My 8-year-old just got braces. Yes, I know that's a little young to get braces. The orthodontist said that he would need braces now when he's younger so that his teeth can fit in, and then he will probably need braces AGAIN when he's a teenager. All I can think is...EXPENSIVE. Yes, my husband needs a new car, because the one he's driving is about to die, but instead of buying a car this year, we bought braces!
We are trying to impress upon our 8-year-old the importance of taking care of your teeth when you're wearing braces without making him feel guilty about how much they cost. (We didn't tell him that we brought the braces in place of a car. He doesn't need to feel guilty about that.) I remember wearing braces. I wasn't a bad kid, but I wasn't careful about what I ate when I was wearing them. I chewed gum. I ate any candy I wanted. I ate a piece of taffy once and pulled a bracket off one of my back teeth. I also had a sock thrown at my face and had a bracket pulled off when the sock was grabbed and pulled back quickly. Ouch!
How are we getting him to be good with his braces? WE'RE GIVING HIM CANDY! Read on...
We sat down with our son and had a nice little talk about what he could and couldn't eat (feeling like a hypocrite!). And then we told him that we would keep "permissible candy" on hand at home. Any time that he is given candy that he's not allowed to eat, all he has to do is bring it home and trade it. I will take the sticky candy and give him the permissible candy. I am keeping all the candy he turns in. The day he gets his braces off he gets to celebrate by getting a bag full of sticky candy and gum. He really likes this idea. He sees it as banking candy. In other words, he's getting twice as much candy! We want him to be excited about this. It's working great!!!!