all have experienced that time seems to fly when we are in love and the pot never boil when we are watching it a little too intently!

Although, young children often have difficulty with time perception, this skill can be developed as they grow. In general, a five-year-old cannot count the passing of time without an adult helping them: their counting usually does not keep pace with the actual seconds. Until the child turns ten, they’re unable to tell time without help from adult.

So, what can we as parents do about it?

Incorporating a couple strategies to help kids tell time more effectively can benefit their dental routine. For instance, research has shown that auditory stimuli help children understand time better than visual signals; therefore, it’s easier for a child to tell a song lasts for a minute compared to a flash of light appearing for the same amount of time.

With this in mind, our clinic recommends that children make the AAPD-recommended two minute time period go by quicker by making the experience as fun as possible for them while incorporating a “ sound” element.

Music is a great way to connect children to the activity of brushing and the concept of brushing for “long enough”. Here are a couple of dental songs that parents, siblings or the child himself can sing or listen to help them know when it is time to stop brushing.

“Brush your teeth”

Sung to the melody of: “Row, Row, Row your Boat”

Brush, brush, brush your teeth.
At least two times a day.
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.
Fighting tooth decay.

Rinse, rinse, rinse your teeth.
Every single day.
Swishing, swishing, swishing, swishing.
Fighting tooth decay.

Floss, floss, floss your teeth.
Every single day.
Gently, gently, gently, gently.
Whisking plaque away.

“Sparkle”

Sung to the melody of: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Sparkle, sparkle, little teeth.
Some above and some beneath.
Brush them all at every meal.
Clean and fresh they’ll always feel.
Sparkle, sparkle, little teeth.
Some above and some beneath.

Floss them, floss them, in between.
Cavities will not be seen.
See your dentist twice a year.
You will grin from ear to ear.
Floss them, floss them,in between.
Cavities will not be seen.

Sparkle, sparkle, little teeth.
Some above and some beneath.
Brush them all at every meal.
Clean and fresh they’ll always feel.
Sparkle, sparkle, little teeth.
Some above and some beneath.

If you don’t want to sing here is a video from the Oregon Dental Association “Teach Me How to Brushy” sung to the tune of “Teach Me How to Dougie” that you can turn on and let it do all the work! http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/teach-me-how-to-brushy

Practice these fun songs while brushing your children’s teeth. Brushing time can also be bonding time with your kids!