Brushing up on healthy habits
Healthy habits start in childhood. The Healthy Families, Healthy Smiles team recently launched a new resource to help get kids off to a healthy start.
The ‘Let’s brush!’ resource is a simple yet effective child-centred instructional video that was developed in conjunction with early childhood professionals.
The video positively engages families with young children about the importance of developing good oral health habits that will set kids up for life.
“Learning good oral hygiene habits at a young age is incredibly important for long-term oral health,” said DHSV Chief Executive Officer Sue McKee.
“Talking to children about the best way to brush their teeth helps them play an active role in developing lifelong health habits such as hand washing and brushing your teeth,” said Sue.
To assist more families in developing the skills required to improve oral health outcomes, the video has also been translated into Arabic, Burmese and Vietnamese.
“Reaching more families with translated resources is a positive step in spreading the word about strong oral health habits,” said Sue.
DHSV collaborated with the City of Melbourne and early childhood professionals to create the fun video resource which was developed to be played in the bathroom while children brush.
The video features Tash from the City of Melbourne and her friend Chomper – a very smiley crocodile – and uses child-friendly cues to help young children learn the necessary skills and take an active role in brushing their teeth.
The ‘Let’s brush’ video forms part of a suite of resources aimed at supporting families with toothbrushing. The suite also features a toothbrushing guide ‘Let’s brush!’ and a toothbrushing chart ‘It’s fun to brush!’.
